Adding Memory CL11 Importance?

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Level 1

66 points

Adding Memory CL11 Importance?

I am going to add another 16Gb of memory to my new iMac 27 late 2015 retina which has 16Gb already. Of the ram I've found online that meets the apple specs, they all include CL=11 as a spec. How important is the CL number and does it need to match the CL number for the ram that apple installed on my new computer?

Use Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Modules (SO-DIMM) that meet all of these criteria:

PC3-12800
Unbuffered
Nonparity
204-pin
1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 7:52 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 1, 2015 10:39 AM in response to ctc123

Macs can be fussy if not downright unstable if you are looking at any

of the "bargain basement" or off brands or even some popular PC brands.

Best bet is to purchase your RAM from OWC or Crucial. They seem to be the

most reliable and are very good at returns if they do ship you bad RAM.

I made the mistake of using "Mac Compatible" PNY RAM and had system

crashes, app hang ups, and just unexplained app crashes. Situation got even

worse when upgraded to Yosemite. Replaced all the RAM with 32GB of OWC

RAM and system has been running with no issues whatsoever for almost a year now.

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Answer 2

ctc123 Author

Level 1

66 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:15 PM in response to woodmeister50

Okay, so I looked up the cost of ram from OWC, crucial, ramjet, and Apple all for the same specs. PC3-12800, Unbuffered, Nonparity, 204-pin, 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM. So how would you choose?

Crucial $223.98 (2)16GB kit (8GBx2) DDR3 PC3-12800 Unbuffered NON-ECC 1.35V 1024Meg x 64

OWC $299 32.0GB (4x 8GB) PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin CL11 SO-DIMM Memory Upgrade Kit

Ramjet $369 32GB, DDR3-1600, 1600Mhz, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, 1.35V, 204pin SO-DIMM

Apple $800 (2)16GB 1600MHz DDR3 (PC3-12800) - 2x8GB

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Answer 3

babowa

Level 9

78,568 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:37 PM in response to ctc123

If your model identifier is 15,1, here is what I would buy:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/Retina-5K/DDR3L

OWC is my first (and pretty much only choice for Mac RAM.

If I had to choose another, I'd go with Crucial.

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Answer 4

Jun 5, 2015 10:10 PM in response to ctc123

The Woodmeisteer 50 has given you a portal to the answer you seek.

http://www.crucial .com

This site will allow you to download a program that will scan your computer and will give you a step by step to the Ram your machine will hold to max out your computers memory and the cost as well, and the 100% warranty.

The 2nd is from OWC or Other World Computing and it also haas the same warranty. Below is the link to it.

Memory for iMac 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, & now 32GB - OWC Certified RAM for Apple iMac with Lifetime Warranty

Good Luck to you.

Don Morgan

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