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Upgrade RAM or Processor?

C

cuencap

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 12, 2011
265
272
I use my iMac for all of the basic functions (web, email, iTunes, iPhoto, etc). No gaming.

Should I get the low end 21.5" iMac with 16GB RAM (in the past, I've liked upgrading RAM at the 2-3yr mark to increase speed and elongate the usage for me) or getting the higher end 21.5" with 8GB RAM?
 
cuencap said:
I use my iMac for all of the basic functions (web, email, iTunes, iPhoto, etc). No gaming.

Should I get the low end 21.5" iMac with 16GB RAM (in the past, I've liked upgrading RAM at the 2-3yr mark to increase speed and elongate the usage for me) or getting the higher end 21.5" with 8GB RAM?
Click to expand...

First question: what kind of machine are you replacing?

If I were in your shoes I'd spend on the extra RAM. Processors are awfully capable at this point; I doubt you'd even notice a difference between the base and upgraded machine for the stuff you're doing. On the other hand, more RAM will help down the road as the OS and apps get larger.
 
I'm replacing a 20" late 2006 iMac. Don't laugh. I maxed the ram a couple years ago to stretch the life of it. I notice the slowness in iPhoto and iTunes and overall general lag. I'm also over on the 250GB hard drive.

I think I'll get the lower end with maxed out ram. Since I use the iMac also as a music hub for the entire house, I'm looking forward to being able to stream to Apple TV with Mavericks!

Thanks for the help!
 
page3 said:
I'm upgrading from an early 2006 iMac. :)
Click to expand...

Did you upgrade the RAM on your early 2006 when you bought the machine, sometime recent, or never? Are you upgrading the RAM when you purchase your new iMac?
 
cuencap said:
Did you upgrade the RAM on your early 2006 when you bought the machine, sometime recent, or never? Are you upgrading the RAM when you purchase your new iMac?
Click to expand...
Upgraded RAM as far as possible around 2008, but maximum addressable was only 3 Gb. Made a difference, but now clearly needing more.

Compared to that 8Gb will seem loads, so staying with that for now, but intend to add more in the future if necessary.

Processor I'm unsure about, probably i5 as I feel SSD/Fusion better value than the processor upgrade.
 
For what you've described, no doubts about it: spend the money on SSD first! You'll the see the biggest speed bump there. 8 gigs of RAM is more than enough. CPU is not at all an issue.
 
I'd take more RAM over a faster CPU, but dakwar's suggestion on a 1TB Fusion Drive might be the best use of the $200 as that will probably be a bigger overall performance boost than a 2.9GHz CPU or 16GB of RAM.
 
I only spent the $200 to upgrade the ram because of the limitation on users not being able to do it themselves. The order just shipped, but I like the recommendation of the fusion drive if it's that much faster...

So....is it worth it to cancel the order (more like return it now) and order the fusion? Which will future proof myself the best? Future=4 years
 
Last edited:
On the 21.5" iMacs, my BTO upgrade priorities would be Fusion Drive first, RAM second, CPU third.

On the 27" iMacs, it would be Fusion Drive first, graphics card second, CPU third, and RAM last.

You can't upgrade the RAM on the 21.5" iMacs without taking it apart, so RAM upgrades should be a higher priority.

On the 27" iMacs, you can upgrade the RAM easily -- you don't even need tools -- so your best bet is to stick with the standard 8 GB and buy more RAM from Crucial or another third-party vendor. Much cheaper than Apple's RAM upgrade costs.
 
Based on your usage, a fusion drive. I would be VERY surprised if you would ever hit the 8GB RAM ceiling, so no need for that either. Processor upgrade is a waste of money in your case also.
 
I would like to add my voice in support of Fusion drive. You probably won't need more than 8Gb.
 
Do the CPU, then just upgrade the RAM later on yourself. If it comes down to something you can only upgrade at time of order vs something you can upgrade anytime, pick the one you can only upgrade when you order.
 
Ram can't be upgraded in the 21.5", but thanks for the support of Fusion. Looks like I'll be canceling the order and going with the Fusion drive!
 
cuencap said:
I'm replacing a 20" late 2006 iMac. Don't laugh. I maxed the ram a couple years ago to stretch the life of it. I notice the slowness in iPhoto and iTunes and overall general lag. I'm also over on the 250GB hard drive.
Click to expand...

I upgraded from a 2006 iMac to a new Mini just a few months ago so I feel your pain :) I had actually replaced the drive in the old iMac with an SSD though, and that made a HUGE difference in day to day performance and actually made it pretty usable for a bit longer.

I've got a Fusion drive in the Mini and agree with the others that it's a great upgrade, for your usage I think it's a good way to go.
 
cocky jeremy said:
Do the CPU, then just upgrade the RAM later on yourself. If it comes down to something you can only upgrade at time of order vs something you can upgrade anytime, pick the one you can only upgrade when you order.
Click to expand...
But in the 21.5" iMac both the ram and CPU can only be upgraded at the time of purchase.

Most people don't need as much CPU power as they think they do and one would be.hard pressed to see the difference in the upgrade. For the op's use cases I would suggest upgrading the ram
 
16GB RAM or Fusion drive?

New comparison for low end 21.5" iMac...

-upgrade to 16GB of RAM
Or
-upgrade to 1GB Fusion Drive

Based on responses above, I'm thinking of canceling my order and getting the Fusion drive.
 
cuencap said:
New comparison for low end 21.5" iMac...

-upgrade to 16GB of RAM
Or
-upgrade to 1GB Fusion Drive

Based on responses above, I'm thinking of canceling my order and getting the Fusion drive.
Click to expand...

I would definitely go with the FD if your budget is constrained, then RAM if you can afford it.
 
If you don't mind opening the iMac up you can upgrade the RAM yourself, not sure if Apple Store can/will do this for you but it's worth asking.
 
RAM, all the way. I have a Core2Duo with 4GB of RAM. The processor is till holding up okay, even with Photoshop CS5/6. It's the RAM I wish I had more of.

Tl:dr: RAM
 
Sounds like you might have an older system...have you had experience with fusion drives?
 
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