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What kind of Ram?

Benz63amg

Benz63amg

macrumors 601
Original poster
Oct 17, 2010
4,591
1,099
hey guys, im probably going to get the base 27 inch 2011 imac, now before i do, i want to order RAM probably from amazon so i can give my iMac 8GB of Ram instead of 4GB.

Can someone tell me which Ram i need to buy that will be compatible with the new 2011 iMac and which brand is the best?

I think ill basically get two more 2GB sticks right?
 
Right on the apple website: 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM

Head on over to newegg, they have the best prices.
 
yea but i need to get the laptop size one yea? which brand should i buy?
 
doesnt it matter if the ram i buy is "PC3 10600" or some other kind as in PC3 9000 .. im really confused.
 
lamonsas said:
doesnt it matter if the ram i buy is "PC3 10600" or some other kind as in PC3 9000 .. im really confused.
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Current imacs use DDR3 1333mhz. Ignore the PC3 number. You could use DDR3 1600mhz or you can use lower speed. If you use a higher speed it will just run at the lower 1333mhz. If you use a lower speed it will run at the lowest speed of the ram you have installed.
 
okay but the link u gave me seems like cheaply made ram, can u link me to some high quality ram like kingston perhaps?
 
lamonsas said:
okay but the link u gave me seems like cheaply made ram, can u link me to some high quality ram like kingston perhaps?
Click to expand...

How does it seem cheaply made? It's pretty high quality stuff.

Here's some kingston http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139285

Some Crucial: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148317

More kingston: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104158

You can pretty much just search laptop ram at newegg and filter for DDR3, the amount and the speed you want.

I am personally looking at getting this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231295&Tpk=F3-10666CL9D-8GBSQ It has lots of great reviews from people who have gotten it for their macs.
 
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If it comes from the factory with 4GB (2x2GB), would it matter if I bought an additional 8GB(2x4GB)?

I heard that it's best if all chips are of the same capacity and speed, is this true?
 
I second that. I find that my benchmark scores are better in the memory department if I use only 12 GB and not 16, Why? I have no idea. No difference between 12 and 16. Save yourself some dough pop in two 4gb sticks and be happy. :)
 
i can afford 8gb too but i did hear that all ram sticks should be the same speed and amount and that if u dont use the same sticks then it will bring problems..
 
iamthedudeman said:
I second that. I find that my benchmark scores are better in the memory department if I use only 12 GB and not 16, Why? I have no idea. No difference between 12 and 16. Save yourself some dough pop in two 4gb sticks and be happy. :)
Click to expand...


can u please tell us which ram did u personally buy? as in which make and model?
 
i see.

So archer, u say i should buy the 8gb instead of the 4 to make it 12GB of ram in total yea?

Which brand makes the best quality ram? i mean i know kingston is a known quality brand , crucial is too right?

But which ram do i need to buy exactly, i know its not only the DDR3 thats required to match but also the PC3 etc and the unbuffured or buffered.. thats whats confusing me
 
lamonsas said:
i see.

So archer, u say i should buy the 8gb instead of the 4 to make it 12GB of ram in total yea?

Which brand makes the best quality ram? i mean i know kingston is a known quality brand , crucial is too right?

But which ram do i need to buy exactly, i know its not only the DDR3 thats required to match but also the PC3 etc and the unbuffured or buffered.. thats whats confusing me
Click to expand...

PC3 doesn't matter. 1333mhz DDR3 SO-Dimm is what you want. You could even get 1600mhz ram but that extra speed is wasted as it would only run at 1333mhz. You don't want ECC ram.

You only need to buy the amount of ram you actually need. I have 6gb in my current desktop and have yet to max it out. But everyone is different.

Don't worry about brand. Like I said before, it's all the same. No company aside from micron branded ram actually make their own ram. Hell, nvidia and ATI don't make their own GPU's. I work in semiconductors and have had nvidia and ATI wafers running in the same tool at the same time. I've worked on ram for the various brands. They all get made by foundries. Fabs hired to make their ram for them.
People have their favorites of course. Brands they swear by. But i've been building computers a long time and have had good and bad ram for most brands. I don't believe it's a brand issue. You just sometimes get bad parts.

So I search the speed and capacity i'm after and then go over user reviews to find something I think will work well and I buy it.
 
how is brand not important? Kingston and crucial and much better than no name brands, whether they make it or not i dont know but they are known for reliability, its like saying buy a No name tv and not a samsung tv..

Which company is better , crucial or Kingston? corsair is not better than the 2 i mentioned right?
 
lamonsas said:
how is brand not important? Kingston and crucial and much better than no name brands, whether they make it or not i dont know but they are known for reliability, its like saying buy a No name tv and not a samsung tv..

Which company is better , crucial or Kingston? corsair is not better than the 2 i mentioned right?
Click to expand...

Crucial, kingston, ocz, mushkin, G.skill, corsair, patriot, a-data, transcend. They are all good. I've used all of them over the years. Sure Crucial is good, but they are no better than any others. I buy what meets the speed I want and has the best ratings on newegg. It's just ram, it's not rocket science.

The most recent brand i've had problems with was Kingston. But not their fault necessarily. I bought their ram to put into two identical computers, it worked in one but not the other. Sometimes you just get bad ram. Or it could have been a bad motherboard which is probably more likely.

As far as tv's, many companies don't even make their own panels but buy them elsewhere. Samsung and LG makes panels, apple does not and neither does dell but they both use LG panels. Sure there's more to it than just that. Many "no name" brands use panels from these manufacturers and make great tv's.
Don't get so hung up on brand.
 
ok archer so to sub it up, basically the TOP ram companies even tough u say they are all the same are kingston and crucial right? Can u give me a final link on newegg or amazon for the exact ram i should oreder?

btw , which should i got for, upgrade to 8gb or just buy 2 4gb Sticks and go for 12 GB? isnt that an overkil?
 
lamonsas said:
ok archer so to sub it up, basically the TOP ram companies even tough u say they are all the same are kingston and crucial right? Can u give me a final link on newegg or amazon for the exact ram i should oreder?

btw , which should i got for, upgrade to 8gb or just buy 2 4gb Sticks and go for 12 GB? isnt that an overkil?
Click to expand...

I don't know that any are "top" companies. All I listed are big players. Crucial has been around a long time. As I said before, I don't rate crucial above any others. Kingston maybe less so. They have been around a long time too but maybe have become less relevant. It just doesn't matter.

I have 6 computers in my house now and no two of them use the same brand of ram.

As to how much you need you have to decide for yourself. What you use your computer for determines how much you need. Search for the amount and speed you want on newegg. Or even amazon. Then read what other users have to say about it. Because that's what I would do in order to tell you.

I linked several above. The last link, the 2x 4gb of g.skill has a lot of positive reviews from mac owners. It matches the speed of the imac ram and the price is good. That's what i'm getting.
There is also crucial ram linked above if that's what you want.
 
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