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iMac 8,1 memory max??

kirkbross

kirkbross

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 6, 2007
666
22
Los Angeles
On the apple site it says 4GB is the max memory capacity for the iMac 8,1 (early 2008). On the Macsales site it says 6GB which seems like an odd number for a dual channel max.

Can I buy two 4GB DIMMS and put 8GB in there?

If not, what is the technical reason out of curiosity?
 
kirkbross said:
On the apple site it says 4GB is the max memory capacity for the iMac 8,1 (early 2008). On the Macsales site it says 6GB which seems like an odd number for a dual channel max.

Can I buy two 4GB DIMMS and put 8GB in there?

If not, what is the technical reason out of curiosity?
Click to expand...

You can put 6 GB into the early 2008 iMac; a 4GB stick and a 2GB stick. What you lose in dual channel speed you gain in RAM-intensive applications (like Aperture, Photoshop, etc.) I have the 6GB in my 2008 iMac now; upgraded from 4GB a couple of weeks ago and have noticed no slowdowns, yet way less beach balls on my Aperture sessions.

Here's an old forum thread on this topic...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/607076/
 
iMac 8,1 memory max??

Does anyone know where you can find a 4gb chip, when I look on places like tigerdirect I can only find 2x2gb chips to equal 4gb PC6400 800MHz memory.
 
Sorry to bump this thread, wondered whether you guys could help me.

I also have an 8.1 2008 iMac with 2gb of ram, and have been looking into upgrading to 6gb..

However all the links i have seen provided in here and in the forum go back to OWC, which seems to be abit steep and i also gather that it would cost more to ship to the UK.

Could any of you lot let me know whether this one i have found would be the same?

http://www.clevedons.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1248&c=01&i=B0027IVMBY

Thanks in advance!
 
essuk88 said:
Sorry to bump this thread, wondered whether you guys could help me.

I also have an 8.1 2008 iMac with 2gb of ram, and have been looking into upgrading to 6gb..

However all the links i have seen provided in here and in the forum go back to OWC, which seems to be abit steep and i also gather that it would cost more to ship to the UK.

Could any of you lot let me know whether this one i have found would be the same?

http://www.clevedons.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1248&c=01&i=B0027IVMBY

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Yes. That is the exact same spec as the owc one, except the color.
 
essuk88 said:
Sorry to bump this thread, wondered whether you guys could help me.

I also have an 8.1 2008 iMac with 2gb of ram, and have been looking into upgrading to 6gb..

However all the links i have seen provided in here and in the forum go back to OWC, which seems to be abit steep and i also gather that it would cost more to ship to the UK.

Could any of you lot let me know whether this one i have found would be the same?

http://www.clevedons.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1248&c=01&i=B0027IVMBY

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

have you tried www.ebuyer.com i'm sure get cheaper from them look for the corsair" laptop memory as have one in my comp works perfectly. it's number to look for is-VS4GSDS800D2 G
or if you not live far from iver nr uxbridge got spare u can have for £20. as i tried 8gb mem run ok till use ram intensive prog then got kernel panics etc.
 
Last edited:
kpgh554 said:
have you tried www.ebuyer.com i'm sure get cheaper from them look for the corsair" laptop memory as have one in my comp works perfectly. it's number to look for is-VS4GSDS800D2 G
or if you not live far from iver nr uxbridge got spare u can have for £20. as i tried 8gb mem run ok till use ram intensive prog then got kernel panics etc.
Click to expand...

Sorry, only just seen your reply! Unfortunately i live a few hours away from Uxbridge but thanks anyway!

So would either of these fit too?!

http://www.ebuyer.com/164768-corsair-4gb-ddr2-800mhz-laptop-memory-vs4gsds800d2

http://www.ebuyer.com/166994-crucial-4gb-ddr2-800mhz-laptop-memory-ct51264ac800

or even this as a cheaper, short term alternative??

http://uk.webuy.com/product.php?sku=SMEMLAP4GB200
 
essuk88 said:
Sorry, only just seen your reply! Unfortunately i live a few hours away from Uxbridge but thanks anyway!

So would either of these fit too?!

http://www.ebuyer.com/164768-corsair-4gb-ddr2-800mhz-laptop-memory-vs4gsds800d2

http://www.ebuyer.com/166994-crucial-4gb-ddr2-800mhz-laptop-memory-ct51264ac800

or even this as a cheaper, short term alternative??

http://uk.webuy.com/product.php?sku=SMEMLAP4GB200
Click to expand...

they will all fit but the webuy sounds like it used item. i'd still recomend the first as have in my comp and had no probs at all with it
 
Hi kpgh554.

I live Datchet not far from iver and I would like to buy your spare 4GB ram off you if you still keen to sell. I'm also looking to do the same upgrade as everyone else. Could you drop me an email on miller.lauren@yahoo.co.uk if you keen. I'll come pick up and pay cash whenever it suits.

Thanks a lot.
 
Back the original question posed by the OP . . .

kirkbross said:
On the apple site it says 4GB is the max memory capacity for the iMac 8,1 (early 2008). On the Macsales site it says 6GB which seems like an odd number for a dual channel max.

Can I buy two 4GB DIMMS and put 8GB in there?

If not, what is the technical reason out of curiosity?
Click to expand...

Does anyone REALLY have a precise, and accurate answer to this question?

Earlier models had a 3GB limit, but that was driven more by OS limitations (32-bit with 32-bit Mem. Controller).

The E8235 Core 2 Duo chip is advertised as a 64-bit chip; wasn't the Penryn chipset 64-bit capable as well? If it was then the 6GB limit can only be attributed to crippled memory controller, hmmm Apple wouldn't intentionally do such a thing; would they?
 
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