New IMac 27" with Ram problem

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11/2 months ago I received a new 27" IMac. I purchased 128gb of Ram from OWC to speed it up for photography and video. When I got it, I installed the ram and started it up. I checked the "About this Mac"m to make sure the ram was there, no problem. Shortly after the computer started crashing. Black screen with all the foreign writing on it. error messages that something went wrong and the computer had to reboot etc. I called Apple support and they went through diagnostics with. me, finally trying to re-install the operating system. That failed, so they told me to return it and they would send me a new one. I got the new one yesterday and went through the same process of installing the 128gb of Ram. Same problems again. This. time I took out the 128gb of Ram which I didn't do the first time and re-installed the 8gb the computer came with. No problems so far. I've been using the computer since yesterday afternoon with the 8GB of Ram, so I'm thinking there could be.a problem with the Ram I got from OWC. Anyone with any thought of what might be going on would be appreciated. Did I do something wrong with the 128gb Ram install? I have no idea.
 

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While RAM has gotten a LOT better, it is still sensitive to electrostatic discharge and you can easily short it out during installation. The other thing is that you just got bad RAM. Odd that Apple didn't ask you if you had upgraded the RAM and if so had you swap it out with the first unit. Anyway, immediately call OWC and tell them that the RAM you got is bad and they should replace it with a new set.
 
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krs


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This sure points to defective RAM from OWC, but I'm surprised that you didn't get an error message when you booted up the Mac.
The Mac usually runs through a RAM test when booting, you can also download Rember and have that app check the RAM.
 
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Officially, that iMac (just bought one myself) only supports 64GB of RAM according to Apple, so I decided not to go for the OWC 128GB kit, even though some are reporting no issues. I figured if the machine was totally stable with 128GB, why would Apple not advertise this as a selling point?

Have you tried installing just two of the OWC modules (64GB) and see if it works?
 
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I called OW and they are replacing the RAM no problem. The computer booted up no problem so I don't know. I was looking around the internet and on site said that iMac 2019 + max ram is 64GB. Could this be a problem I created my self by putting to much ram in the Mac. When you buy this IMac on-line at the Apple store which I did, the maximum Ram you can upgrade to is 64GB.
 
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No I never tried using just 64gb. When I get the new ram I'll try both 128gb and 64gb. If it runs better with the 64gb I'll return the other 64gb to OWC.
 
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I called OW and they are replacing the RAM no problem. The computer booted up no problem so I don't know. I was looking around the internet and on site said that iMac 2019 + max ram is 64GB. Could this be a problem I created my self by putting to much ram in the Mac. When you buy this IMac on-line at the Apple store which I did, the maximum Ram you can upgrade to is 64GB.

Like I said, some have reported they're running 128GB just fine, so maybe it is just a faulty module or maybe whether the system is stable with 128GB varies from iMac to iMac based on the particular apps and processes each user has running. Hope the 128GB works out for you, because the more RAM, the merrier :)
 

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I just checked Mactracker and they state 128 GB can be installed although Apple states 64 GB. Usually Mactracker stats are right on the money. We have seen Apple understate memory capacity over the years so this is not unusual. I suspect that one or more of the modules you received may be defective.

As for the installation of the memory itself, it could not be more easy than doing it in the newer iMacs. A 5 to 10 minute job at most.
 
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I will let you k now what happens when I get the new ram back from OWC. Thank you everyone for their input. It was of great use

Al the Best
Brian Padraig O'Connor
 
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I just checked Mactracker and they state 128 GB can be installed although Apple states 64 GB. Usually Mactracker stats are right on the money. We have seen Apple understate memory capacity over the years so this is not unusual.

Could you help me understand what the logic would be behind that? If the computer could reliably handle 128GB or RAM, why wouldn't they leverage that for marketing and RAM sales? The iMac Pro states 256GB max, so it's not like them listing 128GB for the iMac would affect iMac Pro sales for people looking to max out RAM.
 
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Could you help me understand what the logic would be behind that? If the computer could reliably handle 128GB or RAM, why wouldn't they leverage that for marketing and RAM sales? The iMac Pro states 256GB max, so it's not like them listing 128GB for the iMac would affect iMac Pro sales for people looking to max out RAM.
The way I understand it, if memory sizes (4GB, 8GB, 16GB) aren't available at the time of testing/designing, Apple only acknowledges current memory availability.
 
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The way I understand it, if memory sizes (4GB, 8GB, 16GB) aren't available at the time of testing/designing, Apple only acknowledges current memory availability.

Apple Inc., a $1+ trillion dollar company couldn't source four 32GB RAM modules to test the iMac? Apparently they were able to test 256GB total RAM for the iMac Pro, so that doesn't really make sense as an explanation. And in any case, they're definitely available now, so you'd think they'd update the specs to boost sales. There's got to be something else we're missing here.
 

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Could you help me understand what the logic would be behind that? If the computer could reliably handle 128GB or RAM, why wouldn't they leverage that for marketing and RAM sales? The iMac Pro states 256GB max, so it's not like them listing 128GB for the iMac would affect iMac Pro sales for people looking to max out RAM.

My guess is that virtually no-one would opt to get the 128GB upgrade through Apple since their marked up price would be beyond ridiculous. So they have no value in advertising they support a higher amount than what they would ever sell. 32GB and 64GB, even 128GB and higher density memory sticks have been around for a while but are seldom used except in pure data-center (and servers that go in there) scenarios.

This is more likely a marketing thing and not a technical limitation.

The only "downside" of putting in more RAM than can be addressed by the CPU is that you will only benefit with the extra, but as long as the type of memory matches the specs the Mac expects, it should work fine.

Back in my computer building days, I would always opt to purchase higher density RAM than what my current motherboard supported so that when I upgraded to the motherboard, I could use the higher capacity without having to purchase new RAM and so on.
 
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My guess is that virtually no-one would opt to get the 128GB upgrade through Apple since their marked up price would be beyond ridiculous. So they have no value in advertising they support a higher amount than what they would ever sell

That would make sense except for the fact that they DO advertise these upgrades with the iMac Pro ($2000 for 128GB and $5200 for 256GB). Yes, the iMac Pro's RAM is not user-upgradable (so user's have no choice unless they void their warranty by opening the machine up), but you'd think that virtually no one would pay $1000 for the 64GB upgrade on the 5k iMac either, yet they still advertise that. Seems like they'd want to throw that bait out there, even if just a few took it. I mean, extra revenue is extra revenue, right?

Also, the Mac Pro's RAM is user-upgradable, yet they charge up to $25,000 for RAM upgrades.
 
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I got my 2019 new imac with ssd and 8gb memory. From owc i bought 2 - 32 gb memory and have no problems. Shows 72 gb memory. OWC states that it will run 128 gb memory.
 

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