Upgrading RAM on iMac (2009)

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Upgrading RAM on iMac (2009)

I have a quick question regarding RAM upgrades for my iMac.

I've got the early-late 2009 24" model, specs as follows;
2.66 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067Mhz DDR3
nVidia GeForce 9400 256MB
Mac OS X 10.6.1

Very happy with performance overall, more than adequate for my video editing needs. However, sometimes when I'm creating graphics and titles in Motion (Final Cut Studio 3) the system can lag a bit.

I'm sure this is due to a lack of horsepower in my video card, but I couldn't afford a more expensive card when I purchased the iMac. Graphics cards can't be replaced on iMacs, so my question is - would adding more RAM improve performance, specifically in Motion? Also, will more RAM improve performance in other areas - such as when compressing video files?

How many slots for RAM are there in this model of the iMac? I ordered my iMac with 4GB RAM pre-installed, but does this mean there are 2x 2GB or 1x 4GB ram modules inside? Having looked online, adding 4GB of RAM to my machine is out of my price range, but I could afford to add 2GB (total - 6GB) at some stage.

iMac 24" (2009), Mac OS X (10.6.1), 2.66GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo; nVidia GeForce 9400 256mb; 4GB 1067MHz DDR3

Posted on Oct 23, 2009 5:17 PM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,624 points

Oct 23, 2009 5:24 PM in response to adam.white

Your early 2009 iMac has the ability to take a total of 8 GB of RAM. It has two slots which are most likely populated by 2 x 2GB chips. If you want to upgrade to 6 GB you can add a 4 GB chip. For instructions on how to do this and what RAM your machine uses refer to your owners manual.

As far as performance yes adding RAM does help performance in applications like Final Cut and graphics intensive applications. You should see performance be more snappy.

As far as where to buy your RAM upgrade don't buy it from Apple directly, there are two very dependable aftermarket suppliers Crucial and OWC that save you a lot of money. OWC's site for RAM for your machine is:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/DDR3_2009

Regards,

Roger

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Answer 2

adam.white Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 23, 2009 5:38 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Many thanks for your speedy response!

For me, I think upgrading to 6GB RAM via a 4GB module would be the best bet. My system is more than adequate for now, but this will be something to keep in mind down the road.

Whilst I'm here, I may as well ask and check - there is no way to update video cards on iMacs is there? And if not, can you change any settings to give your graphics card a boost in some way?

I'm fairly new to Macs - so thanks for your patience!

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