iMac 24' (early 2009) memory upgradability

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I've just replaced two 1067Mhz SODIMM modules in my iMAC 24' (early 2009) with one 4GB 1333Mhz module and it seems to work fine. No kernel panics so far.
Where I live, 4GB DDR3 1067Mhz SODIMM modules (second-handed) are rarer and a little more expensive than 4GB 1333Mhz modules.
I can't find 8GB modules 1067/1333Mhz, but 8GB 1600Mhz modules are plenty.

I wonder if it can take 8GB 1600Mhz modules as well, so I can upgrade it to 16GB....
by default specs, iMac early 2009 can only accept maximum 4GB 1067Mhz SODIMM modules.

Anyone has ever tried this please share your experience. Thank you.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

It works well with one 2GB 1067Mhz module and one 4GB 1333Mhz module combination. At 1067Mhz, automatically recognized.

 

[USB3foriMac]

There are 8GB 1066 on aliexpress; you can search for PC3-8500 or PC3-8500S. I found at least one.
You should also be able to use DDR3L; they are downwards compatible with DDR3. I am using DDR3L on one of my iMacs 2011, which officially also needs DDR3 (non-L). In addition, - generally - the faster RAMs are also compatble with slower speeds as they (should) contain the relevant information in their SPD EEPROM. Works also in my iMac 2011, which I use 12800 instead of 10600. However, 2009 model could be different, worth searching whether this was done before in this model. If you have a (faster) DDR3L RAM stick at hand, worth a try and don't forget to report back. Thanks.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

My experience is from PC, specifically: HP 8000 Elite USDT
It would not recognize DDR3 1600 modules, no DDR3L modules, just 1333Mhz modules or 1066Mhz modules only.
Anyway, I swap the two 2GB 1067Mhz modules in my iMac for the 4GB 1333Mhz in my HP USDT, and try to find 8GB 1333Mhz modules for testing purpose.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

There have been the same questions as mine and it's not solvable.
Maybe I just stick with the cheapest solution: 4GBx2=8GB and search for another iMac...

Thank you all.

16GB RAM on an iMac 24" (early 2009)? - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

To satisfy my own curiosity, last Saturday I brought my iMac early 2009 to a PC parts shop and tested 2 modules of 8GB DDR3 1333 SODIMM.
The result was: iMac refused to boot, continuous beeps indicated that the iMac could not recognize the RAM modules.

That put the end to my experiment.

8GB is also good enough. I'm running multi applications with multi-windows on, no problem at all.