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What is the maximum memory configuration supported by the iMac late 2012 21.5" model,1 A1418
I have purchased this Mac from a school and it has 2x4gb 1600mhz ddr3, I was wondering if I can replace the glass screen and add more memory to beef it up a bit?
iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15
That Mac can take up to 16 GB of RAM – but you'd have to tear it completely apart (or pay a repair shop to do it) to upgrade the RAM. Adding more RAM will not automatically make the Mac a whole lot faster unless it is starved for RAM relative to what you are doing on it.
You say that it has 8 GB now and that it is for a 14-year-old to do his school work. 8 GB is plenty for running word processors, Web browsers, etc. Until last year, I was using an even older Mac with 8 GB of RAM for similar tasks, and 8 GB was plenty except when running Windows in a virtual machine.
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You could buy an external USB 3.* SSD, clone the contents of the internal hard drive onto it (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! can do this), and then make it your startup drive. No risky/expensive surgery involved, and a USB 3.* SSD should slaughter a mechanical hard drive on startup and application launch times.
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As for the operating system, although Catalina is no longer supported by Microsoft, Adobe, or Apple, it is recent enough to run current versions of
If these, or the applications that you already have on that machine, are not enough, then it might be time to shop for a new machine.
Kirmy57 wrote:
Thank you the links will be useful. the system is relatively slow even for a school projects
To expand on Servant of Cats' suggestion concerning external SSDs: if the Mac is slow booting up, opening apps or saving files then additional RAM will not help. A faster drive would be the solution to speed it up. You could get an external SSD, clone your boot drive to it with the demo version of Carbon Copy Cloner and boot and run from it. Then when you upgrade to a new Mac it's easily taken with you.
I recommend contacting OWC's (MacSales.com) customer support and see which of their model they recommend based on your iMac model, work requirements and budget. OWC is considered the premier 3rd party supplier for Macs by most of the experienced users here in the forum.
All-New iMac Features Stunning Design, Brilliant Display & Faster Performance - Apple
(Apple Newsroom press release – October 23, 2012)
"In the new design, the cover glass is fully laminated to the LCD and an anti-reflective coating is applied using a high-precision plasma deposition process."
I don't think suction cups are going to lift off glass that is fully laminated to the LCD - but maybe that's just me. I do recall reading about the use of suction cups to lift off the glass on earlier models with NON-laminated screens.
FWIW, the glass is fused to the display.
Kirmy57 wrote:
But thank you for your opinion.
It's not really an opinion. You would have to tear the whole thing apart to get to the RAM modules. You also would have to replace the entire display, not just the glass. When all is said and done, it can only be updated to macOS Catalina 10.15.7, which can't run much of recent software. But, you're welcome.
Thank you the links will be useful. the system is relatively slow even for a school projects that's why I though may be speed it up for the boy but we shall persevere for now. I have looked at some 2012 A1418 tapered models memory upgrade video's and yes you almost have to take all of the back side off starting with led screen :) As I am new to apple, I had to do lots of research.
Thank you all for your answers. Much appreciated
Yes and apparently you can lift it with suction cups available from amazon for £4.99. the glass screen has magnetic strips and prongs on the bottom section. (so it says on a you tube video's)
But thank you again for the heads up.
The RAM is non user accessible. Even if it was, a 2012 iMac is so out of date it's really not worth putting money into.
this is for a 14 year old to do his school work but even so a reasonable speed wold be great if I can find 16gb ddr3 from somewhere.
But thank you for your opinion.
Kirmy57 wrote:
I was wondering if I can replace the glass screen
If it has screen damage that makes it unusable, that might not be worth repairing.
only the glass front nothing wrong with led behind it.
That was certainly true for 2011 and earlier iMacs. But, I'll leave you to your own devices.
If you run EtreCheck it will tell you if memory or hard disk speed will help, and be a good guide to whether you should invest in this Mac.
memory configuration supported iMac Late 2012 21.5" model A1418
