Hi, I bought an imac 27" quad-core i5 with 1067Mhz DDR3 RAM in it. I would like to know if this is the right type of speed for my imac as I found out that these imacs come standard with 1333Mhz DDR3's? It is crashing a lot!

Question

Hi all. I bought an imac 27", 3.1Ghz quad-core i5 Mid 2011 last year in 2012. The machine has been crashing ever so frequently. I upgraded the RAM from the 4Gb it came with to 12Gb. It still crashes! I recently noticed that my imac came with 1067Mhz DDR3 memory chips ( slower speed) than the Apple mac recommended 1333Mhz DDR3 memory chips.
The shop I bought it from ( Incredible Connection, Woodmead, South Africa) are refusing to own up as they are saying the 1333Mhz chips have to be ordered in advance. Surely they are supposed to sell the product with the right kind of Ram in it? Not for me to find out? Now I have to fork out more money to make my imac factory standard? Maybe I am wrong, But do these Mid 2011's run well on 1067Mhz memory chips if I upgrade to 32Gb? Is it possible people are swapping 1333Mhz chips from new machines with 1067Mhz chips which are way too cheaper? My system version( SMC Number) is 1.72f5
Baffled!

Answer 1

Mac and Mac models are picky about the RAM the Mac needs to see and use.
As you have found out, the 1067 speed RAM will not work in your year and model iMac.
You need the 1333 speed RAM.
If, you can return the RAM for a refund, do it!
If not, try online Mac RAM source and seller Crucial memory. They have a table that matches your Mac to the correct and reliable RAM. You may need to contact them to see whether or not they ship to South Africa, though.
If Crucial dpesn't work out, here's the specs for your year and model iMac that you need to seek out and purchase.
Maximum Memory
32 GB (Actual) 16 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots
4 - 204-pin PC3-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM
Good Luck!