IMac 2012 (December) more RAM or faster processor?

I will buy a 21.5 iMac. Basic user: web, MS Office documents, some photo editing, burn DVDs. Maybe light video. I tend to keep my computers a long time (current Mac is the half dome from about 8 years ago).
Question: for the most bang for the buck, and long term use, is it worth adding more RAM (8 to 16) or upgrading the processor (2.7 to 2.9)?
Or just keep the basic model?
Unlike previous questions like this, the 21.5 Macs don't let you add RAM later. I get conflicting opinions from Mac store.

IMHO if you intend to keep the machine a long time in order to get the best performance and most futureability I'd recommend getting the i7 21.5" with 16GB and get the 1TB Fusion drive. The 2012 21.5" iMacs are not designed to be user upgradeable for anything however OWC (www.macsales.com) sells a RAM upgrade kit. It takes skill to do the upgrade and will probably invalidate the warranty but it's possible.
IMHO I'd buy the upgrades from Apple at the point of order. You can purchase the above (i7, 16GB, Fusion drive) configuration from Apple's online store, I doubt the brick and mortar store would carry it.

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More Memory or faster processor?

Hi, Im interested in buying a Macbook soon and have a question. Which setup would give me better performance?
1)
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB Memory
2)
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB Memory
Everything else is exactly the same. Thanks in advance

Hi jtp861,
I prefer faster processor over more ram, because the processor is fixed, while ram you can upgrade anytime.
Also with 2.16 model you also get dual layer dvd burner that will come handy if you need to back up your iTunes library and your other data.
And if you purchase 2.0 with 2 gb of ram directly from apple, it considered as built to order item, and apple will not accept return on BTO order.
Better upgrade memory yourself.
Good Luck.

How do you open the door on a Late 2013 27" iMac to add more RAM ?

I ordered an additional 8GB of RAM before I received my iMac, but now that I have it and ready to add the extra RAM, I can find no mention anywhere of how you go about opening the door on the back of the iMac to access the RAM. Reminds me of the first Systems Analysis lecture I attended which was all about how to write a manual, for example on how to light a cigarette. The first candidate up read out his instructions and they seemed perfect until the instructor told him he hadn't mentioned opening the box of matches.

Installing memory on the new iMacs are a PITA plus a few
The first thing you should do is to unplug the iMac & everything else you have attached to it including the keyboard.
Place the iMac facedown on something soft (couch).
Just below the power cord connection you will see a square box. It pops open if you have the strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
With Arnold's strength, you will need to push the RAM into the slots which is no easy task. Make sure you hear a CLICK! The "click" confirms the RAM has been seated correctly.
CLICK CLICK----> iMac (2012/2013) PDF Manual
GOOD LUCK! You're gonna need it.

Speed up iMac mid 2010: more RAM or bigger hard drive?

My mid 2010 21.5" iMac is getting really slow. granted it only has 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive with barely 10GB left.
So the simple question: do I add more RAM or get a new hard drive to speed up this old baby?

tyron1980 wrote:
He has a lot of files so the author should transfer some of his files to an external HD. Its his prerogative choice if he make some sacrifices in order to have bigger space. Once he has enough free space then he can apply doing partition.
I'll try again.
How will making a 2nd partition help this problem, and why would it be needed otherwise.
Here's the answer.
IT WON'T, and there is no advantage to multiple partitions withut specific need for them (multiple OS's for example)
To the OP, please ignore posts from tyron1980

Easiest speedup--more RAM, or faster HD?

I recently got a stock 2GHz C2D Macbook--80 GB 5400 RPM HD and 1 GB memory. If you could only upgrade one, which would see a better speed boost: up the memory (to 1.5 GB using unmatched RAM), or install a 7200 RPM HD (remain at 80 GB)?
95% of the time, the speed is great, but after awhile switching between apps (especially heftier apps, like iPhoto and iTunes and very especially bringing these apps up via FrontRow), causes very noticeable delays. The login screen to get out of screensaver then takes awhile to come up as well.
Not too surprised to see pageouts (via MenuMeters) numbering in the hundreds of thousands, but my old dual-533 MHz PowerMac G4, with only 768 MB of RAM, didn't seem to choke as bad between iPhoto, etc. I don't regularly run PPC apps on my MB, though I do expect a speed/response penalty after starting one up.
So is my amount of RAM "okay" if I just up the speed of the HD?
One other difference: I always shut down my G4 when done so it starts fresh next time; my MB I just sleep/wake, so RAM isn't allowed to clear and virtual memory isn't flushed.
Comments and experience welcome, thanks!
Macbook 2 GHz C2D Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1 GB RAM

