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iMac memory

G

gsusser

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 20, 2012
313
17
Medellín, Colombia
Stoopid noobie here, just joined, never installed memory. This has sort of been discussed, just wanna make sure I'm making the right choice.

I have a 27" Mid 2011 2.7GHz Core i5 with 8GB of memory. I want to purchase the max memory which is 8GB more for a total of 16, right? [On some site I saw a table that showed something like actual = 16GB and another column that indicated the maximum was 32kGB, which totally confused me.]

I looked at OWC and Crucial. Crucial is $45 and OWC $56. Are these the best choices and, if so, should I go with Crucial since they're cheaper?

Thanks!
 
The 2011 iMac can take up to 32 GB RAM via four 8 GB 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM modules.
As you either already have four 2 GB modules to get to 8 GB or hopefully have two 4 GB modules, your decision depends on that.
Go to :apple: > About This Mac > More Info > Memory to see your configuration.
As for places to get RAM, Newegg is a good place.
 
Thanks for the response. But now I'm really confused. The apple support site states "The maximum amount of RAM you can install in your computer is 16 GB (a 4 GB SO-DIMM in each slot)." I got that from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4621.

As for the types of modules installed, how do I determine that from looking at my configuration? For memory, all it states is: "Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3"

Sorry for my confusion.
 
gsusser said:
Thanks for the response. But now I'm really confused. The apple support site states "The maximum amount of RAM you can install in your computer is 16 GB (a 4 GB SO-DIMM in each slot)." I got that from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4621.

As for the types of modules installed, how do I determine that from looking at my configuration? For memory, all it states is: "Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3"

Sorry for my confusion.
Click to expand...

Apple does not always state the correct maximum amount. The 2011 MBPs for example can take up to 32 GB RAM, but since only 8 GB 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM modules exist, it is limited to 16 GB and Apple states 8 GB as limit.
See here for the actual specifications for YOUR iMac.

As you either have Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or Mac OS X 10.7 Lion there are two ways to find out, how your four RAM slots are used.
In Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: :apple: > About This Mac > More Info > Hardware > Memory
In Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: :apple: > More Info > Overview > System Report > Hardware > Memory.

Was the above instruction less confusing?
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Apple does not always state the correct maximum amount. The 2011 MBPs for example can take up to 32 GB RAM, but since only 8 GB 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM modules exist, it is limited to 16 GB and Apple states 8 GB as limit.
See here for the actual specifications for YOUR iMac.

As you either have Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or Mac OS X 10.7 Lion there are two ways to find out, how your four RAM slots are used.
In Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: :apple: > About This Mac > More Info > Hardware > Memory
In Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: :apple: > More Info > Overview > System Report > Hardware > Memory.

Was the above instruction less confusing?
Click to expand...

Well, that sure is food for thought, haha. I never thought it would be this complicated.

Per my system report, I am using 2 banks with 4GB of DDR3 1333 MHz with 2 slots empty.

So, at this point, the best I can do is 8GB more by getting 2 more 4GB sticks, right?

And last, what do the vote up or down arrows connotate? Is it similar to the apple support forums where the poster indicates a question was answered? I'd like to at least give you a vote of thanks.
 
Generally you want to keep all the RAM sticks the same amount to keep the performance consistent. And yes the up and down are comment ratings.
 
I called Crucial. They do have 8GB sticks but highly recommended against it because they say Apple doesn't recommend it. I have a call in to Apple but don't have much hope of gettting a good answer.
 
Richdmoore said:
Owc tests apple computers independently, The 2011 iMac can take 32g of ram, vs the 16 maximum that apple states.


http://eshop.macsales.com/memory/maxram


I plan to increase from 16 to 32 at some point, just waiting for it to get cheaper.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for that. I did speak with a senior tech and he said going beyond 16gb not only voids the warranty, but can cause damage to the computer. So, I guess I'm at a crossroads. It's hard to believe that a reputable company like OWC can have such a drastically different opinion.

In any event, if I decide to go with 8gb sticks, can I leave the two 4gb sticks that I have or would that be a problem. So, I would go with two 8's and two 4's.
 
gsusser said:
Wow, thanks for that. I did speak with a senior tech and he said going beyond 16gb not only voids the warranty, but can cause damage to the computer.
Click to expand...
That is absolutely false. It does not void the warranty and it does not damage the computer in any way.

