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Late 2012 21.5in iMac RAM is upgradeable!

charlieroberts

charlieroberts

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 5, 2007
596
113
I thought I would share this;

OWC saves the day

There is hope! Although It does not look like an easy procedure! But if you have the guts and want to save a couple of bucks...
 
"Professional Installation Recommended
It is required that heat be applied to the perimeter of the iMac to enable
the removal of the screen to access the memory bays inside."
 
From ifixit:
You'll have to masterfully peel off the old double-sided sticky tape and apply new tape in order to reseal this iMac into original condition.
 
It's not about saving 81$...It's about not putting all the money upfront, and spreading over a period of time. Same issue with the SSD.
 
tuccillo said:
All of that to save $81 plus perhaps invalidate your warranty?
Click to expand...

hey guess what? not everyone lives in the US. here in Russia I'd have to wait a month and pay about 450-500$ for BTO 16GB RAM ONLY! Yep, our resellers are THAT good =)
the same thing with SSD btw, I'd rather purchase 256GB rMBP-format SSD at eBay for 350$ total and install it myself than pay apple's resellers twice more for Fusion Drive which is only 128GB.
 
I love ifixit tear downs....


Step 18 ¶
  • Good news: The iMac's RAM is "user-replaceable."
  • Bad news: You have to unglue your screen and remove the logic board in order to do so.
  • This is just barely less-terrible than having soldered RAM that's completely non-removable.
  • Our bargain-basement unit has a solid 8 GB of Hynix PC3-12800 RAM.
Click to expand...
 
bbucy said:
I love ifixit tear downs....
Click to expand...

I like their pictures, but I dislike their heavy-handed, biased, and often inaccurate commentary.

  • They say you have to "unglue the screen", but it appears to be taped, not glued.
  • They claim to be surprised that the glass is glued to the screen, but this was one of the keynote features that Apple has been bragging about.
  • In some reviews they complain bitterly about "non standard" screws, while at the same time selling inexpensive tools to work with them.
  • etc.

Except for the adhesive holding the screen assembly (which I agree is unfortunate), this iMac seems VERY serviceable from the info I've seen so far.
 
MeFromHere said:
It looks more like adhesive tape, not glue. Tape is WAY easier to deal with in many cases.
Click to expand...

I just checked out iFixit, it's foam adhesive, I used that stuff lots of time, and we throw away lots.( 2 sizes, only one needed)
If it is exactly the same we use in Electrical cabinets you don't need a heatgun, it is fairly strong but it rips apart easily with a bit of force.
 
The biggest drawback I see is the lack of a duel hard drive capability. Well have to wait and see how 27" tear down fair any differently. I opted for a 27" 1TB fusion. I am assuming that in the future I can switch out 1TB drive for an SSD for an all SSD setup.
 
Serviceable, but scary.. Just replaced the HDD on my mid-2007 iMac; I partially sheared a guide pin pulling the glass.

With the fused glass/LCD, the increase resistance of the foam adhesive, I assume there are still guide pins and magnets; in other words, lot more gotchas (e.g. Opps) pulling that screen.... Wouldn't want to do it just to upgrade some RAM on a 21.5 inch.
 
bbucy said:
Serviceable, but scary.. Just replaced the HDD on my mid-2007 iMac; I partially sheared a guide pin pulling the glass.

With the fused glass/LCD, the increase resistance of the foam adhesive, I assume there are still guide pins and magnets; in other words, lot more gotchas (e.g. Opps) pulling that screen.... Wouldn't want to do it just to upgrade some RAM on a 21.5 inch.
Click to expand...

I took a steel safety pin with me to the Apple store yesterday. It easily found the magnets on the 2011 iMac. I couldn't feel a hint of a magnet on the 2012 model.
 
I'd rather spend the extra cash and not be stuck with a broken comp due to my idiocy. I remember taking apart Lego sets after being built and It never looked the same reassembled.
 
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