Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 1

19 points

New 27" 2010 iMac i7 Memory Issues

I know that numerous people have been experiencing issues with upgrading to 16gb of ram in the new 27" i7's. For some reason, when you have 4 modules installed weird things start to happen. Freezes and random shut downs are the main issues. If you remove two of the modules everything goes back to normal. Here are two threads that talk about it as well.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2567907&tstart=15
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2576477&tstart=75

I went through 3 different 16gb kits from OWC and all three ended up making my mac randomly shut down for now reason. Total loss of power. If I put the 4gb apple memory back in everything works fine.

Here is a link to the OWC memory - http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/1333DDR3S16S/

Here is a link to the Crucial memory -
http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=769226C4A5CA7304

Both Crucial and OWC meet all specifications for Apple. I just installed 16gb of Crucial memory today, it came as two 8gb kits. I'm hoping it works but that would defy logic, there is no way that 3 sets of OWC memory were bad. I will keep you posted. It normally takes a good 24-48 hours for the issue to present itself, at least on my machine.

And please post if you are having the same issue, any information will help. Hopefully we can get this resolved.

Thanks

Message was edited by: labeck

iMac 27" Core i7 - Mid 2010 - 16gb Ram, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Sep 21, 2010 12:37 PM

80 replies

Sep 24, 2010 12:16 PM in response to labeck

It was removed by Host. You are not supposed to poll on this forum, http://discussions.apple.com/help.jspa#terms
Or maybe "they" did not like the outcome of this poll.
peterwillem

Sep 25, 2010 4:49 AM in response to peterwillem

A pity about this poll, but I still would like to know if there are people who do not have these problems with the new iMac 27" i7 and using 16 Gig ram?

peterwillem

WZZZ

Level 6

13,226 points

Sep 25, 2010 6:55 AM in response to peterwillem

this morning i put the OEM ram back in and the temperature monitoring app shows a difference of close to 20 degrees on some of the readings. less ram = cooler i guess?

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=12328325#12328325

(I'm not sure if this means he removed the additional non-OEM RAM and went back to 8GB.)

I have no idea what the connection would be between maxing out the RAM and the computer running cooler, and it seems extremely unlikely, but in any event, can you check to see if these are thermal shutdowns?

This is a very long shot, but if you open up Console>System log and enter "temperature" in the search field, does anything come up for temperature, like "maximum temperature exceeded"?

EDIT: What do you see in the system log around the time of these shutdowns, and what do you get for any of these if you enter "shutdown cause" in the search field?

Message was edited by: WZZZ

Sep 25, 2010 7:46 AM in response to WZZZ

Thx,
I have no messages in the log concerning temperature. I have no had no sudden shutdown /messages for the past 16 days.
Because I am testing the different sets of ram , all < 16 Gig.
And the messages before that time ,they are no longer in the log.
But on my thread there is a screen copy.
<a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://">http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2560826&tstart =50

peterwillem

Sep 29, 2010 8:41 AM in response to OrangeKid

This is a follow up report on my two earlier posts. I added two 4 GB Apple OEM ram modules to my new mid-2010 iMac i7 for a total of 16 GB 7 days ago. The computer has been running 24/7 since then without any sudden shutdowns or other memory related issues.

I purchased the Apple OEM memory from MacRamDirect.com. It costs around 20% more than non-Apple OEM memory from OWC and Crucial. I decided to use Apple OEM memory after reading about all the problems others were having after upgrading their iMacs to 16 GB.

Sep 29, 2010 3:42 PM in response to OrangeKid

I just finished my 2 weeks of testing/trying the owc ram. Each week a different pair of 8 Gig ram. No problems whatsoever. Conclusion the OWC ram by itself is ok.
Tomorrow I will put the 2 pairs of ram (16 gig) in to the banks and see what is going to happen.

peterwillem

mcsys

Level 1

2 points

Sep 29, 2010 8:36 PM in response to peterwillem

I solved my problem by replacing my iMacs to all Transcend RAMs. My iMac 11,3 models are now able to take 16GB.

Oct 1, 2010 3:24 PM in response to labeck

I have sent a mail about this problem to OWC.
I like to quote OWC reaction to my mail:

Hello,

OWC has tested the ram in multiple iMacs of this group and the machines work fine with 16 gb of ram.

XXXXXXXX
Technical Customer Service Representative
Other World Computing, Inc. (OWC)
OWC.net, Inc.

So how come that so many of us have problems with that same ram? What is going on?
Hope that somebody fromApple or OWC van shed some light on this.
I obviously X'ed the name of the person in the mail.
peter willem

Oct 1, 2010 9:25 PM in response to labeck

Hey everyone. I am experiencing the same problem. I have owned this iMac for about 3 weeks and just experienced my first random shutdown. I was using Adobe Photoshop when it happened.

My Specs:
2.93GHZ QUAD-CORE INTELCORE I7
16GB 1333MHZ DDR3 SDRAM-4X4GB
2TB SERIAL ATA DRIVE
ATI RADEON HD 5750 1GB GDDR5
8X DOUBLE-LAYER SUPERDRIVE
COUNTRY KIT,IMAC 27-INCH

Does anyone know what is causing this?

Oct 1, 2010 9:36 PM in response to labeck

Here is a link to what the console said. I have no idea what this means, but I saw other people posting this.
http://danielatkins.com/imacshutdown.png

Oct 2, 2010 5:29 AM in response to labeck

I am using the ram straight from Apple. They built the entire computer shown in my above post. The Random Shutdown happened 3 more times in the span of 3 hours last night and I just kept it off. Help!

danieru

Level 1

8 points

Oct 3, 2010 1:34 AM in response to AtkinsStoreFront@aol.com

ouch.. me too. At first, for the two days I didn't notice. Then I though I had by mistake shut down..then it started to happen three times a day. Now I just don't know when it will happen next. I am using a one week old model purchased in Japan. I also now shut down at night as it happens in sleep too.

Oct 3, 2010 2:11 AM in response to danieru

Welcome to the club.
What type of ram and how many Gigs are you using?

Sorry I did not see your info below, so 16 G of OWC ram. Well so far there is not much you can do about it,except complaining at OWC and Apple. And if you want to work undisturbed than use less than 16 G ram. See the other posts and threads about this issue.

peter willem

Message was edited by: peterwillem

august77

Level 1

0 points

Oct 3, 2010 3:18 AM in response to peterwillem

Upgraded my iMac to 16GB.. no problem so far.

System running smoothly and i even left the mac on from morning till now... and it's still running fine.

The memory i used was ordered from OWC... Samsung (Apple) Factory Original

Product Specifications

Technology: DDR3 SDRAM
Density: 4GB (4096MB)
RoHS: Yes
Pin Count: 204-pin
Op. Temp.: 0C to +85C
Data Rate: DDR3-1333
Speed: PC3-10600
CL: CAS 9-9-9-24
Cycle Time: 1.875ns
Voltage: 1.5V
ECC: Non ECC
Module Ranks: Dual Rank
Register: Non Parity
Low Noise 8-Layer PCB
Exceeds Apple/Intel Specifications
Fully compliant with JEDEC specifications
RoHS Compliant

tsumuji

Level 1

0 points

Oct 4, 2010 5:38 PM in response to peterwillem

I have written OWC and offerred to return the nu ram and purchase other ram on their advise. ( I see that Apple's own ram also fails)
But the bad news is that I believe this problem is getting worse. It now can happen twice within 5 minutes. I am certainly noticing this problem more.

New 27" 2010 iMac i7 Memory Issues