riMac Upgrading RAM

[5iMacs]

It sounds like there's two versions of the crucial? 1600 and 1666 - or "premium"? Is this correct, or have I read things wrong?

Any suggestions on best place to order these for shipping in Canada (all in cost)? Can I buy at Best Buy? I'm in Vancouver

thanks

Here's the webpage for the 1866 MHz Crucial RAM:

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory-ballistix-sport-sodimm

It seems the designation is "performance", "gaming" RAM, because it more generally supports overclocking CPUs (just having faster RAM generally won't improve game performance as much as improving document viewing performance).

I'm not from Canada so I really don't know the best retail deals, just shop the model number around I guess (BLS2K8G3N18AES4)

Also don't sweat it too much. It's a nice tweak because it's only $30 more, but it's not that big a deal unless you're fairly obsessive.

 

[firsmith]

Here's the webpage for the 1866 MHz Crucial RAM:

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory-ballistix-sport-sodimm

It seems the designation is "performance", "gaming" RAM, because it more generally supports overlocking CPUs (just having faster RAM generally won't improve game performance as much as improving document viewing performance).

I'm not from Canada so I really don't know the best retail deals, just shop the model number around I guess (BLS2K8G3N18AES4)

Also don't sweat it too much. It's a nice tweak because it's only $30 more, but it's not that big a deal unless you're fairly obsessive.

much appreciated. Not worth the extra $30 for me it sounds like

 

[enroh]

much appreciated. Not worth the extra $30 for me it sounds like

im in Winnipeg and even from my distributors where I can buy at cost there is not much room to move. if yo buy 3rd party you may save 20-30 bucks at most if at all ... im ordering with the imac as it will be easier.

 

[craig1410]

One tip i'd add to anyone who is opening up that little door in the back to seat he RAM--

Use a suction cup to lift the panel off, as opposed to trying to lift the thing out with your fingernails. It is easier

Why not just pull out the power cable and use the RAM door eject button?

 

[Crunch]

One thing to keep in mind is to preserve dual-channel RAM support. This means putting the sticks in the correct order. Apple's support site has the answers for every specific Mac.

 

[craig1410]

One thing to keep in mind is to preserve dual-channel RAM support. This means putting the sticks in the correct order. Apple's support site has the answers for every specific Mac.

I tried to find guidance on this but all Apple's support doc said was that each of the 4 slots can take either a 4GB or 8GB SO-DIMM of the appropriate specification. There was no mention of any pairing of slots.

I want to know if getting 8GB now then adding an additional 16GB later would have any downsides.

 

[Crunch]

I tried to find guidance on this but all Apple's support doc said was that each of the 4 slots can take either a 4GB or 8GB SO-DIMM of the appropriate specification. There was no mention of any pairing of slots.

I want to know if getting 8GB now then adding an additional 16GB later would have any downsides.

If you are just adding RAM (not replacing) you'll be fine as far as retaining dual-channel RAM support. To be sure, take a look at the pic I attached. When you go to System Information (in the Utilities folder) and then click on Memory in the left pane, compare your RAM configuration to this and see if you installed it to support dual-channel. It's always best to install RAM in pairs, but you certainly can add one at a time as well.

Mind you, it'll only give you a 8-10% performance increase, but why waste it, right?

 

[adww12321]

Why not just pull out the power cable and use the RAM door eject button?

the eject button (at least on mine) only pops the cover out a few mm -- it is almost impossible to pull the panel out from that position with brute force, without damaging it.

OWC had a similar issue, i guess, as their video of RAM replacement in the rimac also used suction cups...

 

[ErikGrim]

the eject button (at least on mine) only pops the cover out a few mm -- it is almost impossible to pull the panel out from that position with brute force, without damaging it.

OWC had a similar issue, i guess, as their video of RAM replacement in the rimac also used suction cups...

Mine also popped out a few mm, but I had no problems removing it using only the apple sim tool on my keychain. No damage.

 

[Crunch]

I just swapped two memory sticks from my "old" iMac to my new one and yea, it's not easy. You really have to depress that little button hard and with one hand no less, as you have to use the other hand to take the panel off. I recommend a pen. That's what did it for me. If you press deep enough, the memory door actually pops off fairly easily.

 

[WilliamG]

I just swapped two memory sticks from my "old" iMac to my new one and yea, it's not easy. You really have to depress that little button hard and with one hand no less, as you have to use the other hand to take the panel off. I recommend a pen. That's what did it for me. If you press deep enough, the memory door actually pops off fairly easily.

Yep my RiMac's memory door was REALLY stiff. I just popped in my 32GB Corsair Vengeance from my 2012 iMac and it works a treat in my 2014 RiMac!

 

[CanadaRAM]

(Note that you lose 1/2 of the speed-up when you include the stock Apple RAM in the mix, so I've set those aside for now. It's interesting that you still get 1/2 the speed benefit though.)

Actually you will lose all of the speed-up. The memory bus will run at the speed of the slowest RAM installed, so if you leave the Apple modules in, it will run the Crucial at 1600 MHz

 

[5iMacs]

Actually you will lose all of the speed-up. The memory bus will run at the speed of the slowest RAM installed, so if you leave the Apple modules in, it will run the Crucial at 1600 MHz

What? Could Geekbench be lying to me?

Actually, you are correct, the RAM slows down to 1600. In this case (and I was referring to this RAM specifically) the lower CAS latency is apparently enough to boost the memory benchmarks by that amount.

 

[Hey Now]

Anything people should when upgrading the RAM in the new iMacs? Anyone have issues? Are certain brands better? Is there only one type that will work or could you buy a lesser quality or less optimized? I was going to order a kit made by Crucial.

