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people who upgraded memory on their own. shine in please.
- Thread starter steveoh
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Yes it's easy. A 1GB upgrade is probably enough. Make sure you get DDR2-667, DDR2-800 is a waste of money.
Could you please explain to someone who does not really understand why the 800 is a waste of money? I'm thinking of buying a 2gb card and any help would greatly be appreciated.
Because the bus isn't fast enough to take advantage of the speed.
It would be like putting high octane gas into a Honda Accord. Sure, it's good gas, but it's not going to make your car any faster.
I just ordered 4 gb for my iMac from OWC......it'll get here on monday. I am a little scared because I have never installed ram in any machine.....
but from what I read the hardest part is not stripping out the screw...other then that, it's a walk in the park.
but from what I read the hardest part is not stripping out the screw...other then that, it's a walk in the park.
MacRumors Guide to Intel Mac RAM
Installing RAM in the iMac (and MacBook) is easy enough with 2 caveats
1) Get the right size screwdriver to fit the screw tightly, use no other. Be SERIOUS about bearing down on the driver to hold the tip in as you make the first turn. Do not let the driver ride up and out of the screw, otherwise you can ruin the screw and you'd be...well... drivered.
2) When you push the RAM into the socket, you cannot see what you are doing. The RAM will go in about 1 inch and stop. IT IS NOT INSTALLED YET. You need to get both thumbs on the RAM and push it in 1/8" (2mm) more to get the pins fully seated into the contacts. I can't stress this enough - 50% of RAM 'failure' on these machines is actually a failure to push it in hard enough.
Note: I have edited the Installing RAM Guide with this info
I did my upgrade in about 3 minutes, from the time it took to unplug everything, to reconnecting and plugging it all back in.
Replacing RAM was really easy. Just follow the instructions in your Everything Mac book and it should be a breeze.
Assuming you have 1G in your iMac now, I would buy a 2GB module. That should be plenty, but if you decide you ever want to max out your RAM, you would only need to buy 1 more module.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item-maillist/Other World Computing/5300DDR2S2GB/
Assuming you have 1G in your iMac now, I would buy a 2GB module. That should be plenty, but if you decide you ever want to max out your RAM, you would only need to buy 1 more module.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item-maillist/Other World Computing/5300DDR2S2GB/
I'll weigh in here and say that I put 2 chips in my new 2.8 GHz iMac (24 inch model). Each chip was 2 GB, for a total of 4 GB.
I bought them from Ramjet:
http://www.ramjet.com/imi.asp
It was a piece of cake to do, didn't cost much money, and it sure increases my ability to run a lot of memory-intensive applications at once! Hooray!
By the way, I'm not affiliated with Ramjet at all..... just a happy customer. I've relied on them for many years.
I bought them from Ramjet:
http://www.ramjet.com/imi.asp
It was a piece of cake to do, didn't cost much money, and it sure increases my ability to run a lot of memory-intensive applications at once! Hooray!
By the way, I'm not affiliated with Ramjet at all..... just a happy customer. I've relied on them for many years.
If youre smart enough to do one of these:
Then you have the skills to upgrade every single component in a computer.
Dont waste money on name brands like Crucial or high grade memory on a mac, it doesnt make sense. High end PC memory is meant to handle overclocking, you cant do that on a mac so dont get it. If Apple doesnt go for high end ram then why should you? Just go to newegg.com and find some memory with a high user rating and cheap price (G Skill seems to be the new star for great quality memory at very low prices, theres also Rosewill).
Then you have the skills to upgrade every single component in a computer.
Dont waste money on name brands like Crucial or high grade memory on a mac, it doesnt make sense. High end PC memory is meant to handle overclocking, you cant do that on a mac so dont get it. If Apple doesnt go for high end ram then why should you? Just go to newegg.com and find some memory with a high user rating and cheap price (G Skill seems to be the new star for great quality memory at very low prices, theres also Rosewill).
it's very, very easy.
as said ^ make sure the screwdriver is aboot the right size. seems like most problems are with 20" not the 24"
hardest part is gently laying the system face down before sticking in the memory. use a towel for padding
as said ^ make sure the screwdriver is aboot the right size. seems like most problems are with 20" not the 24"
hardest part is gently laying the system face down before sticking in the memory. use a towel for padding
I bought a 1gig module from Newegg.com. I'm a big fan of Transcend memory. My memory with shipping was $48-, and it's been working great! I was pleasantly surprised at the big improvement in performance with just a single gig. The money was well spent.
After reading all this I'm starting to feel worse than a monkey....
I bought this: http://www.memoryc.com/products/des...5300-667MHz_SO_DIMM_200_pin_module/index.html which seems right, I opened the ram door without problem but I never managed to push the module in, like I couldn't produce enough strength. Is there really so much resistance?
I wanted to take out the original module on the right and put it back in to have a feel about the strength needed, but I didn't even manage to pull that one out. I couldn't get a grip on the plastic strip.
What should I do to install my new memory module? Ask a second person to help me by pushing against the oposite side of the computer?
Thanks for any help!!
I bought this: http://www.memoryc.com/products/des...5300-667MHz_SO_DIMM_200_pin_module/index.html which seems right, I opened the ram door without problem but I never managed to push the module in, like I couldn't produce enough strength. Is there really so much resistance?
I wanted to take out the original module on the right and put it back in to have a feel about the strength needed, but I didn't even manage to pull that one out. I couldn't get a grip on the plastic strip.
What should I do to install my new memory module? Ask a second person to help me by pushing against the oposite side of the computer?
Thanks for any help!!
It definitely shouldn't be so hard. Don't force the RAM, while removing or installing it! Just take it easy. Maybe see if somebody you know has done it before, because you should have to push hard or pull hard.
I'm really surprised about this....
When did it I was surprised about the amount of force needed, I had to brace the imac with one hand to prevent it moving on the table.
PCB was bending slightly before it finally went home. Shouldn't be that tight, I can understand a good firm fit but it did seem bit OTT.
If I remember right there is a notch on the bottom side, you want to make sure the noth is closer to the right side. In other words, you may be putting it in the wrong way. Be careful not to force it, you'd be better off taking in to the Apple store if you're not sure of yourself.