Q: What will happen if you put more than 16 gigs of ram in a 2011 iMac?

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ejetmonorail

Level 1 (8 points)

Apple Watch

Q: What will happen if you put more than 16 gigs of ram in a 2011 iMac?

Hi there,

I've just purchased two 8 GB RAM cards, which gives me a total of 16. Apple says this is the 2011 iMac's limit, but I still have two more slots, and two 2 GB RAM cards which add up to a total of 4. So in total, I would have 20 GB of RAM. So my question is, what if I put all 20 GB into my iMac? Would it be okay? Would it start? Would it kill it?

Sorry if my question is confusing!!

Thanks!

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Mid 2011 iMac

Posted on Jun 23, 2016 1:22 PM

I have this question too

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macjack

Level 9 (55,709 points)

Mac OS X

A:

According to memory advisor tool in Crucial you can have up to 32GB. RAM sticks installed in pairs are best.

Posted on Jun 23, 2016 1:35 PM

Q: What will happen if you put more than 16 gigs of ram in a 2011 iMac?

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by John Galt,Helpful

John Galt Jun 23, 2016 1:35 PM in response to ejetmonorail
Level 8 (49,522 points)

Mac OS X

Jun 23, 2016 1:35 PM in response to ejetmonorail

Would it be okay? Would it start? Would it kill it?

Yes, probably, and no, respectively.

Installing more memory than specified can have unpredictable results, but it cannot damage anything. If something strange should occur, nonstandard hardware modifications are the first thing you should suspect. Retain your iMac's original RAM in preparation for that unlikely event.
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by ejetmonorail,

ejetmonorail Jun 23, 2016 1:36 PM in response to John Galt
Level 1 (8 points)

Apple Watch

Jun 23, 2016 1:36 PM in response to John Galt

Thanks so much!! I'll take that into consideration and try to have 20GB at first. If it becomes unstable, I'll take the extra 4GB out. :-)
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by ejetmonorail,

ejetmonorail Jun 23, 2016 1:37 PM in response to John Galt
Level 1 (8 points)

Apple Watch

Jun 23, 2016 1:37 PM in response to John Galt

Well the sticks I bought are Crucial. Thanks for finding out for me! :-)
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Accepted Answer · Jun 23, 2016 1:35 PM

macjack

Level 9 (55,709 points)

Mac OS X

Jun 23, 2016 1:35 PM in response to ejetmonorail

According to memory advisor tool in Crucial you can have up to 32GB. RAM sticks installed in pairs are best.

Q: What will happen if you put more than 16 gigs of ram in a 2011 iMac?

All replies Helpful answers

by macjack,Solvedanswer

by John Galt,★Helpful

by ejetmonorail,

by ejetmonorail,

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by John Galt,Helpful