Two Types of Memory Modules?

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Two Types of Memory Modules?

I recently bought am iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) and bought an extra 8GB of memory (total 16 GB).

The retailer told me that he was out of Apple's branded memory but assured me that a different memory brand would work just fine.

I have been somewhat suspect of this causing some of my memory-hunger programs to run slow. I checked my system report but couldn't notice anything out-of-place with the memory module. All four slots read: STATUS:OK

My question is whether using two types of memory modules could corrupt or slow down your system?

Thank you in advance.

Miguel Russo Hart.

Additional info:

Two memory module: Manufacturer - 0x802C serial number - 0x412BD4D0

Two memory module: Manufacturer - 0x873E serial number - 0xFFFFFFFF

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Sep 5, 2015 6:18 AM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,690 points

Sep 5, 2015 7:07 AM in response to MigRusso

The RAM serial numbers don't help; we need to see the speed of the modules. You can find that in System Information (hereafter "SI"). Click and hold on your black Apple menu icon, then press option. The top item, "About this Mac," wil change to System Information." Launch it.

In SI's left-hand navigation pane, click "Memory" to get this new main pane:

All four of your modules should show the same speed: 1600mHz.

What brand is the new RAM? There are quite a few that claim to be Mac compatible but are not. Kingston ValueRam, PNY, and Corsair often show up here and problems. I must point out that those RAM modules usually do more than slow the compute--they ofter casue crashes and kernel panics. Your slowness could be something else. Pleasse tel uss more about teh slowness. Example; isit is pervasive; only slow when browsing; only slow with certain apps.

Are you running any anti-virius, so-called "cleaning/optimization/tune-up" software? They are the major cause of pervasive slowness in Macs. Adware can slow you browsing. Please see: Stop pop-up ads and adware in Safari - Apple Support

If you are not sure what is or isn't installed on your Mac. post back and we can go from there.

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Answer 2

MigRusso Author

Level 1

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Sep 5, 2015 9:11 AM in response to Allan Jones

Hello Allan,

Thank you for your quick reply.

In the System Information the speed for both memory modules is 1600 Mhz.

I check my receipt and here's some additional info regarding the memory I bought:

PC3-12800 (DDR3 - 1600 SODIMM MID 2012 M

I emailed the retailer with the request to check what the brand name is for this memory module.

---

The slowness I am experiencing is particularly when exporting photos from Lightroom 5. I do this on a daily business because of my work and often compare the process with the Laptop of my girlfriend. I also experience short and annoying freezes in Photoshop when using the brush tool.

Here's my full system spec:

Yosemite 10.10.5

iMac 27inch, late 2013

Processor: 3.4 Ghz Intel Core i5

Memory: 24 GB 1600 Mhz DDR3

Graphics: NVidia GeForce GTX 775M 2048 MB

Here's her full system spec:

Yosemite 10.10.5

Mac Book Pro Retina 15inch, mid 2014

Processor: 2.2 Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 Gb 1600 Mhz DDR3

Graphics: Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

My iMac should be at least as fast as her's right? On average my iMac would take at least 20 min. longer per exporting session.

The only anti-virus and cleaner I am using are:

Avast & CleanMyMac 3.

I try to keep my iMac as clean as possible and only have Adobe, Skype, MS word installed.

I have at least 800 Gb of space on my Hdd. Albeit partitioned, 280 Gb free on main and 500 Gb on secondaire.

That's all the info I have for you.

I bought my iMac about 2 months ago. Would a complete re-install do me any good?

Thank you.

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,690 points

Sep 5, 2015 10:18 AM in response to MigRusso

The only anti-virus and cleaner I am using are:

Avast & CleanMyMac 3.

As the guy on "Mythbusters" likes to say, "Well, there's your problem!"

Your RAM is probably OK but you are suffering the fate of all Mac owners who came from the Windows world where users are brainwashed into believing their computer will not function without steaming piles of third-party utilities. Either of those two programs alone will degrade your performance significantly; together they approach "perfect storm" status. You must remove them or continue to have your nice new iMac run like a 1998-vintage computer.

You should not do a erase/install until you are sure all elements of Avast and CMM are gone. Removal help here:

https://www.avast.com/en-us/faq.php?article=AVKB67

How do I remove Clean My Mac 3 from Mac book pro with OS 10.7.5

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Answer 4

MigRusso Author

Level 1

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Sep 5, 2015 11:08 AM in response to Allan Jones

I was afraid those programs were the cause of my issues...

I removed them but will do a re-install of Yosemite later this week, just to be sure!

I will keep you posted.

Thank you greatly.

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