Forums
New posts
Articles
Product Reviews
Policies
FAQ
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Desktop Hardware
iMac -- RAM Upgrade
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="tjs10" data-source="post: 1473906" data-attributes="member: 284657"><p><strong>iMac 7,1 and 8,1 RAM and OSX Upgrade</strong></p><p></p><p>Greetings, this is my iMac OSX and RAM upgrade story (hope it helps);</p><p></p><p>I wanted to upgrade from OS 10.5.8 (Tiger) to 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) on my mid 2007 24" iMac 7,1 with Intel Core II Duo 2.4 GHz processor.</p><p></p><p>Had to first install 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) which I had to buy over the phone from Apple since they took it down from their website (ridiculous)... $20.00. Got the disc (they paid the shipping, thanks Apple) and the system installed easily, then updated itself over the internet to 10.6.8... perfect, so far so good. </p><p></p><p>Snow Leopard worked perfectly. However, my iMac only had 1 GB of RAM, and so I had to upgrade that in order to install Mountain Lion, (min 2 GB RAM needed)... So I decided to upgrade to 4 GB. </p><p></p><p>There are alot of threads regarding iMac RAM upgrades so hopefully this helps clear up some confusion: I bought 2 x 2GB RAM modules from Memory Express.</p><p></p><p>These were Kingston, 2 GB SODIMM DDR2 667 MHz, PC2-5300, 200-pin modules (memory for notebooks). Product Number: KVR667D2S5/2G (35.00 ea.)</p><p></p><p>I intalled these and they worked perfectly. Some threads say that they are not compatible but they seem to be working fine, they were recognized, and my computer is blazing fast now... Keep in mind that iMac 7,1 can be upgraded to 6 GB RAM, however my computer nerd friend told me that if you install 2 modules that are different sizes (ie 2 GB and 4 GB) then your dual memory channels cannot be double called by the CPU for maximum speed... 6 GB gives you maximum RAM, but 4 GB (2x2 GB) gives you maximum speed.... something to think about. </p><p></p><p>My iMac 7,1 is running much faster with its new 2x2 GB RAM upgrade (compared to 1 GB the speed now borders on premonition...)</p><p></p><p>After this install I was able to download and install Mountain Lion from the App Store ($20.00) and have never looked back. Mountain Lion runs quickly, and even auto-adjusted my screen colour/contrast to make things look nicer upon install... Thanks Apple... The new multiple desktop scheme (spaces) takes some getting used to (10.6.8 was better with the tiled desktops (spaces)). But the new OS runs smoothly. This computer is only used for light work, internet, accounting, etc etc... and for that, Mountain Lion is perfect. No complaints so far. </p><p></p><p>Time Machine Backup before installing any new operating system though (just in case)... Many threads put Mountain Lion in a very negative light, but so far it has worked perfectly for me, and my iMac is over 5 years old... </p><p></p><p>Also,</p><p></p><p>I also have an iMac 8,1 (mid 2008) with Intel Core II Duo processor (2.8 GHz)... This thing is dual booted with Windows XP (SP3, 32-bit) and OSX 10.5.8. I upgraded the RAM on this machine to 4 GB using the following modules;</p><p></p><p>Kingston 2x2GB, SODIMM DDR2, PC2-6400, 800 MHz, 200-pin modules. Product Number: KVR800D2S6/2G (Memory Express)</p><p></p><p>These are also compatible and working perfectly. No problems to report so far. Plugged them in and away I went. OSX recognizes them as 2, 2 GB modules but Windows XP system information reports the memory as "2.98 GM of RAM" ... so that could be a problem I guess. However, consulting the Windows forums seems to suggest that this is "NORMAL" and can be fixed if you mess around with your boot files in the root folder of your system drive...... or something <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888137" target="_blank">The RAM reported by the System Properties dialog box and the System Information tool is less than you expect in Windows Vista or in Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later version</a></p><p></p><p>But nonetheless my computer boots both operating systems quickly and can handle a high number of applications at once. This machine is used for data analysis for research purposes (electrochemical lithium ion battery data) and is underpowered for the job (big surprise). However, the RAM upgrade seems to help the Windows XP functionality for crunching large data sets, so the error in reporting the amount of RAM may not be anything to worry about... </p><p></p><p>Happy upgrading!!