Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
RAM Question
- Thread starter dvdlovr24
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
oh wow, I thought you needed to take the screens off on these things to upgrade it.
thats ALOT easier
now to find some compatible RAM...
You can save a bit by getting 2X8 for a total of 24GB with the existing 8. It is very, very unlikely you'll use above that amount. And if you do, you can get the extra RAM later. But if you go to 32, it is like paying $80 bucks or so for 8GB RAM you may never use.
In case people are looking for options this where I got mine (I've bought from them before and had no problems). I called them just to be sure it was compatible with today's release and the very nice customer service rep said it was.
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/Retina-5K2015/DDR3L
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/Retina-5K2015/DDR3L
As far as I know they are quite reputable. When I upgraded my ram on my 2007 iMac I bought from them and had no problems at all.
OWC products have varying degrees of reliability. I have been pretty lucky. I bought an OWC SSD a while back for my 2012 MacBook Pro. It died about 4 months later. They had a new one at my door 2 days later. Their customer service and warranty are excellent. A lot of people trust their ram from what I have read.
Side Note: OWC says the 2015 iMac is compatible up to 64GB...
Side Note: OWC says the 2015 iMac is compatible up to 64GB...
Like above posters, soliciting RAM help/clarification here if possible. Want to max out RAM to 32GB (am assuming 64GB RAM not available?) after-market to save some $$ (as per above posters), so in configuration which do you select Option 1 or Option 2 and then upgrade?
Option 1: 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
or
Option 2: 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB (+ $200 USD)
Prob. a stupid question I realize, but haven't done this before and unsure how many "slots" for RAM there are. Could I go w/Option 1 and buy the remaining 24GB RAM after-market (3x8GBs assuming the "slots" take 8GB capacity), or do you need to go w/Option 2 because these are the only "slots" that accept 8GB capacity (and thereby buy 2x8GBs to get to 32GB capacity)?
And, is there a better RAM that works or is it generally all the same (i.e. just plug and play and no difference between them).
Appreciate any clarification!
Option 1: 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
or
Option 2: 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB (+ $200 USD)
Prob. a stupid question I realize, but haven't done this before and unsure how many "slots" for RAM there are. Could I go w/Option 1 and buy the remaining 24GB RAM after-market (3x8GBs assuming the "slots" take 8GB capacity), or do you need to go w/Option 2 because these are the only "slots" that accept 8GB capacity (and thereby buy 2x8GBs to get to 32GB capacity)?
And, is there a better RAM that works or is it generally all the same (i.e. just plug and play and no difference between them).
Appreciate any clarification!
If this unit is anything like the most recent iMacs, it will come with the below configuration standard:
slot 1: 4GB stick
slot 2: 4gb stick
slot 3: empty
slot 4: empty
No matter how you go about upgrading, ram tends to perform better in pairs. So either add two more 4GB sticks for 16GB total, or add two 8GB sticks for 24GB total. Either configuration will work well.
Vetruvian,
Thx to you & Aspekt's link, starting to get it...appreciate it!
So, keep the 2x4GB sticks and buy 2x8GBs to get 24GB total (cheapest option).....or just remove (assuming you can remove them) the two 4GB sticks and buy 4x8GBs for 32GB total and don't have to pay the $200USD upgrade from 8GB to 16GB (next cheapest option). Am I missing anything?
Yep, you got it. And 100% you can remove the included 4Gb sticks. Sell em on eBay for 20-40 bucks. I would never recommend upgrading the ram through Apple. Unless my grandma was purchasing the computer maybe. Even then, I'd probably just upgrade it for her lol.
Is there a major difference between 24GB vs 32GB? This seems like a nice option; and I want to make sure its the best option for me.
Unless your doing major video/photo editing or running a bunch of VMs, 99.9999999% of the time your system will never use more than 16GB of ram. So 24Gb and 32GB is almost always overkill for most users. I'm kinda OCD, so I avoid installing mismatched capacities. I will probably add 2 4GB sticks. Then down the road I can upgrade to 32Gb if needed.
The simplest way to put it is if you need more than 16GB of ram, you will most certainly know why you need it.
Skylake processors support DDR4 memory. Did Apple go out of their way to put in a crippled motherboard that would prevent DDR4 memory from working properly? That would seem too much trouble. Perhaps OP should investigate if DDR4 memory would work in the latest 27 retina iMac?
You won't find a better vendor than OWC, well with the exception of Apple of course.
Awesome thanks for your input. I'm also OCD about having different Ram as well.
I've had a 16GB Ram rMBP and it has helped me at times working on very heavy PSD files for my images; and sometimes 16GB wasn't enough. I'll definitely upgrade to the 32GB should be plenty as I do video editing and major photo editing.
Cheers.
As someone who is completely clueless in terms of finding compatible memory, can anyone point me in the right direction if I wanted to pick up 64GB of RAM via Crucial? I've heard their prices are better than OWC with the reliability the same. Looking to save a few dollars off the $1,000+ price tag on OWC's 64GB kit if possible.
Just to confirm, this is the same ram you mentioned and would work on the 27' iMac i just ordered? Also when I install it do I just put them in the 2 empty slots or do I need to change the order?
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Balli...63&sr=8-2&keywords=Crucial+Ballistix+1866+MHz
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.