iMac RAM: 16 GB or 20 GB

Question

iMac RAM: 16 GB or 20 GB

I'm running an iMac 3.4 GHz Intel quad core i7. I want to upgrade my RAM from the installed 4GB (2X2GB). The Applecare reps tell me that I can't configure beyond 16GB (4X4GB); that higher RAM will not be recognized or even cause a problem. The guy at the Apple dealer (Microcenter) tells me that I can install two 8 GB chips in two additional slots and leave the 2X2GB chips in place and have a total of 20 GBs of RAM. The dealer is not making more money that way. It would actually be less.

What's the right answer?

Posted on Jan 29, 2013 11:26 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 29, 2013 12:26 PM in response to Philip Snyder

although you may get some answer s here, the main focus of this forum is finalcutpro 7. You might do better posting in a different forum.

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Answer 2

Nick Holmes

Level 7

30,018 points

Jan 29, 2013 12:29 PM in response to Philip Snyder

According to Mactracker....

I have a May 2011 21.5" iMac with 32GB. It recognises all of it.

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Answer 3

Jan 29, 2013 12:31 PM in response to Philip Snyder

That machine can be had direct from Apple with up to 32GB RAM installed (4x8).

The 20GB configuration will also work fine and yes, the system will see 20GB.

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Answer 4

Jan 29, 2013 12:39 PM in response to Michael Black

are you guys just trying to make me look bad?

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Answer 5

Jan 29, 2013 12:40 PM in response to Michael Grenadier

😉

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Answer 6

Jan 30, 2013 5:13 AM in response to Michael Black

I was just told by someone on the LA FCP User Group that FCP 7 or earlier won't use more than 4GB of RAM.

Does anyone else know if this is true?

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Answer 7

Jan 30, 2013 5:22 AM in response to Philip Snyder

yes. That's the limit for any 32 bit app. However, if you're using other apps simultaneously with fcp, they will be able to use the additional ram.

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Answer 8

Jan 30, 2013 5:29 AM in response to Michael Grenadier

OK. I understand. What I exactly need it for is to compress one hour timelines for Youtube. I've been using the SHARE feature and it's been doing a good but very slow job. So are you saying that the increased RAM won't work if I work thru SHARE? But it would help if used Compressor? But then I would have to output a self-contained QT movie which is another step.

Thanks for all your input, Michael.

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Answer 9

Jan 30, 2013 5:36 AM in response to Philip Snyder

Or can I use the SHARE feature in Compressor and still benefit from the increased RAM?

Ie., Self-contained QT to Compressor set to SHARE?

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Answer 10

Jan 30, 2013 5:38 AM in response to Philip Snyder

there are no free lunches in video editing. What format are your sources and what are your sequence settings? If your clips match the sequence settings and it's a standard format, exporting a selfcontianed qt is pretty quick and the savings from using qmaster to distribute the compression can be substantial with an hour quicktime.

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Answer 11

Jan 30, 2013 5:41 AM in response to Philip Snyder

using "share" or just choosing the appropriate preset shouldn't make a difference in compressor's processing time.

And compressor 3.5 has the same 4 gig limitation as fcp.

You can send to compressor from within fcp which allows you to keep editing in fcp (but you can't use qmaster when you do this). This can be a big advantage.

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Answer 12

Jan 30, 2013 5:55 AM in response to Michael Grenadier

1440X1080, 29.97 fps, HDV1080i 60.

So, given FCP 7 and Compressor 3.5 32 bit limit, increasing RAM is a waste of money as far as this process is concerned?

The only speed enhancer is using qmaster?

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Answer 13

Jan 30, 2013 6:01 AM in response to Philip Snyder

well I'd say upping the RAM to at least 8 gigs and given how cheap it is to 16 gigs will have some benefits. If you're running fcp AND compressor at the same time, they'll be able to take advantage of 4 gigs each (I think, I'm not an expert at this) and the OS needs some RAM to run also.

At the moment, I'm running FCP, doing some file copies, and running chrome. I just started the activity monitor. It shows fcp using 628 megs of real memory and 852 megs of virtual memory. I've always thought that virtual memory was when stuff that should have been in ram if it was available was swapped to the startup hard disk. Anyone out there want to explain what's going on? If no one does, and I remember, I'll start a new thread regarding this. oh yeah, I've got 12 gigs of ram on my macpro.

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Answer 14

Jan 30, 2013 6:18 AM in response to Michael Grenadier

Selfcontained QT movie made and Compressor working thru Qmaster. We'll see how it goes.

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Answer 15

Jan 30, 2013 9:28 AM in response to Philip Snyder

It did the job in two hours vs. four hours. Can't complain. Thanks so much for the qmaster tip.

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