You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum RAM:
 
I was all set to buy it, then I took a look at the price. 16gb is $160 compared to about $45 for two 4gb sticks.

What prompted me to look for more memory was for playing movies. I'm freezing a bit too often for movies I've downloaded and buffering quite a bit for streaming. I also keep a lot of stuff open at once and I'd like to be able to continue to do so without having issues. I have a lot of tabs open in the browser plus I always have iTunes playing and often working on an excel document.

I imagine going to a total of 16gb would solve these issues. But then I wonder, if my needs change and in a year or these programs get bigger, I might find myself needing more memory. Then, I might as well throw out the money I spent on the 4gb stick upgrades. The choice is this:

Buy 8gb in two 4 gb sticks to give me a total of 16gb, or
Buy 16gb in two 8gb sticks to give me a total of 24gb.

Decisions! I'm all ears.
 
gsusser said:
I was all set to buy it, then I took a look at the price. 16gb is $160 compared to about $45 for two 4gb sticks.

What prompted me to look for more memory was for playing movies. I'm freezing a bit too often for movies I've downloaded and buffering quite a bit for streaming. I also keep a lot of stuff open at once and I'd like to be able to continue to do so without having issues. I have a lot of tabs open in the browser plus I always have iTunes playing and often working on an excel document.

I imagine going to a total of 16gb would solve these issues. But then I wonder, if my needs change and in a year or these programs get bigger, I might find myself needing more memory. Then, I might as well throw out the money I spent on the 4gb stick upgrades. The choice is this:

Buy 8gb in two 4 gb sticks to give me a total of 16gb, or
Buy 16gb in two 8gb sticks to give me a total of 24gb.

Decisions! I'm all ears.
Click to expand...

I doubt that your current 8GB is causing the video to pause, I had few problems playing 1080p stuff on my previous MBA that only had 2GB and certainly not now on my 4GB MBA, you should run activity monitor whilst playing the movies to check if it's maxing out your RAM. Buffering is normally not your RAM I don't think...?

Having said that, i'd say 32GB is overkill personally, 16GB max for your needs is plenty enough.
 
For $100 though, overkill or not, it seems worth it just in case.

Can someone confirm if that amazon link for CMSO16GX3M2A1333C9 is the correct item for my computer? I don't even see it listed on the Corsair site. For that matter, unless I'm blind, Corsair doesn't have my computer listed. The closest is my model with 3.1ghz.

Thanks to all.
 
Before purchasing more RAM you should have a look in the activity Monitor and post here the memory usage it tells you. Its quite possible that the stuttering has absolutely nothing to do with RAM.
Restarting your iMac frees up memory, so you can do that either every night, or when ever. That way you will have a full 8GB of RAM available to you every day instead of large amounts of memory still being clogged up from activities down in previous days. If you are a person who never turns off their mac then more memory is better.
 
I don't completely understand how to use the monitor, but it seems you guys are right, my problems don't appear to be caused by lack of memory. The screen shot was taken with lots of tabs in google chrome open, streaming a movie, playing a movie and iTunes open. Chrome seems to be taking up the biggest chunk.

/Users/gsusser/Desktop/Screen Shot 2012-06-20 at 4.02.59 PM.png
 
I thought I did, here goes again.
 

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it pays off to get onto the NewEgg Mailing list:

I just picked up 32GB of RAM (4 8GB Sticks) for my mini's for 164 bucks - they had a 24 hour sale going on monday.


Really, at 40 bucks a stick for 8GB modules, there isn't really a lot of reasons not to max things out - even if you honestly don't need that much right now.
 

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gsusser said:
Great learning experience, thanks.

Page outs are 0 and swap is also 0.
Click to expand...

As of this screenshot, you don't really need more RAM right now, if that is shot after a day of typical usage.

Btw, you screenshot is still quite big, coming from a 27" and may look too big on a 13" MB/A/P or even 20" iMac (which I currently use).
 
simsaladimbamba said:
As of this screenshot, you don't really need more RAM right now, if that is shot after a day of typical usage.

Btw, you screenshot is still quite big, coming from a 27" and may look too big on a 13" MB/A/P or even 20" iMac (which I currently use).
Click to expand...

Just to put a period on this... would increasing my memory provide any benefit or would I be throwing away my money?
 
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