If you are getting lots of pageouts, the correct solution is more RAM, or running fewer RAM-hungry programs at the same time.
Your ratio of pageouts to pageins should be less than 10%. If it is greater than that, you are working the virtual memory system too hard.
You probably should have 2 Gig RAM, but going to unmatched 1.5 will be a start. Eventually match up another 1 Gig DIMM.
When you run Acitivity Monitor, look to see what PPC stuff is running. If you can replace all the legacy PPC stuff with Intel or Universal apps, your memory will go farther, because you won't have the additional overhead of the Rosetta emulation layer running.
Widgets are often RAM hungry, too. Watch out there.
Since you are currently working your Virtual Memory system too hard, I'd recommend rebooting more often, to clear stuff out. (Once Rosetta is started by running a PPC app, it will stay in memory until reboot.)
Over-working the VM system will lead to premature Hard Disk failure, in addition to bad performance and lousy battery life.

Compromise: More RAM or better Processor

Hi
I'm looking to buy a new iMac in a couple of weeks, I know that I want a 27" one and I have a budget which will allow me to get one of two configurations:
- 2.9GHz i5 Processor, 512MB GeForce GTX 660M with 16 GB of RAM and 1TB Fusion drive
or
- 3.2GHz i5 Processor, 1024MB GeForce GTX 675MX with 8 GB of RAM and 1TB Fusion drive
I will be using the computer for web and app dev so i'll frequently be using Photoshop, X-Code, Dreamweaver and Parallels with Windows (running windows browsers for testing) and of course Pages, Numbers etc.
I honestly don't know which to compromise on; processor and graphics or ram. I realise that I can upgrade the ram at a later date, but at almost £300 for 16GB I don't want to compromise on RAM now and have to buy more a few months down the line.
This will be my first mac after having a bad time with Windows and AMD of late, so I don't mind spending the money so long as it lasts me a good few years. Any advice would be great!
Many thanks in anticipation :-)

It depends what you want to use your iMac for - if you're into video editing, the best processor (i7) and a lot of RAM will help. You do not need to buy your RAM from Apple, Crucial (in Europe) or OWC (macsales.com) in US are the two most recommended RAM vendors - check out their prices. If you get one with the stock 8 GB RAM, you could simply add 2 x 4 or 2 x 8 GB later.

Will more RAM mean faster rendering?

Kinda silly question but I have 2GB of RAM on my 2.0ghz 20 inch imac. As of now, it takes about 30 minutes or a bit more to render a 3 min clip in 1080 with the h.264 compressor. If I upgrade to 4GB of RAM, will those times get better?

It probably won't make much difference. H.264 conversion is extremely processor-bound.

Does new OS allow my iMac to take more RAM

Hi
I have an iMac 2.66Ghz 24" (early 2009)
From this article I have always understood that I am limited to a max of 8GB Ram (2 x 4GB sticks)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1423#2
I started off on Snow Leopard and am now on Mountain Lion
Someone told me recently that the move to Mountain Lion has enabled my iMac to now take a maximum 16GB Ram (2 x 8GB sticks). I am wary to act on this and buy new memory as the Apple support article implies it is still limited to 8GB. But I woudl really like to upgrade to 16Gb if it will work.
Has anyone else tried to increase over 8GB with this model?
Any thoughts from the community woudl be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

jhrichmond wrote:
Someone told me recently that the move to Mountain Lion has enabled my iMac to now take a maximum 16GB Ram (2 x 8GB sticks).
Someone is misinformed. The 8 GB maximum is a hardware limitation.

More RAM or better processor?

Hi All,
I'm gonna buy a new iMac for Christmas and I only have budget to upgrade either my RAM memory or my microprocessor. My base configuration would be 8 gb RAM and the core i5 2.9. Which one would you advise me to upgrade?
I mainly due photo and video work.
Thank you in advance.
Mikael

I was going to post before. but was really on the fence to which you need the most.
I totally agree with Babowa.
You are going to need both. Video work needs powerful CPU, GPU and RAM. You can get away with using a lesser GPU, but you need CPU speed and lots of RAM to process video.
If you are purchasing the 21 inch screen model, there is no later upgradeability. So,you need to purchase what you need at the time you order.

Emptying my trash on imac 2012 Intel

I have an iMac, Feb 2012 model. I used to have a 2006 macbook pro before. When i try to secure empty trash it used to empty very fast on my macbook pro, but imac 2012 which has a much faster processor, it takes a long time for trash to secure empty. Why is this and can I do anything to make it faster etc. via setting.
Please help.

Hello Jasu,
I doubt there's a setting to affect it, but...
See if the Disk is issuing any S.M.A.R.T errors in Disk Utility...
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH7029
Open Activity Monitor in Applications>Utilities, select All Processes & sort on CPU%, any indications there?
How much RAM & free space do you have also, click on the Memory & Disk Usage Tabs.
Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.
In the Memory tab, are there a lot of Pageouts?