I just installed an additional 2 x 4GB (8GB) of Crucial RAM into my base level iMac Retina 5K (now 16GB total in the system). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008LTBITY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . Install was smooth, RAM was recognized and everything is running as it should.

I considered installing a higher amount of RAM, but on a cost/benefit basis it didn't make sense for me. I was probably OK with 8GB, but added another 8 GB for future proofing and it only cost me $74 or so. I couldn't justify bumping up to 32GB.

 

[KasperFromDK]

If you are just adding RAM (not replacing) you'll be fine as far as retaining dual-channel RAM support. To be sure, take a look at the pic I attached. When you go to System Information (in the Utilities folder) and then click on Memory in the left pane, compare your RAM configuration to this and see if you installed it to support dual-channel. It's always best to install RAM in pairs, but you certainly can add one at a time as well.


Image


Mind you, it'll only give you a 8-10% performance increase, but why waste it, right?

So, does that mean you put the 2x8 RAMs into the empty slots or should the original RAM sticks be moved?

Sorry for asking noobie questions, but I'm indeed a noob here First ever MAC OS device (haven't arrived yet) and I'm usually not the kind of guy who fiddles with hardware.

I'm also planning to add 2x8 gigs of RAM resulting in 24GB in total.

 

[Crunch]

So, does that mean you put the 2x8 RAMs into the empty slots or should the original RAM sticks be moved?

Sorry for asking noobie questions, but I'm indeed a noob here First ever MAC OS device (haven't arrived yet) and I'm usually not the kind of guy who fiddles with hardware.

I'm also planning to add 2x8 gigs of RAM resulting in 24GB in total.

I just received my new iMac, and even though I really wanted to dive right in, I made myself move over the 2x8GB chips from my "old" iMac to the new one, and as someone else mentioned, it truly did give me a hard time opening it for the first time as well.

In response to your question, no, do NOT move the two 4GB chips. They're installed to support dual-channel. Simply add your two 8GB sticks and you're done. ;-)

 

[Jason_G]

I bought the base RAM and went 3rd-party with some premium Crucial RAM sticks (16GB), and it's been great, even though they are $30 more:

Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMM 16GB Kit (BLS2K8G3N18AES4)

These are recognized by the 5k iMac and automatically run at 1866 MHz. It's significantly faster than the stock RAM, about 25% on the Geekbench and other memory benchmarks.

Hi, I'm in the UK waiting for delivery of my riMac:

4.0GHz QC i7 Turboboost 4.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM-2X4GB
512GB Flash Storage
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5

I want to remove the stock RAM and put in 32Gb RAM, so I was going to buy 2 of these until I started reading this thread:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A15KH8GEK4WQL1

I wanted to future proof this purchase as much as possible so I was interested in the option of going for the 1866 MHz RAM instead.

I think I've found equivalent in the UK of Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMM 16GB Kit

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU?IMODULE=BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU

Does this look like it's the same thing and going to work etc?

Anyone found this/using 1866 MHz RAM in their riMac in the UK?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gibsonical]

I bought the Crucial Ballistix Sport 1866MHz myself. Still waiting on receiving them as well as my riMac. Pretty easy choice with the RAM after seeing the better benchmarks compared to the 1600MHz. Here in Denmark I was able to get the faster RAM at the same price as the 1600's. Can't wait to test it out once I receive my new toys #

 

[ian2000]

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU?IMODULE=BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU

Does this look like it's the same thing and going to work etc?

Anyone found this/using 1866 MHz RAM in their riMac in the UK?

Having been 100% satisfied with Kingston HyperX 1600MHz RAM in my 2013 iMac, I went with 32GB Kingston 1866MHz CL10 for my riMac:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KQCOT3Q

I've had this installed for a couple of weeks and it's working flawlessly at 1866MHz with very similar Geekbench 3 results to the ones I've seen for the Crucial 1866MHz RAM. The performance gains may be marginal, but it does work perfectly.

 

[Jason_G]

I want to remove the stock RAM and put in 32Gb RAM, so I was going to buy 2 of these until I started reading this thread:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A15KH8GEK4WQL1

I wanted to future proof this purchase as much as possible so I was interested in the option of going for the 1866 MHz RAM instead.

I think I've found equivalent in the UK of Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMM 16GB Kit

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU?IMODULE=BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU

Does this look like it's the same thing and going to work etc?

Anyone found this/using 1866 MHz RAM in their riMac in the UK?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks all, I think this may be the UK equivalent?..has anyone used this in their new riMac?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DSGLM...olid=34Z7FASZQEQUC&coliid=I5B2KYSDGYPAV&psc=1

Cheers

 

[MowingDevil]

I wanted to future proof this purchase as much as possible so I was interested in the option of going for the 1866 MHz RAM instead.

I think "future proofing" might be a gross exaggeration of the speed gains w/ the 1866 over the 1600s. I might actually go for them myself but it sounds like the difference is minimal, probably not noticeable to the user (aside from benchmark results & the placebo effect ).

 

[Jason_G]

I think "future proofing" might be a gross exaggeration of the speed gains w/ the 1866 over the 1600s.

Perhaps, but if I'm going to spend money on RAM now, I figured I may as well go for the best possible option for not much more cost by the sound of it..

 

[TerrorOFdeath]

I've gone and bought Kingston Black Impact 2133MHZ for my Retina iMac. 32Gb to be precise.

I ordered the one with only 8GB.

Tod

 

[TheBearman]

I've gone and bought Kingston Black Impact 2133MHZ for my Retina iMac. 32Gb to be precise.

Let us know how it goes. At some point I'd think the performance gains, as small as they are, will level out.

 

[happyhacking]

Are this working on your retina imac ?

I've gone and bought Kingston Black Impact 2133MHZ for my Retina iMac. 32Gb to be precise.

I ordered the one with only 8GB.

Tod

Are this working on your retina imac ? Please let us know when tested