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tjs10, post: 1473906, member: 284657"] [b]iMac 7,1 and 8,1 RAM and OSX Upgrade[/b] Greetings, this is my iMac OSX and RAM upgrade story (hope it helps); I wanted to upgrade from OS 10.5.8 (Tiger) to 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) on my mid 2007 24" iMac 7,1 with Intel Core II Duo 2.4 GHz processor. Had to first install 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) which I had to buy over the phone from Apple since they took it down from their website (ridiculous)... $20.00. Got the disc (they paid the shipping, thanks Apple) and the system installed easily, then updated itself over the internet to 10.6.8... perfect, so far so good. Snow Leopard worked perfectly. However, my iMac only had 1 GB of RAM, and so I had to upgrade that in order to install Mountain Lion, (min 2 GB RAM needed)... So I decided to upgrade to 4 GB. There are alot of threads regarding iMac RAM upgrades so hopefully this helps clear up some confusion: I bought 2 x 2GB RAM modules from Memory Express. These were Kingston, 2 GB SODIMM DDR2 667 MHz, PC2-5300, 200-pin modules (memory for notebooks). Product Number: KVR667D2S5/2G (35.00 ea.) I intalled these and they worked perfectly. Some threads say that they are not compatible but they seem to be working fine, they were recognized, and my computer is blazing fast now... Keep in mind that iMac 7,1 can be upgraded to 6 GB RAM, however my computer nerd friend told me that if you install 2 modules that are different sizes (ie 2 GB and 4 GB) then your dual memory channels cannot be double called by the CPU for maximum speed... 6 GB gives you maximum RAM, but 4 GB (2x2 GB) gives you maximum speed.... something to think about. My iMac 7,1 is running much faster with its new 2x2 GB RAM upgrade (compared to 1 GB the speed now borders on premonition...) After this install I was able to download and install Mountain Lion from the App Store ($20.00) and have never looked back. Mountain Lion runs quickly, and even auto-adjusted my screen colour/contrast to make things look nicer upon install... Thanks Apple... The new multiple desktop scheme (spaces) takes some getting used to (10.6.8 was better with the tiled desktops (spaces)). But the new OS runs smoothly. This computer is only used for light work, internet, accounting, etc etc... and for that, Mountain Lion is perfect. No complaints so far. Time Machine Backup before installing any new operating system though (just in case)... Many threads put Mountain Lion in a very negative light, but so far it has worked perfectly for me, and my iMac is over 5 years old... Also, I also have an iMac 8,1 (mid 2008) with Intel Core II Duo processor (2.8 GHz)... This thing is dual booted with Windows XP (SP3, 32-bit) and OSX 10.5.8. I upgraded the RAM on this machine to 4 GB using the following modules; Kingston 2x2GB, SODIMM DDR2, PC2-6400, 800 MHz, 200-pin modules. Product Number: KVR800D2S6/2G (Memory Express) These are also compatible and working perfectly. No problems to report so far. Plugged them in and away I went. OSX recognizes them as 2, 2 GB modules but Windows XP system information reports the memory as "2.98 GM of RAM" ... so that could be a problem I guess. However, consulting the Windows forums seems to suggest that this is "NORMAL" and can be fixed if you mess around with your boot files in the root folder of your system drive...... or something [url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/888137]The RAM reported by the System Properties dialog box and the System Information tool is less than you expect in Windows Vista or in Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later version[/url] But nonetheless my computer boots both operating systems quickly and can handle a high number of applications at once. This machine is used for data analysis for research purposes (electrochemical lithium ion battery data) and is underpowered for the job (big surprise). However, the RAM upgrade seems to help the Windows XP functionality for crunching large data sets, so the error in reporting the amount of RAM may not be anything to worry about... Happy upgrading!! [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Desktop Hardware
iMac -- RAM Upgrade
Top