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20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

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Old 10-07-2009, 7:59 AM   #1
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20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Just thought I'd let you know

Just fitted 2x2Gb to my new iMac - courtesy of Crucial for the bargain price of £45 (£10 down from last month) - and wow, what a difference.

The only CPU/Memory intensive task is converting DVD TS files to iPhone m4v using Toast. Previously this was completed in virtually real time - 90 minute movie taking 90 minutes. Even with a (standard) Elgato Turbo this only dropped to 80 minutes. With the RAM upgrade - down to 25 minutes!!!

Result!
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Old 10-07-2009, 9:45 AM   #2
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Sounds good

I've never used Toast but every time I've tested the Elgato Turbo on my (older) iMac its proved to be 33-35% slower than VisualHub which is odd.
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Old 10-07-2009, 10:04 AM   #3
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

I did the same thing. Keep the box from Crucial and sell the old 1gb sticks on ebay. I got nearly £10 for them.
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Old 10-07-2009, 10:09 AM   #4
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by simon12 View Post
I did the same thing. Keep the box from Crucial and sell the old 1gb sticks on ebay. I got nearly £10 for them.
Cheers, hadn't thought there would be a demand for them tbh but a tenner will pay for 0.66% of an MBP
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Old 10-07-2009, 10:28 AM   #5
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Every Little Helps
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Old 11-07-2009, 2:04 PM   #6
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

I'm currently using a 24" iMac.

Model Identifier: iMac6,1
Processor Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz

I would love a RAM upgrade but I'm absolutely terrified of screwing it up.
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Old 11-07-2009, 2:22 PM   #7
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Radioheadbanger View Post
I'm currently using a 24" iMac.

Model Identifier: iMac6,1
Processor Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz

I would love a RAM upgrade but I'm absolutely terrified of screwing it up.
It is easy to do - just upgraded my 20" to 4GB. Full instructions are in the book that came with the iMac. I guess it takes about 5 mins. start to finish

Last edited by Accylad; 11-07-2009 at 2:26 PM.
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Old 11-07-2009, 2:26 PM   #8
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by simon12 View Post
I did the same thing. Keep the box from Crucial and sell the old 1gb sticks on ebay. I got nearly £10 for them.
I'd be inclined to keep the chips and use them in an emergency.

I've had bad ram in the past and if a chip fails you can use one of your old ones whilst you get it replaced.
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Old 13-07-2009, 10:54 AM   #9
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Just ordered myself a 2gb sim from Crucial.

Decided not to replace the existing 1gb one that's already in there and just go for a total of 3gb.

Still think I'll be happy with the preformance
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Old 13-07-2009, 12:04 PM   #10
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

I just checked the maximum upgrade i can have.
My Imac is late 2006 and only upgrades to 3GB.

I already have 2GB, so I'm not sure if i maximise the RAM by adding 1GB it'll make much of a difference.
I'm presuming there's 1Gb in each slot?
Memory Slots:

ECC: Disabled
BANK 0/DIMM0:

Size: 1 GB
Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK

BANK 1/DIMM1:

Size: 1 GB
Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK

Last edited by Radioheadcase; 13-07-2009 at 12:08 PM.
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Old 16-07-2009, 10:13 AM   #11
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Installed my new 2gb sim last night



Running like a dream, especially when I have a lot of apps open. £20 well spent
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Old 16-07-2009, 9:06 PM   #12
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Radioheadbanger View Post
I would love a RAM upgrade but I'm absolutely terrified of screwing it up.
Its incredibly easy. So much so there is no room for error. Undo two screws, out with the old, click and press in the new. It is longer to undo and replace the screws

Intel-based iMac: Installing and replacing memory (RAM)
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Old 16-07-2009, 9:31 PM   #13
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by LFC_SL View Post
Its incredibly easy. So much so there is no room for error. Undo two screws, out with the old, click and press in the new. It is longer to undo and replace the screws

Intel-based iMac: Installing and replacing memory (RAM)
That's good to know!
Seems idiot proof really.
I'm not sure 3GB is going to make a huge difference to 2GB though.
But I'm so tempted now.
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Old 16-07-2009, 9:51 PM   #14
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

I made the upgrade and believe me, if I can do it - you can do it!!
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Old 17-07-2009, 7:26 AM   #15
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Re: 20" iMac RAM upgrade. I am most happy :-)

Just to let people know on my iMac which is about 2 years old the memory bays are side by side and not one on top of the other.

It was dead easy to install the new sim however if i'd had to take the old one out there is no eject button, just a plastic tab type thing.

The instructions are on the bottom of the stand.
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