[preformalover]

I just bought my new iMac 27 inch and was looking around and found on OWC I could bump my ram to 16GB for about $300.00 but is it worth it. I have 4 which seems ok, but would it be a significant upgrade, I am using iMovie allot and photo shop and allot of gaming in bootcamp as well as parallel which sucks down ram. Also does using 3rd party RAM (OWC) void any warranties or do I just swap it out before any repairs.Anyone have any problems with OWC.

 

[milhaus]

How will it cost you $300? I see $220 + $5 shipping. In any case, the move from 4Gb to 12Gb will be significant. 12 to 16? Meh.

 

[Vexel]

For that kind of money, I'd upgrade in a second. You'll notice a pretty big difference when it comes to gaming and parallels, for sure. You can never have TOO much RAM. It also helps futureproof your Mac for a while if you plan on keeping it for some time.

 

[BlueMax]

If you've got 4GB (2x2gb?) you should have two empty slots. Why not pick up a 2x4GB pair for under $100 and have 12GB total? That's real nice!

 

[mguertin]

I'd do that upgrade for sure, you'll notice a big difference especially when you have multiple things going on at once.

 

[Nick]

How much Ram do you actually use? It a waste of money if you don't actually need it.
Launch Activity Monitor, use the machine for the day (keep an eye on the memory). How often are you maxing it? And when are you maxing it.

Also watch Page Out's & Page In's
Page Ins: data written from ram to the hd
Page Outs: data moved from the hd back to ram

Photoshop will suck ram up with is history and changes, so it can skew that number, as who really cares of a change you made 20-50 steps ago is in ram anymore? Moving it back will be fairly quick anyways.

If your running parrells, photoshop and imove all at the same time, upgrading ram would be worth it. But I'm not sure I'd go to 16 yet. 8gb is still a lot. You can always add more later if needed. Saves you about half now, and it will probably be cheaper later.
Canada RAM memory

 

[Nick]

If you've got 4GB (2x2gb?) you should have two empty slots. Why not pick up a 2x4GB pair for under $100 and have 12GB total? That's real nice!

I agree. This is probably your best bet.

 

[preformalover]

ok so I got 246.38 USD plus whatever they charge me for duty. On thing I am thinking instead about is turning me off from the 12 GB ideas is 1.) I like the idea of "future proofing my mac" 2.) Not sure about this but would I get better prefomance if I had all the same stick density. Also would buying owc ram void my apple warranty

EDIT
Also When I do multi tasking (which is allot) I max this out in a second even when doing web design and I have dreamweaver and fireworks +a little photoshop

 

[Nick]

12gb is plenty.
You gotta draw the line somewhere. With 12gb under most use you'll wont max it. Under heavy use it still will write some things to the hd. But with that much ram everything critical (and then some) will be stored in memory.

For cheap pricing look at Canada ram (link above). He's an ehMac member, out of Victoria, and his pricing is good. Will probably come out cheaper since you'll skip brokerage and duty.

If you want still more performance (and I'm guessing you got the i7 iMac), look at an SSD drive. I just went from a 2010 i7 mbp to a new ultimate mba. For most things (I'm a designer and developer) the air is faster. For large compiles or pdf exports etc the i7 is about double the speed. But overall I have a net gain. So what I'm trying to say is: if you want more performance look at adding a SSD for your system, apps, and working files.

Cheers,
N.

 

[preformalover]

I have indeed considered an SSD but there are two problems I foresee 1.) cost is extremely high for a decent size, 2.) installation appears to be difficult (or expensive) and this being a brand new mac I don't want to void any warranties. I am now contemplating the 12GB or 16GB either one is a considerable upgrade but the 12 is cheaper although the 16GB would last longer(keep the computer from going obsolete) but the 16GB is not too much more. Also if canada ram happens to see this do your sticks specificly the Kingston KTA-MB1333/4Gx4 for $ 248 have a lifetime warranty?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Get the two 4GB sticks now and see how that goes...if you find you need more then pull the existing dual 2GB sticks and upgrade again...by then the prices will be lower. 12 GB will likely be all you need.

 

[preformalover]

Two more questions
will I lose performance with not having all the same size sticks
WILL THIS VOID MY WARRANTY because there is not a chance in hell I am paying apples rates for there ram

 

[Nick]

Ram is user upgradable.
I believe the HD is too (without voiding the warranty).
I'd get a 240gb if you go SSD which is the sweet spot for size vs price (or 120gb to save $$).
Then just get an external FW800 case for yours. Not a lot of money and a lot more performance.

 

[preformalover]

Ram is user upgradable.
I believe the HD is too (without voiding the warranty).
I'd get a 240gb if you go SSD which is the sweet spot for size vs price (or 120gb to save $$).
Then just get an external FW800 case for yours. Not a lot of money and a lot more performance.

Not 100% sure on this but I think since I have the 27 inch theres a spot for the SSD with out having to remove the 1 tb standard, also anyone have any experience upgrading a HDD on a Imac 27 inch or adding a ssd for that matter. I also know when I was talking to a rep about presales questions he said that upgrading the hard drive is so evasive it does void the warranty. 1 more thing I know the ram is user upgradable but will it void your warranty using 3rd party ram BTW what ever happened to 2nd party :lmao:

 

[pm-r]

First thing to do is to get and use an Apple dealer and rep who actually should know what comes out of their mouth.

It sounds like you've been fed some Fraser Valley manure from your Apple dealer tech!!

 

[Macfury]

I upgrade my RAM with any party but Apple. Go for the 12, like everyone here is telling you. The best effect is felt on the bottom end--the difference between 12 and 16 GB will likely be almost undetectable.

 

[pm-r]

BTW: Regarding adding an SSD to your 27" iMac, check Google for 'add SSD to 27" imac' or just head off to 27? Mid 2010 iMac Disassembled | Other World Computing Blog

Any equivalent and iMac model compatible RAM will work and will not void your Apple warranty - unless you do something really stupid to damage something when installing it.

 

[kps]

I upgrade my RAM with any party but Apple. Go for the 12, like everyone here is telling you. The best effect is felt on the bottom end--the difference between 12 and 16 GB will likely be almost undetectable.

+1

You can NEVER go wrong with upgrading the RAM which is a user DIY proposition unrelated to the Apple warranty. Don't over analyse it, you got some good advice here, go for it.

With respect to the HDD. I heard a user replacement can void your warranty on some new models. My spring 2010 MacBook Pro is, I believe, one of them. Even though I did get the additional Apple care, I still installed a faster HDD (5400rpm to 7200rpm). I guess I'm willing to battle with Apple over the warranty if the need arrises.

 

[preformalover]

Would this ram work
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9 4GB 1X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 204PIN SODIMM Memory - Corsair - CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9 - in Canada
I have to buy a printer from NCIX anyways

 

[screature]

+1

You can NEVER go wrong with upgrading the RAM which is a user DIY proposition unrelated to the Apple warranty. Don't over analyse it, you got some good advice here, go for it.

With respect to the HDD. I heard a user replacement can void your warranty on some new models. My spring 2010 MacBook Pro is, I believe, one of them. Even though I did get the additional Apple care, I still installed a faster HDD (5400rpm to 7200rpm). I guess I'm willing to battle with Apple over the warranty if the need arrises.

Except for the cost... if you don't need the RAM you will never see the difference so it can be a wasted expense. As an extreme example... if all you do is browse the web and use e-mail you will never notice the the difference between 4GB of RAM and 16GB of RAM.

So long as you keep the original HD and swap it back in before any warranty work you should be fine.