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Upgrading the ram in my 27" i7 (11.3) imac..

J

jrm27

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 3, 2008
579
31
Hello all,

Though I am not new to macs, I am new to upgrading them. I've always just used what was stock in my system. However, I think it is time to upgrade.

I do a lot of work in Adobe Creative Suite. Lots of video work, lots of graphic work, lots of photo work. Currently I have the stock setup of 4 gigs of RAM. Would I see a noticeable increase in speed by upgrading to 16 gigs? Will things like video encoding/rendering speed (Premiere and After Effects) get a boost?

What is the max my imac can take? On some sites I see 16 gigs, on others I see 32 gigs? Are some RAM producers better than others? Sorry for the questions, I'm sure they've been answered here before but I'm not even sure how to find the answer for my specific mac.'

I'd just like this machine to work faster.. especially when it comes to stuff like video encoding/rendering.

-jon
 
If you're running multiple resource heavy apps, more RAM will help out and keep the speed up to par. It won't boost the speed per se, but extra RAM will prevent slow downs and page outs.

Your iMac can hold up t 16GB of RAM. I have that much in my 2010 i7 iMac and it runs great.

Check OWC for RAM.
 
Thanks! When I look there it says that my mac can handle 32 gigs? Not that I want to spend $600+ on ram though... It seems like 12-16 would be quite an upgrade.
 
jrm27 said:
Thanks! When I look there it says that my mac can handle 32 gigs? Not that I want to spend $600+ on ram though... It seems like 12-16 would be quite an upgrade.
Click to expand...

32GB? Maybe... I haven't personally checked the max on the newest iMac's. I know that my 2010 is maxed at 16GB though.

16GB is more than enough I think. The most RAM I've seen it use at one time so far has been 7GB which includes Free and Inactive RAM.
 
jrm27 said:
Hello all,

Though I am not new to macs, I am new to upgrading them. I've always just used what was stock in my system. However, I think it is time to upgrade.

I do a lot of work in Adobe Creative Suite. Lots of video work, lots of graphic work, lots of photo work. Currently I have the stock setup of 4 gigs of RAM. Would I see a noticeable increase in speed by upgrading to 16 gigs? Will things like video encoding/rendering speed (Premiere and After Effects) get a boost?

What is the max my imac can take? On some sites I see 16 gigs, on others I see 32 gigs? Are some RAM producers better than others? Sorry for the questions, I'm sure they've been answered here before but I'm not even sure how to find the answer for my specific mac.'

I'd just like this machine to work faster.. especially when it comes to stuff like video encoding/rendering.

-jon
Click to expand...

you can use up to 32gb ram in a 2011 iMac. here is how to tell if a ram upgrade helps go to apps go to activity monitor set on memory if you have a lot of page outs like mine does 4gb out of 11gb you could use more ram. i run windows on vm fusion and eat a lot of ram
 

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Thanks for that! I just looked at my activity monitor. I'm not running any video/rendering intensive apps right now, just Photoshop, Illustrator, and a few odds and ends. It's telling my that my Page Outs are at 11.03GB. What exactly does that mean?

-jon
 
You will never need anything close to 32 gb of ram.

I know a lot of people like OWC. Maybe it is the small business angle. I prefer Amazon just because they have great service overall and usually cheaper prices.

Just get this 8gb kit (2 modules of 4) to bring your mac up to 12 GB and that should be more than enough for anything a basic-moderate (to even fairly heavy) user should need.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YUF8ZG/ref=oh_o00_s01_i00_details

It is on sale for $40 + free shipping. Beats out OWC by $10 at least.
 
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jrm27 said:
Thanks for that! I just looked at my activity monitor. I'm not running any video/rendering intensive apps right now, just Photoshop, Illustrator, and a few odds and ends. It's telling my that my Page Outs are at 11.03GB. What exactly does that mean?

-jon
Click to expand...

each page out means you were short ram and the info was moved to your hdd think road runner = ram snail = hdd. you need more ram not to say you need 32gb ram but as someone said you can buy a 2 x 4gb kit and go from 4gb to 12gb . here is a link for low cost ram that works in a 2011 iMac


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231342

40 bucks use code EMCJHHA76 for 10 bucks off
 
Thanks for all this info everyone. I didn't realize ram was so affordable now! I think it might make sense to jump up to 12 or 16. Financially it's not too bad. as nice as 32 gig would be, I don't think I'll go that high for now. Hopefully thw 16 gives me a nice little bump in performance and keeps things from running so poorly when I'm rendering graphics and video.

