Buying a new iMac

Question

Level 1

5 points

Buying a new iMac

Hi All

I am considering buying a new iMac, my old iMac is now 6 years old and getting a bit slow and clunky. It had 2GB RAM as standard and last year I upgraded to 4GB RAM, the Max it will take. This helped initially but the machine is now getting very slow and clunky again.

I am considering a new 21.5-inch: 2.7GHz model with 8 GB of Ram as standard (2 x 4GB RAM) but I am considering ordering it with the optional 16GB RAM but can anyone tell me if the RAM in these new models can be upgraded in the future to more than 16GB and what the Max RAM would be on this new current model?

I also see that there is a forthcoming upgrade to the OS system - 'Maverick' - so, would it be worth waiting to buy a machine with Maverick already installed, or would the upgrade be easy later on if I bought a new model now?

Many thanks.

Dave

Posted on Sep 9, 2013 1:47 AM

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Answer 1

nbar

Level 5

7,019 points

Sep 9, 2013 1:53 AM in response to Matchless350

The current model supports a maximum of 16 GB. Buy the machine, and subsequently upgrade your OS. there is no need to wait for software to come out in order to purchase a machine that will support it.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2012_21.5/DDR3L

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Answer 2

Sep 9, 2013 1:58 AM in response to Matchless350

you cant upgrade it afterwards !!!!

you have to decide before buying it !!!!

you can upgrade your ram only in the 27" model !!!

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Answer 3

nbar

Level 5

7,019 points

Sep 9, 2013 2:02 AM in response to manohar.musician

You can upgrade from 8 to 16 GB. 16 GB is the maximum capacity. There are two slots in the 13'' model supported a maximum of 2 x GB modules.

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Answer 4

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Sep 9, 2013 2:06 AM in response to Matchless350

- The new iMac is not as easy to upgrade Ram, practically not possible to do it yourself.

For now, the max is 16GB Ram. I think that when you now have 4GB and when you are not going to use new apps, that eat Ram (FCP, and th like) 16 is more than enough.

- Another few months and it will be delivered with Maverick. Until now it was not difficult to upgrade the OS one step.

- A difficult choice now is to decide between harddisk (500GB), Fusion Drive 1 or 2TB, SSD (500GB). The fastest is the SSD and (in my experience the best solution), the fusion drive is faster than the HDD, but different software, basically being a large buffer and a big hdd: read about that carefully.

In the meantime: your old iMac being slow may be bettered: download Etrecheck from www.etresoft.com and post the list here.

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Answer 5

Sep 9, 2013 2:19 AM in response to nbar

Users are unable to add extra RAM after delevery as there is no physical access to the RAM slots.

Configurable means deciding on the amount of RAM at the time of purchase.

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Answer 6

LowLuster

Level 6

12,105 points

Sep 9, 2013 3:07 AM in response to nbar

Not on the 21" model. That model is SEALED and can not be upgraded in any way, not even by Apple, after you purchase it.

nbar wrote:

You can upgrade from 8 to 16 GB. 16 GB is the maximum capacity. There are two slots in the 13'' model supported a maximum of 2 x GB modules.

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Answer 7

Matchless350 Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 9, 2013 4:57 AM in response to Matchless350

Thanks for all the speedy and helpful replies, all very useful.

As for what, and when to buy, I see on another website (Mac Rumours Buyers Guide) that the current iMacs on sale (release date 2012) are to be replaced with new models on 30 November 2013. Or, is this information out of date and the current models on offer are the 'Newly' introduced models?

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Answer 8

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Sep 9, 2013 6:23 AM in response to Matchless350

This is a rumour (as the name of the site), but it would not surprise me when it is true...

So, do you really have the matchless 350 bike, or is it your nickname only?

Lex

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Answer 9

Matchless350 Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 9, 2013 6:50 AM in response to Lexiepex

Thanks for that, yes I do have a Matchles 350, a 1959 G3 Single.

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Answer 10

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Sep 9, 2013 6:58 AM in response to Matchless350

I had one too. Deadly, but fantastic. Have fun.

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Answer 11

MichelPM

Level 10

80,958 points

Sep 9, 2013 8:33 AM in response to Matchless350

No one here has mentioned any of this, so I may as well ask as it may help with the speed of your older iMac.

First, if your iMac IS a 2007 iMac, the max. RAM it can take is 6 GBs of RAM.

You can replace one of the 2 GB RAM modules with a 4 Gb module from here.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/5300DDR2S4GB/

Second, how full is your iMac's hard drive?

If your drive has below 20 GBs of free hard drive space, it maybe time to consider archiving and thinning out data from the iMac's internal drive.

How many applications do you run simultaneously in the background while working in another application?

When browsing the web, how many open windows or tabs do you have open at one time?

