I want to increase the memory in my ageing iMac. From what i’ve read its v easy, even for someone with very little knowledge of computers.

Its currently got 2 x 2GB with 2 slots free.

If i were to double the memory, does it make a difference if i add a further 2 x 2GB, or can i use a single 4GB chip?

And therefore, could i put 2 x 4GB in Giving me 12 GB total?

Thanks,

wrong forum. That’ll learn me for posting at 5.15am

I want to increase the memory in my ageing iMac

Cool…

Stop right there. You don’t post the specs and model number of your system… You need to know the year and or model number, easily found by looking in the “about this Mac” section…

It’s either incredibly easy, or nigh on impossible, based upon this information. I suspect if yours only has 4GB already you should be fortunate enough that it’s the former, but also you MUST get the correct RAM specs as well as the amount you want too. The amount it can hold also totally depends on the specs of the machine too, might be limited to 8GB max or it might take up to 16GB…

Depends what year Mac it is. However, if the RAM is replaceable it should be fairly easy job. OSX likes RAM and I’d consider maxing it out (I have 16gb in my 2011 MBP and it multitasks like a champ).

Go on crucial.com and put in the details of your computer and it’ll tell you what you can put in.

Crucial will scan your Mac and tell you what RAM upgrades are possible.

uk.crucial.com

(This is what I used a few years ago.)

It’s mid 2011. Has four ports accessible through the underside of the Mac – so should be easy to replace / add.

I’ve got the spec of the ram from ‘about this mac’ so know what I should be buying. Just need to work out what configuration are possible.

Thanks for help so far

Check the model out on everymac.com for allowable configs.

ifixit for how to and notes :
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+21.5-Inch+EMC+2428+RAM+Replacement/5660

In iMacs there was a time, or possible is still the case, that there was some memory bus speed advantage to having matched sizes in each slot. However the wisdom at the time was that any increase in total RAM gave more performance advantage than the matching sizes thing.

why do you want to increase RAM? you might not need it for what you do

fitting an SSD to my ageing iMac made a bigger difference than upgrading the RAM.

a bit more involved and need some special tools but pretty straightforward and took me a couple of hours. it was a necessity though as the old one went click, click, whirr and that was that…

poah – Member
why do you want to increase RAM? you might not need it for what you do

4GB currently? I’d defo put more it. increase to 8GB(I wouldn’t go further unless you have a reason to), then look at a SSD if a further boost is required.

why do you want to increase RAM? you might not need it for what you do

Its running slowly, app’s taking an age to load.
It sounds like an SSD may be more appropriate to run OSX / frequently used programs, but for the sake of ~£35 im happy to double the RAM in there (currently 4gb)

I’d up the RAM and fit an SSD if you can. The combination makes a big difference on older Macs. My experience with both a mid-2012 MacBook Pro and a similar vintage iMac is that maxing out the RAM future proofs, up to a point, against Apple’s OS upgrades and allows you to multi-task on multiple apps more easily, but an SSD speeds up everything particularly opening apps, document, saving big files with Photoshop and the like etc.

On the mismatched RAM slot front, my iMac – bought cheap from my ex-employers – was set up like that and worked fine.

If you check iFixit, the SSD upgrade is doable but a load of work on those iMacs. (I’ve got one myself)

I would look into booting from an external thunderbolt SSD rather than doing the open heart surgery required.

I’d up the RAM and fit an SSD if you can. The combination makes a big difference on older Macs.

Indeed. As above, my MBP is a similar vintage (2011) and it was a revolution. Completely different (better!) machine after I upgraded both RAM and SSD together. I suspect the SSD made the most difference but the RAM is easy to do and definitely worthwhile. I went from 2Gb to 16Gb and now I basically don’t ever (need to) close apps down.

Its running slowly, app’s taking an age to load.
It sounds like an SSD may be more appropriate to run OSX / frequently used programs, but for the sake of ~£35 im happy to double the RAM in there (currently 4gb)

look at your RAM usage first. you might not be using all of it therefore more won’t doo shit.

don’t know anything about your OS does it recognise more than 4gb

Last 32bit OS X was 10.6. mid 2011 shipped with 10.7.

So it’ll handle more than 4GB. 4GB ain’t a great deal these days, if he’s any wish to multitask, I’d say increase to 8GB before an SSD. (If cash isn’t a worry do both)

Had an SSD fitted to my 08 iMac and upped the 2gb to 4gb (apparently you can’t fit any more) – it was sluggish but now runs really well – worth the upgrade