My company purchased 2 21.5in iMacs last may (middle of the line) and at the time I thought that 8gb of Ram would be fine as to what I am doing (Illustrator & Photoshop open all the time, safari/spotify open for entertainment on 2nd screen with mail app) and I'm constantly hitting 6.3/8 given without even opening Photoshop. Is it possible to send one of the iMacs in to upgrade the RAM or am I just up a creek and will instead need to convince my accountant why I need to get a new iMac after just a year of use?
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Upgrading RAM at store
- Thread starter Arkados
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Memory pressure can be low but does spike occasionally. Was just wondering if 1.) it's even doable and 2.) are they going to cut off my arms for payment of upgrading it to 16gb/32gb.
Another thing, will El Capitan improve the issue I am having with having Metal? I have the open beta on my rMBP but haven't done a lot of work to notice anything.
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You are up a creek, the RAM is soldered in and is NOT upgradeable on 2013 and later 21.5" iMacs.
The only thing that matters is how it behaves when photoshop is open.
Is cache a good part of that 6.3 Gig?
If photoshop needs more memory, the system will start deleting cache, and compressing memory long before it starts swapping to an SSD or "gasp" a hard drive.
If you were buying a new system, 16 GB would have been a good upgrade, since photoshop reliably gobbles available memory, and puts it to good use. But since you're stuck with the 8GB, you need to look at your own workload and determine whether a potentially small incremental gain is worth the real pain of selling your mac and buying a new one.
This is actually incorrect, the RAM isn't soldered on the late 2013. But it still isn't user-accessible, requiring the display to be un-glued to get to it.
Correct. The RAM is replaceable, but it is pain in the ass(to say the least) to do it.
Upgrading the RAM is possible, but requires literally taking the entire machine apart to do it. Frankly, if the memory pressure always stays in the green I'd say it's not worth the trouble, even if you go into the yellow occasionally.
There may be a glimmer of hope
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1423
*Note: Memory is not user-removable on iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), and iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) computers. Memory replacement for these computers must be done by an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1423
*Note: Memory is not user-removable on iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), and iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) computers. Memory replacement for these computers must be done by an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Damn, didn't realize I had this many responses 
. I have looked at many videos especially the iFixit to watch them replace it but since it is my works computer I would super nervous on replacing it as I have never done it before, let alone remove the display itself. I'm guessing even upgrading to 16gb alone would be $600 from Apple. Yet I upgraded my parents 2010 mac mini from 2gb to 8gb for $150 from OWC (price might be different).
. I have looked at many videos especially the iFixit to watch them replace it but since it is my works computer I would super nervous on replacing it as I have never done it before, let alone remove the display itself. I'm guessing even upgrading to 16gb alone would be $600 from Apple. Yet I upgraded my parents 2010 mac mini from 2gb to 8gb for $150 from OWC (price might be different).
You are up a creek. Only the 27 inch imac allows ram to be upgraded.
Thank you Mr. Cook! May I have another?
- Make sure that memory is an issue. Just because the System Monitor shows 6.3/8 it doesn't mean your running out of RAM. Perhaps most of it is inactive? Reserved? and not actively used.
- As others have said, you can replace the RAM yourself although it's not an easy task. It's not soldered and it's definitely upgradable. You have to unglue the screen in a dust-free environment, carefuly take it off, replace the RAM, and then glue it back together. Or you could pay someone else (I suppose the Apple Store is an option) to do it for you.
It's not even that simple. The memory on an iMac is located on the side facing the rear of the computer. On an iMac 27, there's a door on the back that exposes the chips. If I were to ignore this access panel, and go in through the screen side, I would have to remove the motherboard, and flip it around, install the ram, and then reinstall the motherboard. To reach the motherboard, other things need to be removed, and likewise reinstalled.
The iMac 21 is the same way, except there isn't a door.
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