I'm thinking about purchasing a 21.5" iMac. The base model comes with 8GB of RAM, and the RAM is not user-upgradeable down the road. Is 8GB enough memory or should I upgrade to 16GB?

Here's another thing to consider.

Buy the fastest base iMac you can afford with the base 8.0 GBs of RAM.

Use it and see if the RAM amount is enough and works for you or not. If it is not, you have 14 days to return the iMac for a full refund and order an new one with the 16 GBs of RAM.

Good Luck!

upsydaisysassy wrote:

The upgrade to 16GB would cost $200. Is that reasonable?

Decent non-Apple user installable RAM would be much, much less. But, unfortunately, that's not an option.

You have already received a lot of correct suggestion.

Let me add one more.

Sometimes may be you will need to sell your iMac. It will be more easy with 16GB than with 8, probably you will not get more money but the buyer will prefer yours if it will be in competition with a 8GB machine.

Walter

I wouldn't consider getting one of the new glued together iMacs, especially the 21.5. I think you'd be much better off getting a refurb. They have an excellent reputation, they're less expensive, come with the same warranty (to which AppleCare can be added) and you won't be running into this problem. Since they're not attempting to be the silly, ultra-thin fashion accessory that the new ones are, they will also probably run cooler, with three fans, not just one. These models also have an optical drive, which might just be useful.

This one's available now. They have to be grabbed fast.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/imac

And if you want to upgrade the RAM, OWC is known for reasonably priced, well trusted, Mac compatible RAM.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2011/DDR3_21.5_27