Installing ram in a late 2012 27 inch iMac

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tal1971 Author

Level 2

302 points

Installing ram in a late 2012 27 inch iMac

I'm going to be getting my first iMac shortly and I'm planning on purchasing 16GB ram and installing it along with the 8GB of ram that the iMac will come with.

I was wondering if there needs to be a particular ram module that needs to be installed in a particular slot, for example to give me a dual channel function in the ram, or is this something that doesn't need to be done on the iMac and if that is the case can I just install the ram modules I purchase in any free slots?

Windows Vista, iPad (3rd Gen) 32GB iPhone 5 32GB

Posted on Jan 3, 2013 7:08 AM

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Answer 1

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Jan 3, 2013 7:11 AM in response to tal1971

See > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3011 You can install up to 32 GB, and you can buy it in OWC to guarantee the compatibility with your Mac > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2012_27/DDR3L

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Answer 2

tal1971 Author

Level 2

302 points

Jan 3, 2013 7:17 AM in response to mende1

Thanks for the help.

So does a particular ram module need installed in a particular slot, for example to give me a dual channel function in the ram, or is this something that doesn't need to be done on the iMac?

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Answer 3

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Jan 3, 2013 7:20 AM in response to tal1971

That memory includes Dual Channel, but your Mac has got that feature because Apple installs two memory sticks of the same type, capacity and speed on the Macs. You can install the memory on the slot you want

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Answer 4

Jan 3, 2013 9:03 AM in response to tal1971

It's usually best to install RAM in horizontal pairs, but I haven't seen the layout for the new iMacs yet, which are located differently to previous models.

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Answer 5

GBerzins

Level 1

8 points

Jan 19, 2013 4:04 PM in response to tal1971

I just bought 2012 iMac with 27" display. I bought the stock 8 gb RAM and simply used the left over RAM modules from my wife's 2011 13" macbook pro (upgraded from 8 gb to 16 gb) and put the 2 8GB ram chips in my imac for a total of 16 gb. The RAM chips are identical from macBook pro 13" to new iMac. Awesome..

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Answer 6

tal1971 Author

Level 2

302 points

Jan 20, 2013 12:01 AM in response to GBerzins

Thanks for that.

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Answer 7

tal1971 Author

Level 2

302 points

Jan 20, 2013 12:10 AM in response to tal1971

Just an update about installing ram in a particular slot:

From another forum:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=16673998&postcount=78

From Crucial ram tech support:

Apple installs the two 4GB sticks in the slots the processor accesses first for RAM.

Crucial recommends removing the two 4GB sticks (Apple's ram) and replacing with their two 8GB sticks, then installing the original two 4GB sticks (Apple's ram) in the remaining two empty slots.

From Apple tech:

Apple also recommends remove their two 4GB sticks, replace with the two Crucial 8GB sticks, then install the Apple sticks in the remaining empties.

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