iMac 8,1 2008 8gb ram upgrade

I bought this machine from a surplus store and I only paid 400 dollars for it. Since it is an old machine I really have nothing to lose. If this acts up...then I will simply bet another machine. I am a vintage kind of guy and I am also a geek. Thanks for all your responses and I will keep you up to date...

Apple uses regular old ram, if you know the specs, you CAN buy it from anyone.

That's not true with the newer systems and Mac models. Even if the specs read the same not all RAM modules are equal in quality. The only two vendors I would even think of using is Crucial.com and macsales.com. Search these forums and you'll find time and time again "local" or "bargain" modules that that the same specs not working in the Macs. There are numerous reports of modules working at first but after a while they start crashing.

Crucial and macsales tests it's offered modules in the Mac model they are offered for. Both have excellent customer support and warranties.

Your Comment "You CANNOT purchase RAM for Macs from any local computer or electronics store or from any ole' online retailer, such as Amazon. DON'T EVEN TRY!!!,"

Is incorrect and misleading. It's nice that you are helping people, and it's true for the average end user it's simpler to buy from a retailer that knows the Mac.

Apple uses regular old ram, if you know the specs, you CAN buy it from anyone.

As far as I know, there has NEVER been any Apple computer that didn't use Garden variety RAM. This includes all systems to date, although not all of them are removable.

Yes there is a variety of quality, but a reputable vendor will stand behind the product they sell.

SSD's are a different story as Apple has chosen to make their "blade" SSD's non standard.

I suspect that will change in the future.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities

That's what happens if you didn't have enough memory for the applications you use, and now, it's normal that you experience an improve in performance, just because you can run more applications and they can be faster.

Anyway, the Early 2008 iMac you have only supports 6 GB, so it's probably using only 6 GB of memory, and not all the memory you have installed. To check that, open  > About this Mac, and see Memory. What do you see there?

Hello, I has the same IMAC 8.1 3,2 ghz, with 4 gb ram, I will try to put 8 gb. You recomend it?

It's working fine your IMAC with 8GB?

Thnak's so much.

I can also confirm that my iMac 8.1 (early 2008) works well with 8GB of RAM. As far as I can see, it's stable and doesn't crash, uses all the RAM well and doesn't page out even when used RAM is up to 7GB or more. Photoshop loves it.

I did run memtest check the other day, and even though it took a long time (it complained that it couldn't lock memory for testing and that it would be running much slower), it managed to get through and to OK my memory modules. Btw, the memory I use is from Crucial, modules are 4GB each with part number CT51264AC800. CAS latency is 6, so a bit slower which probably suits this mbd. OS is Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

For many Mac models, OWC and Crucial list specifications greater than the specifications Apple lists officially. I am running 16 gb on my MBP 8,2. OWC extensively tests the models beforehand and offers 1 year warranty on their modules. User member Kappy previously explained to me that the reason why Apple doesn't officially awkwoledge RAM specifications that are greater than originally listed is probably because they would have to subject the models to extensive QT testing again, which they have no incentive to really to do. Furthermore, the failure rate required to pass this testing by Apple is much smaller than the aforementioned companies. Apple has only officially increased RAM specifications on a few of its models.

Where did you buy your memories. I want to do the same thing. Thanks

If you start having issues with your iMac, you may well have to get a 2 Gb RAM module +4 GB RAM module to,bring your iMac to a physical RAM total of 6 GBs.

OWC (macsales.com) does a lot of RAM testing on Mac models to see if more RAM can be installed than what Apple's own specs specify.

Correct and 100% reliable Mac RAM can be purchased from online Mac RAM sources Crucial memory or OWC (macsales.com).

Both Crucial and OWC have lifetime replacement guarantees on their RAM modules if they ever fail

I got my modules from Crucial.

Nevel88 and Broken_Mouse, It is now 18 September 2013. How is your iMac performing with 8GBs isntalled?

Joanpb and Deafwarrior, did you install 8GBs and if so what have you found?

Hey Umberto! Sorry to take so long in responding. I am now running on the 8 GBs. It is working and it is running just fine. Right now I am thinking of going up to 16GBs as mentioned by nbar. So it works! Good Luck

I can tell it runs faster too...