adding ram to new imac

PeakOutput

so i havnt done this before

i just got 8gb in two sticks of 4

i already have 2*2 in the machine and would like to use them aswell if possible to have a total of twelve but i know using unmatched ram means you wont get the absolutel best performance from each but surely 12gb of unmatched will be faster then 8gb of matched?

as far as i know there are two sets of slots in the imac. if i was to use all the ram would i be better putting both 4gb in one set of slots and both 2gb in the other slots or does it matter?

thanks in advance

barryj

I think they only have to be installed in matched pairs, so 2+2 & 4+4 could still be matched, in your case. I don't think all 4 need to be the same size.

- barry

Sad Professor

RAM doesn't have to be matched. This was only an issue with the Core Duos. There is indeed a performance boost from matching them, but it is fairly negligible imo. More RAM is better than matched RAM.

The iMac 27-inch has 4 slots. The 21-inch has 2.

PeakOutput

ram is installed

fairly easy process i have a funny feeling i did not use the ribbon correctly so i may never be able to get the ram back out but its been recognised and so far running fine

good times

coylemj

Sad Professor wrote: »

The iMac 27-inch has 4 slots. The 21-inch has 2.

Are you referring to the current iMac models? Both the 21.5" and 27" models have four slots. I got a shock when I saw your post because I've just ordered 2 x 2GB modules from elara.ie for my 21.5" iMac to upgrade from 4GB to 8GB so I went back to the Apple online store and if you go to configure either model you'll see in the memory section that both have four slots. Price was Eur 78 compared to 180 on the Apple Ireland online store.

Sad Professor

Yeah, sorry, you're right. I was mistaken about that. I didn't realise both models had 4 slots.