Are there brands to stay away from? That G-Skill set at New Egg for $30 seems to be the easiest on the pocket book (especially if I buy two sets).
 
jrm27 said:
Thanks for all this info everyone. I didn't realize ram was so affordable now! I think it might make sense to jump up to 12 or 16. Financially it's not too bad. as nice as 32 gig would be, I don't think I'll go that high for now. Hopefully thw 16 gives me a nice little bump in performance and keeps things from running so poorly when I'm rendering graphics and video.

Are there brands to stay away from? That G-Skill set at New Egg for $30 seems to be the easiest on the pocket book (especially if I buy two sets).
Click to expand...

I recently installed the G.Skill from Newegg and it works like a charm!!! I bumped up my iMac to 16GB as I use Parallels for VM's a lot. For $30+free 4GB micro SD with adapter, it's a great deal!
 
candybaws said:
Just like nobody will ever need more than 640KB. :rolleyes:

Some people need more X than others. The blanket "you won't need more than X" is an utterly dumb statement.

Why'd you think you can get workstations that'll happily take 144GB+ of RAM? Because some people need it.
Click to expand...

Oh god, really? Did I say *nobody* will ever need that much?

I said *he* will probably not ever need it. Not in the lifetime of the machine that he has and not with the work that he said he does. Learn to read and learn to infer. You're looking utterly dumb right now.
 
candybaws said:
Instantly bannable offenses: insults.

;)


Maybe someone should read the rules? :p
Click to expand...

So you're saying that me saying you're looking utterly dumb for your reply and you saying that my statement was utterly dumb were not the same thing?

And then you don't reply to anything I said, but just point that out? Yeah, I believe trolling is a bannable offense as well.

At any rate, I am not apologizing for my response to your snide comments. Ban or not.

To the OP, hope I helped in some way. That ram setup should work perfectly for you. If you want a little more, go ahead and get 2 sets and bump it up from 12 to 16 and you should be more than set.
 
candybaws said:
I said your statement was dumb. You said I was dumb. That's a big difference.

I completely agree on the other remarks about the RAM. :)
Click to expand...

I said you're looking dumb for your statement. Big difference, but the same as what you were saying. At any rate. I take it back. Have a good new year :)
 
I'm just looking into the same thing, are there and UK suppliers out there for RAM?

Also, how easy is it to change in the iMAc?

Thanks
Jordan
 
Thanks!

Are there any video's?

I have a macbook pro i7 also, I upgraded the ram in this, would the ram be the same as in the iMac? I was thinking of using the ram from this, as I no longer need the larger ram in the macbook....

But suppose if its cheap and easy, i may as well buy new!

Thanks again.

Jordan

----------

Just had a quick look
8gb (2 x 4gb) is £34.79.

16GB (2 x 8gb) is £199

Would 8GB be enough for using aperture and iMovie? I use these quite a lot, but £200 seems a lot of money compared to £35!

Are there 4 slots available LOL

Jordan
 
Mr Breeze said:
Just ordered 8GB (2X4GB) from MacDirect. This is to install in my iMac 27 3.4 i7 that's on the way. Total cost w shipping was $107. Their memory chips are guaranteed for life.

http://MacRamDirect.com
Click to expand...

Mr Breeze, that's pretty expensive for 8GB of ram. You can get Crucial memory for $45, or Newegg has G Skill, which I have in my iMac for $30, both have lifetime gurarantees. So you could go up to 16GB for less than what you spent.

www.crucial.com or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231342
40 bucks use code EMCJHHA76 for 10 bucks off
 
Thanks to all the fine advice here, I ordered two sets of the gskill ram from Newegg. So, for about $60, I'll be able to boost up to 16 gigs of ram! Excited for that package to get here. Should be pretty cool.

If I find the need for more with the video rendering I do, I'll start saving up from some 8 gig sticks. But I think this is going to be a huge improvement over my current setup of 4 gigs.

-jon
 
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