iMac Memory how much do i need

hughes051 · Jun 28, 2008

ok i have gone to Crucial to purchase to mac memory i have downloaded the
The Crucial Mac System Scanner and it reported that i had 1gb total system memory. Now all i do is serach the web do my web page and trade on ebay do a few auction adds and my banking. I also use PARALLELS DESKTOP every once and a while just so i can use an pc app which is not available on a mac the last one was Microsoft Telescope which all worked ok but some what slow.

I would also like to run some games on the mac just see what they are like but most if not all are for the pc ie I want to see what crysis looks like etc on my mac 20" just for abit of fun.

Now I am not sure how much memory i would need to do all this like i said i have 1gb in total and looking at crucial advise and what my mate told me 2 gb should be fine so my total would be 3gb i think , but if i max the memory to 4gb would it be a waste of money for what i use a mac for? please advise

Soulwar · Jun 28, 2008

hughes051 said:
ok i have gone to Crucial to purchase to mac memory i have downloaded the
The Crucial Mac System Scanner and it reported that i had 1gb total system memory. Now all i do is serach the web do my web page and trade on ebay do a few auction adds and my banking. I also use PARALLELS DESKTOP every once and a while just so i can use an pc app which is not available on a mac the last one was Microsoft Telescope which all worked ok but some what slow.

I would also like to run some games on the mac just see what they are like but most if not all are for the pc ie I want to see what crysis looks like etc on my mac 20" just for abit of fun.

Now I am not sure how much memory i would need to do all this like i said i have 1gb in total and looking at crucial advise and what my mate told me 2 gb should be fine so my total would be 3gb i think , but if i max the memory to 4gb would it be a waste of money for what i use a mac for? please advise

If your system can take 4GB, then by all means, max it out. The bottom line is the more memory you have, the better the performance.

Also, depending on the system, they should be installed in pairs, for maximum performance. If you would like to post your specs for your iMac, we can help determining exactly what you need. (processor speed, screen size, etc..)

hughes051 · Jun 28, 2008

iMac 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (20-inch) MA876LL does this mean anythink

Soulwar · Jun 28, 2008

Your maximum is 4GB. Supports 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (2x2GB) And they should be installed in Matched pairs.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/stats/imac-core-2-duo-2.0-20-inch-aluminum-specs.html

Another great place to shop at.
http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?model=271

A "how to" for installing.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1423?viewlocale=en_US

hughes051 · Jun 28, 2008

so how much to you recomend an extra 1gb,2gb, or max it out to 4gb

Soulwar · Jun 28, 2008

hughes051 said:
so how much to you recomend an extra 1gb,2gb, or max it out to 4gb

I would max it out to 4GB. Buy a matched pair 2x2GB if you can. You'll have optimal performance and you will notice a difference, especially trying to run Crysis. ;D

Both Crucial and OWC have lifetime warranties as well. At OWC they have a memory trade in rebate for your old ram.
http://eshop.macsales.com/money-back-rebate

shahvikram123 · Jun 28, 2008

I upgraded my Macbook from 1gb to 2gb memory. I needed a ram upgrade because I occasionally use Vmware Fusion to run windows. After I put in the 2gb stick the VM loaded in under 10 seconds (with 1gb it took 45-60 secs) and had virtually no slowdown on Mac OS X or the windows VM whilst they were both running.