Do you run any antivirus software on your Mac? Antivirus software can slow down the normal operation of OS X.

Do you run any "crapware" like Mackeeper or any other type of "crapware" like so called hard drive "cleaning" apps?

All of this can contribute to generally slowness of a Mac.

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Answer 12

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Sep 9, 2013 9:04 AM in response to MichelPM

Good idea, as I said earlier: "In the meantime: your old iMac being slow may be bettered: download Etrecheck from www.etresoft.com and post the list here."

The OP already has 4GB, see original post.

When it is a software that has the brakes on, we will see it when we recieve the Etrecheck list here. Especially AV will show up. Let's wait and see what the matchless OP wants to do.

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Answer 13

nbar

Level 5

7,019 points

Sep 9, 2013 12:49 PM in response to LowLuster

How many responses do people need to give clarifying the fact that I was clearly wrong about the latest model. I know what configurable means. I was wrong. Move on. To the OP, I'm sorry if any information I gave you was misleading. Cheers.

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Answer 14

Matchless350 Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 10, 2013 3:30 AM in response to Matchless350

OK, I have now run the EtreCheck as recommended and the list is very long, most of it means nothing to me, so here goes:

Hardware Information:

iMac (20-inch, Early 2008)

iMac - model: iMac8,1

1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

4 GB RAM

Video Information:

ATI Radeon HD 2400 - VRAM: 128 MB

Startup Items:

AdobeVersionCueCS2 - Path: /Library/StartupItems/AdobeVersionCueCS2

System Software:

Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: 0 days 3:12:2

Disk Information:

ST3250820AS Q disk0 : (232.89 GB)

(null) (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 200 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 232.57 GB (130.52 GB free)

USB Information:

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Primax Electronics Apple Optical USB Mouse

Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

Kernel Extensions:

Problem System Launch Daemons:

[not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist

Problem System Launch Agents:

[failed] com.apple.Kerberos.renew.plist

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.kodak.BonjourAgent.plist

User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae.plist

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

[loaded] com.kodak.KODAK AiO Annual Opt.plist

[loaded] com.kodak.KODAK AiO Firmware Updater.plist

[loaded] com.kodak.KODAK AiO Software Updater.plist

User Login Items:

N067U_ButtonManager

N124U_ButtonManager

CrossOver CD Helper

CNQL1213_ButtonManager

N067U_ButtonManager

N124U_ButtonManager

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Adobe Version Cue CS2

Flash Player

Flip4Mac WMV

Internet Plug-ins:

Flash Player.plugin

FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin

Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin

iPhotoPhotocast.plugin

JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

Mozillaplug.plugin

NPDjVu.plugin

PrintDialogExt.plugin

QuickTime Plugin.plugin

RealPlayer Plugin.plugin

User Internet Plug-ins:

Bad Fonts:

None

Top Processes by CPU:

5% EtreCheck

2% syslogd

1% WindowServer

0% Microsoft Entourage

0% fontd

0% Microsoft Word

0% WebProcess

0% System Events

0% coreservicesd

0% LaunchCFMApp

Top Processes by Memory:

172 MB Microsoft Word

164 MB WebProcess

115 MB iTunes

78 MB Microsoft Entourage

74 MB Safari

57 MB WindowServer

20 MB Finder

20 MB mds

20 MB EtreCheck

16 MB SystemUIServer

Virtual Memory Statistics

2.43 GB Free RAM

897 MB Active RAM

425 MB Inactive RAM

283 MB Wired RAM

286 MB Page-ins

0 B Page-outs

Any ideas?

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Answer 15

R C-R

Level 6

17,782 points

Sep 10, 2013 5:18 AM in response to Matchless350

Matchless350 wrote:

I am considering a new 21.5-inch: 2.7GHz model with 8 GB of Ram as standard (2 x 4GB RAM) but I am considering ordering it with the optional 16GB RAM but can anyone tell me if the RAM in these new models can be upgraded in the future to more than 16GB and what the Max RAM would be on this new current model?

Technically, nbar is correct: you can upgrade the RAM later, but as the OWC link he furnished mentions, this is a difficult process involving disassembling the iMac & is not recommended. (Also note that the OWC kit, including RAM & the necessary tools to open the iMac, is only slightly less expensive than buying the iMac with 16 GB pre-installed.)

As for upgrading beyond 16 GB, it is possible (but highly unlikely) that the 21.5" model's memory controller could support 16 GB modules so -- if such modules are ever made -- you might be able to install two of them & get 32 GB.

Something else to consider: I have the 27" 2012 model that has user-upgradable RAM. I ordered it with 8 GB, intending to buy more modules later on to take it to 16 or even 32 GB. But so far, I have never run out of free RAM, so I would not see any benefit from adding more of it.

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