mrrbatty
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iMac RAM

So I have a Mid-2011 iMac.

 

I got some more RAM in the mail (2x8GB) today and was wondering if it would be better to keep the 2x2GB RAM in the top two slots and add the 2x8GB RAM in the bottom two slots, or just remove the 4GB of RAM and replace it with the 2x8GB.

 

Is there much of a difference because the RAM isn't even in the slots, or does it not matter?

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on May 28, 2014 5:28 AM

by Paul_31,Solvedanswer
Paul_31 Paul_31
Level 6 (13,925 points)
A:

I don't think it'll matter so long as the chips are paired side by side. In my late '09 27" iMac I have 2x2gb in the top two slots and 2x4gb in the bottom two. It's worked perfectly with this chip configuration for 4 years.

Posted on May 28, 2014 5:41 AM

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mrrbatty

Q: iMac RAM

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  • by Paul_31,Solvedanswer

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 28, 2014 5:41 AM in response to mrrbatty
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 28, 2014 5:41 AM in response to mrrbatty

    I don't think it'll matter so long as the chips are paired side by side. In my late '09 27" iMac I have 2x2gb in the top two slots and 2x4gb in the bottom two. It's worked perfectly with this chip configuration for 4 years.

  • by rkaufmann87,Helpful

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 May 28, 2014 5:50 AM in response to mrrbatty
    Level 9 (58,476 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 28, 2014 5:50 AM in response to mrrbatty

    Leave the original RAM in the slots they were in and install the new RAM in the empty slots. There is no reason to make this more complex.

  • by Gnomish8,Helpful

    Gnomish8 Gnomish8 May 28, 2014 5:56 AM in response to mrrbatty
    Level 2 (350 points)
    May 28, 2014 5:56 AM in response to mrrbatty

    Looking at the tech specs, it looks like the Mid-2011 iMac can support only up to 16GB of RAM. I'd remove the 2x2GB setup, and dual channel the 2x8GB.

     

    27 Inch Tech Specs

    21.5 Inch Tech Specs

     

    Looking here it shows the same thing, and here suggests the SODIMM slots may only be able to take 4GB sticks, so keep your old sticks nearby just in case.

     

     

    Number of memory slots4
    Base memory4 GB (but is configured to order)
    Maximum memory16 GB
    Note: For the iMac (Late 2009) models, you can use 2 GB or 4 GB RAM SO-DIMMs of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in each slot. For the iMac (Mid 2010) and iMac (Mid 2011) models, use 2 GB or 4 GB RAM SO-DIMMs of 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in each slot.

     

  • by Chaddycop,

    Chaddycop Chaddycop Jan 17, 2016 10:11 PM in response to mrrbatty
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jan 17, 2016 10:11 PM in response to mrrbatty

    Hi,

     

    How has your setup been with the two 8GB sticks? I'm looking to do the exact same setup.