Which is better, faster processor or more ram?

Hello all!
I'm planning on upgrading from my 1.33Ghz g4 ibook with 512mb of ram to a new macbook, because Logic Express 7 and Final Cut Express 3.5 don't run very well on my current system. Because of money constraints, I'm limited in what features I can afford, so I'd like some advice from other mac users. In having to choose between getting an entry level macbook with 2gb of ram, or the mid-level macbook with only 1gb of ram, which would you think might handle these two applications best?

Hi skipgo,
welcome to macbook forum.
I would go with the faster processor, not only the processor is fixed and not upgradeable, you also got bigger hard drive and superdrive that will be crucial for backing up big files on dvd (4 gb) or dual layer dvd (8 gb) and or burn your project into dvd from your FCE using iDVD.
And memory is tend to go cheaper each day and relatively easy to upgrade it yourself compare to built to order 2 gb memory in entry model at apple store.
And remember that apple will not accept return on BTO model just in case you decided to return it within their 14 days grace period.
Good Luck.
ps: beat by Mike with the same advise.....

With intel core 2 duo it's possible more RAM? in early imac 2006

I could change the processor core duo per core 2 duo of my IMAC, that is from early 2006... the cuestion is: the description of this mac says that only works with 2 gb of ram, but with the new processor it can upgrade this RAM, per 3 or 4 gb?
Thanks for your answer

You actually were able to change the processor to a Core 2 Duo in that machine? I've only heard of one other person who did this, but it did not work too well for them. Also, they did it so they could upgrade to Lion and that did not work either: the App Store recognized the machine ID as one with a Core Duo and would not allow them to install Lion. So if you changed yours to a Core 2 Duo to get Lion, your efforts were wasted.
As for allowing for more RAM - since people do not replace processors on iMacs in general, no one here will probably be able to answer your question.

Have imac osx 10.6.8 with 2 gb 667 mhz ddr2 sdram. Can I get more ram and a good video card to use CS6 Premiere Pro

I'd like to upgrade with more ram and a proper video card to properly use Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.
I have an imac version 10.6.8 Can I boost this mac.
Hardware Overview:
Model Name:          iMac
Model Identifier:          iMac5,2
Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:          1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors:          1
Total Number Of Cores:          2
L2 Cache:          2 MB
Memory:          2 GB
Bus Speed:          667 MHz
Boot ROM Version:          IM52.0090.B09
SMC Version (system):          1.6f0
Serial Number (system):          W86510LAWH5
Hardware UUID:          00000000-0000-1000-8000-0017F2CA47EB

Sorry, you have the maximum amount of RAM in your computer, as shown in the specs below. Also the video card can not be upgraded.
Maximum Memory     2.0 GB
Memory Slots     2 - 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM

Faster processor or bigger ram?

dear forum,
i asked basically the same question some days ago, but i didn't have a satisfying answer, so here i am again..
i wanna use LE on a MackBook. The question is, is it better to have a faster processor (2.0 instead 1.83) or a bigger ram (2 instead 1 Gb) ?
having both -unfortunately- is not an option, so i have to pick one.
what should i do?
thanx folks!

Hey Richard,
no one is going to shout you down mate!
But if someone will, give me a call (I'm a big fellow)! :o)
We all have diferent ideias and tastes, the good thing
is to respect the other forum mates and learn from everyone,
we may not agree always, but we're here to help each other!
I've made a similar option on my laptop 1.5 GHz over the 1.65
and more Ram, almost 2 years latter I don't regret my decision.
In my opinion (nook) if you can´t go any further the 1.83 is
a very good machine, and boy, with 2Mb of ram you'll have a ball!
Best regards,
Jorge

Does my iMac need more RAM?

I have a 4-year old iMac 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM currently running OS 10.8.2. I'm wondering if I should add more RAM. Is there software that will tell me if I need more RAM? I have no idea how much memory is required for the System, or applications like MSWord, Safari, Firefox, MSExcel, or iPhoto when I am using them.

Below is my model information. I have just looked at OWC memory and their video for installation; is OWC something you would recommend?
Model Name:
iMac
Model Identifier:
iMac7,1
Processor Name:
Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:
2 GHz
Number of Processors:
1
Total Number of Cores:
2
L2 Cache:
4 MB
Memory:
2 GB
Bus Speed:
800 MHz
Boot ROM Version:
IM71.007A.B03
SMC Version (system):
1.20f4
Serial Number (system):
W******X85
Hardware UUID:
00000000-0000-1000-8000-001B63A3EADB
<Edited By Host>

IMac 2012 (December) more RAM or faster processor?

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