iMac Late 2006-Upgrading RAM

First, is this correct so far? I would need to buy 2 1GB modules and replace 2 512MB modules? If I only need to buy one please let me know and correct me.

Yes you will need to replace both DIMMs curently installed. If your machine has the ability to go beyond 2GB I would definetely max out the RAM, your machine will run much better therefore enhancing your experience.

Second, what can I do with the extra 1GB of RAM? If I have to replace the 512 MB modules what can I do with them once they are replaced? I don't really want to sell them and they are in perfectly good condition so is there anything I can use them for?

Probably not, you can donate them or take them to your local Best Buy for recycling.

If there is a 1GB module then I'd go with:

1x2GB

1x1GB

this totals 3GB. With an older machine spending money on it is a difficult decison. Remember it 5 years old so how much life does it really have in it? With RAM you can never have too much and if you put in a total of 2GB you still only have the minimum requirement for Lion. At the end of the day it's your money and your choice.

I can't make that choice for you, to me it would be an economic decision because I'd not want to put a lot of money in that old a machine.

Your welcome.

applefandan wrote:

OK thank you for your input. I greatly appreciate it. I will leave this open in case others have more suggestions.

Well, I had the 24" model and faced the same predicament; when i was researching it, I found that it can address a maximum of 3.1 or 3.2 GB, so I decided that it wasn't worthwhile to me to pay for a full GB and only get 0.1 or 0.2 out of it. I ran it with 3 GB and it was fine. So, I'd go with 3 definitely - from what I've seen so far, Lion likes a lot of RAM, so I'd go with 3 (or 4 if you want). As for the original RAM, OWC (macsales.com - my preferred RAM vendor) offers a trade in program. As for me, I always keep the old RAM just in case - even though you have a warranty on the new RAM, it might be necessary to send them in at some point - in that case, you can keep going by putting in your old RAM temporarily.

I also have a late 2006 20 inch iMac. In seaching through the Apple Store for additional RAM it says "No memory currently available for that model."

Dead end?

No, many resellers will sell RAM for you computer. I'd recommend Crucial and OWC (www.macsales.com) both are reputable vendors with excellent prices and support.

Thanks...guess it's just a matter of guessing how well the machine will run with 3 GB. Lion specs say the minimum needed is 2 GB. Does that seem like enough headroom?

It should run better with 3GB than 2. Lion requires 2GB as a minimum, if you want some performance the I'd get 3GB.

As a side note due to your machine's age it may behoove you to look into a new machine. Depending on how you use it you many see dramatic performance improvements. Just some food for thought.

You'd be better off with as much as you can - in your case 3 GB...... The minimums published are just that: a minimum.

Happy to report that using one 2 GB and one 1 GB memory module I am successfully running the new Lion OS on a late 2006 20 inch iMac with no problems. Gonna squeeze every last drop of functionality out of this machine!

Great glad it all worked out.