Upgrading RAM?

okay so in the near future i will be buying a imac. i will be video editing with either adobe production premium or final cut studio. so im needing the RAM. but im not wanting to spend a lot on RAM. im getting the imac 20" 2.4 ghz.

So now the question is should i just order the imac with the RAM from apple and pay alot or could i upgrade it easily for cheap?

i found this that i could upgrade with

Baker, we love you, but your question has been asked and answered so many times on the forum. Use the search feature to get recommendations about iMac RAM (there are also Similar Threads listed below). Search here or Apple's site to get info on swapping iMac RAM.
Mac-Forums helps them who help themselves. Welcome to the forum.

haha im sorry i will search for it

found it
thank you

wondering what is a good place to buy and if these all work?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/53IM2DDR4GBK/

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=iMac%202.4GHz%20Intel%20Core%202%20Duo%20%2820-inch%29

also is it fine to be putting in 4 gigs? like will it run harder like i read somewhere else?

Thank you

Baker... I'm in the same boat. I'm making the switch from PC to iMac, and I ordered the 24" 2.8 Extreme. That Crucial 4GB package looks very attractive and you know its good stuff. You could spend another $75.00 and by Mushkin over at MacMall, but I don't know that we'd really see any difference in performance. A friend told me that the iMac can only address 3MB which sounds bogus... but he has an iMac (got his last month) and mines en route from apple so I'm a total noob.

I do know that _usually_ with Intel based systems (and I've built dozens) that having plenty of free drive space and plenty of memory does make them run better. But don't confuse better with faster. A clean, new PC system eventually starts bogging down as you load more and more apps, store more and more files. Assuming the drive remains under 60% capacity, upgrading the memory might make it run more like it did when it was first built/powered up.

drgrafix said:

...A friend told me that the iMac can only address 3MB which sounds bogus...

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Yup - that's bogus!

Sorry I had to pick up on that one

I don't own an iMac (I wish I had enough need to justify 2 macs) so I don't know for def - but this is the first time I've read anything like that (assuming you mean 3GB of course ). Now when it comes to Windows Vista 32bit - I belive that's got that little 3GB limit...

Actually you are both sort of right. The white iMac can only see 3 GB of 4GB installed and the newest Aluminum iMac can see the whole 4GB. 2x2GB installed ram is the best choice for speed wise.

Well... Even though I ordered a refurb, its a 24" with 500GB HDD, and the 2.8 Ghz Dual Core CPU and 2GB installed (two 1 GB Sticks). I'm going to order the 4 GB package (2-2GB Crucials) and install them before I turn it on. I have Vista Ultimate that I will install once everything looks OK. Vista's a known resource hog. Hopefully down the road I might even uninstall Vista after I'm 100% confident with the iMac that all my pertinent stuff has been moved over and I can afford all the apps I want.

I think the white iMac (mines a 20") can only handle 2gig of RAM (1 gig in each slot). The new alum ones can deal with 4 gig (2 gig in each slot).

BakerRider said:

wondering what is a good place to buy and if these all work?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/53IM2DDR4GBK/

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=iMac%202.4GHz%20Intel%20Core%202%20Duo%20%2820-inch%29

also is it fine to be putting in 4 gigs? like will it run harder like i read somewhere else?

Thank you

Click to expand...

I purchased and installed the exact memory you have linked to at Macsales. They have a very good reputation. I think you will do fine getting it there. As far as running harder (i assume you mean faster)...Where you will see a performance boost is in any kind of graphics or video editing with the increased memory.

The white Intel based iMac can handle 3 GB as stated above. I am currently running 3GB and it made a HUGE difference in speed and overall performance.

Daddy Elmis said:

I think the white iMac (mines a 20") can only handle 2gig of RAM (1 gig in each slot). The new alum ones can deal with 4 gig (2 gig in each slot).

Click to expand...

so the new aluminum iMacs can handle the full GBs that are installed (so if I have 3Gb or 4Gb it will read and have access to all of it??)

Future shop idiots!!! sounds like I need to go re-educate them!