Ram for new iMac

[MirrorMan]

I am hoping to buy the new iMac when it comes out. I am looking for advice on the best ( cheapest) way to get a decent amount of ram. It seems that crucial is a good place to buy ram. Do I have to buy the extra ram in the same size units as the one that comes with the iMac.
Say as an example I want to end up with a gig of ram. What is the best size unit to order with the iMac so that I can buy most of the ram from crucial?
Does putting in extra ram yourself affect the warranty?

Thanks for any help.

 

[vraxtus]

I am hoping to buy the new iMac when it comes out. I am looking for advice on the best ( cheapest) way to get a decent amount of ram. It seems that crucial is a good place to buy ram. Do I have to buy the extra ram in the same size units as the one that comes with the iMac.
Say as an example I want to end up with a gig of ram. What is the best size unit to order with the iMac so that I can buy most of the ram from crucial?
Does putting in extra ram yourself affect the warranty?

Thanks for any help.

No one will know this until the iMacs are released and we are told how many RAM slots they have...

 

[Le Big Mac]

I am hoping to buy the new iMac when it comes out. I am looking for advice on the best ( cheapest) way to get a decent amount of ram. It seems that crucial is a good place to buy ram. Do I have to buy the extra ram in the same size units as the one that comes with the iMac.
Say as an example I want to end up with a gig of ram. What is the best size unit to order with the iMac so that I can buy most of the ram from crucial?
Does putting in extra ram yourself affect the warranty?

Thanks for any help.

Crucial is a good place. Since we don't know what the new iMac will be like, it's a bit hard to say, but if it's typical apple, there will be at least one memory slot that can't be accessed easily. You would probably want to put the maximum amount of memory in there, and then buy 3d party RAM elsewhere and put it in the user-accessible slot.

For example, on the current (old) iMac, you could get either 256 or 512 in the built-in slot. If you wanted to have a full GB, you had to get 512 in that slot, so it made sense to pay Apple the premium up front, rather than the service fee for going in later. The other slot was easy to install your own, so you could buy another 512 from crucial or elsewhere and DIY.

 

[Koree]

Putting in Ram does not void the warrenty to the furthest of my knowledge to any apple product.

Koree

 

[MirrorMan]

Crucial is a good place. Since we don't know what the new iMac will be like, it's a bit hard to say, but if it's typical apple, there will be at least one memory slot that can't be accessed easily. You would probably want to put the maximum amount of memory in there, and then buy 3d party RAM elsewhere and put it in the user-accessible slot.

For example, on the current (old) iMac, you could get either 256 or 512 in the built-in slot. If you wanted to have a full GB, you had to get 512 in that slot, so it made sense to pay Apple the premium up front, rather than the service fee for going in later. The other slot was easy to install your own, so you could buy another 512 from crucial or elsewhere and DIY.

Thanks for the replies.
Le Big Mac, if you put the max ram possible into the built-in slot (e.g.512) is that what they mean by saying 512 1 DIMM as opposed to 512 2 Dimm?

 

[numark]

Putting in Ram does not void the warrenty to the furthest of my knowledge to any apple product.

Koree

Mainly because it's against the law to have a warranty that states you can only use a certain manufacturer's add-ons. It's the sort of thing that (I believe) Lexmark got in trouble for in the past. Just as you can't say that a printer has a warranty only when you use the manufacturer's cartridges, Apple can't tie their warranty to using only Apple RAM. Now, if you break the RAM slot in the process of installing third-party RAM, then they can deny warranties. In that case, it wasn't the act of merely using third-party RAM that caused the problem, it was abuse to the hardware.

More reading: Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

 

[~Shard~]

Thanks for the replies.
Le Big Mac, if you put the max ram possible into the built-in slot (e.g.512) is that what they mean by saying 512 1 DIMM as opposed to 512 2 Dimm?

Yes, that's correct - 512 2 DIMMs, depending on the context, would refer to either 2 512 modules, or 2 256 modules, to add up to 512. But yes, for what I'm thinking you want to do, you want to max out your built-in slot (if the new iMacs even are designed this way) with one large stick of RAM, then expand it using third party RAM, which will be way cheaper than Apple's RAM. And no, this will not void your warranty.

In the end though, you'll just have to wait and see how the new iMacs are designed to determine the best course of action.

 

[timsq]

Putting in Ram does not void the warrenty to the furthest of my knowledge to any apple product.

Koree

Unfortunatly, this is not true. I had to have a "pro" install the internal RAM in my iMac FP. I got CompUSA to do it, since they install the RAM they sell for free. This is the only product with this issue. It has to do with thermal paste and heat transfer plates. Why chance it? At least it's out of warranty now.

 

[jsw]

Unfortunatly, this is not true. I had to have a "pro" install the internal RAM in my iMac FP. I got CompUSA to do it, since they install the RAM they sell for free. This is the only product with this issue. It has to do with thermal paste and heat transfer plates. Why chance it? At least it's out of warranty now.

Eh? I've got an iMac FP, and the Apple Store rep gave me the RAM to install myself. They laser-engrave the instructions to do so on the base plate as well as telling you what to do in the owner's manual. There is no thermal paste involved, nor heat transfer plates. You unscrew a few screws on the bottom (three, I think - it's been a while) with your fingers or a dime, plug in the RAM, and reverse the process. It could not be easier.

 

[~Shard~]

Unfortunatly, this is not true. I had to have a "pro" install the internal RAM in my iMac FP. I got CompUSA to do it, since they install the RAM they sell for free. This is the only product with this issue. It has to do with thermal paste and heat transfer plates. Why chance it? At least it's out of warranty now.

Yes it is true, actually - I installed RAM all on my own and it did not void my warranty. As for your "thermal paste" and "heat transfer plates" comments, these only come into play if you are wanting to swap out your non-user-accessible RAM in the first DIMM slot. If all you want to do is install your own RAM in the expansion slot underneath the iMac, it takes about 2 minutes - undo 3 screws, snap the memory in, put bottom plate back one, done! Not sure exactly where you're coming from on this, sounds like you're confused...

 

[~Shard~]

Eh? I've got an iMac FP, and the Apple Store rep gave me the RAM to install myself. They laser-engrave the instructions to do so on the base plate as well as telling you what to do in the owner's manual. There is no thermal paste involved, nor heat transfer plates. You unscrew a few screws on the bottom (three, I think - it's been a while) with your fingers or a dime, plug in the RAM, and reverse the process. It could not be easier.

Thanks jsw, you're correct on all of this, like I stated in my above post as well.

And nice new avatar - I see an "orb/sphere" theme going with your past couple ones though, or is that just coincidence?