Maximum RAM on 20'' Intel iMac

Hi! I've got a 20'' Intel iMac with 2GB RAM. What is the maximum amount of memory I can put in it? Thanks in advance!

Hi.
I have a white iMac 20-inch (Late 2006) with Intel core2Duo 2.16GHZ Processor and I want to upgrade my memory. My system reports for memory these:
Memory Slots:
ECC:          Disabled
BANK 0/DIMM0:
Size:          1 GB
Type:          DDR2 SDRAM
Speed:          667 MHz
Status:          OK
Manufacturer:          0xCE00000000000000
Part Number:          0x4D342037305432393533435A332D43453620
Serial Number:          0xF71B7551
BANK 1/DIMM1:
Size:          1 GB
Type:          DDR2 SDRAM
Speed:          667 MHz
Status:          OK
Manufacturer:          0xCE00000000000000
Part Number:          0x4D342037305432393533435A332D43453620
Serial Number:          0xF71B73E1
I have read a lot of things about this, but I was wondering which is the best choice for this upgrade.
My questions are:
-Can I install DDR2 SDRAM or SO-DIMM DDR2 or both?
(Here apple writes and copability for DDR3 SDRAM for my model???)
-I have read that iMacs with installed 4GB Memory (2GB+2GB )have better response and speed from these with 2GB+1GB Memory. Is that true?
-I have to looking for dual channel memory or not?
-Memory's speed must be 667MHZ or 800MHZ or both of them can be istalled to my machine (not at the same time)?
-My memory must have 200pin?Because SDRAM DDR2 have 240pin!
-And finally memory's voltage must be 1,5V or 1,8V?
Pleasy can you help me?

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Apple's support files state that the computer can hold up to 16GB of RAM, but then go on to state that this would be equivalent to a 4GB SO-DIMM in each slot. Is that because there are four total slots in my iMac? (See... I told you I'm new at this!)
At the same time, I've also read that it is possible to install up to 32GB of RAM in this particular model of iMac. Is this actually true?
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Your computer has 4 slots. When Apple shipped the computer the largest DIMM shipping was 4GB so Apple advertises 16GB as the max. According to OWC that remains the maximum for your computer, only the i5 and i7 models can be upgrade to 32GB. At this time 16GB should be plenty for most people.
There are a number of things that have an impact on speed and, of course, one of them is RAM. When your computer first came out the operating system you were using was less RAM hungry. It seems that each new upgrade (or every other OS upgrade) ups the RAM ante. Other things that have an impact are the utilities and programs you run behind the scenes. They can burn up lots of CPU cycles and RAM. Hard drive space is another factor - the operating system and programs need room for temporary files and when this room isn't available the computer slows down. So, are you running anything like anti-malware? Dump it, not needed. Do you have about 25GB of free drive space? If not, free some up.
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Hi everyone,
I've just bought 4GB of RAM from Crucial to upgrade my year old iMac. Once I had placed my order I noticed that they recommended different cards for the machines with Intel 2.8GHz and 2.8GHz Extreme chips. I don't know what the difference in the memory is but they must have been different somehow as one was about $20 more expensive.
Anyway, I bought the ones for the 2.8GHz Extreme as thats what I thought I had (that's what I paid for anyway!) but I've just checked in System Profiler and there is no mention of my processor being 'Extreme' or in fact anything other than an Intel Core 2 Duo with a speed of 2.8GHz.
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This is very easy, if you purchased your machine prior to April 2008 it is either the 2.4 or 2.8 machine. To find out for sure which one, go to the System Profiler and look under hardware you will see something very similar to this:
*Hardware Overview:*
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B03
SMC Version: 1.21f4
Serial Number: XXXXXXXX
This is from my machine I ommitted the serial number. An even more simple way to find out is to look at the box it was shipped in, I'm assuming it is NOT a refurb model as they ship in plain brown boxes.
If you purchased your machine after April 2008 it is a little more difficult but still pretty easy. Your System Profiler will be very similar but the Bus Speed will be 1066 MHz.
The memory specification for all the mid 2007 Aluminum iMacs is the same. Use:
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I can't seem to find this info . . . what is the maximum Ram allowable in my iMac core 2 duo 2.33 ghz?
I thought that I had 4 GB installed, but only 3 appear as working . . . do I have a defective RAM chip, or is 3 the max?
Thanks

Neil,
You can also find out a little more about your iMac's specifications by going here:
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
Type in your serial number and it will tell you about it.
Regards,
Roger

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Im trying to get the max ammount of ram in my imac 24" 2008 model aluminum body i believe. it has 2.4ghz intel core 2 duo. and its running mac os x 10.5.8
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What is the maximum ram I can instal on the 24" iMac 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo?

Thank you Michel.
Then I'm at my max now.
Crucial.com has a great interface for the memory advisor. Simple.
Thanks all for your support and help.
Have a great day!
Best regards,
Marc

My Intel iMac always has around 2 GB available RAM, even when i run apps. Why is that?

I own a Intel iMac from aug. 2007. It has 2 gigabytes of ram and about a year ago i upgraded it with 2 gigabytes more.
The machine runs as it should and had no problems after the installation. It discovered the ram instantly and now says 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in the "about this Mac" window.
My problem is that when i run applications which require something (like rendering in Final Cut or playing Diablo III) the activity monitor app still says that the iMac has almost 2 gigabytes of ram available.
It would only be natural to presume that it is because it does not need the additional ram, but that is not the case. Final Cut rendering is slow and Diablo III runs mostly at about 18 FPS on the lowest settings.
Why is this and is it possible to get the iMac to use that additional RAM?

This is true. It gradualy changes, but it never goes below 1 gigabyte.
This is with Diablo and Chrome running simultaneously. They are both give about 500 megabites each, wit Diablo on the lowest resolution and graphics. Still Diablo runs at about 12-18 FPS. This is my problem.
Edit: Reflecting on this I realized that OSX of cause only allows every app a limited amount of memory. This changes my question to: Is it possible to raise the apps maximum memory cap?
Message was edited by: JonasEK

Intel iMac: Wanting to add more internal HDD & More RAM

Well i'm interested but it seems opening my iMac is a bit scary :/ Also i have no idea IF there is room inside for more add ons. Maybe the HDD might have to be external but the RAM i need.
If anyone could point me in the right direction, as maybe you've done this yourself before? Would be much appreciated!
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Model Name: iMac
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Number Of Processors: 1
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Hi Matt
The early white Intel iMac's are one of the hardest models to work on and it is real easy to damage other components and cables in the process. If your Internal HD is working fine, it might be best to let it be and pickup a USB/FireWire or Quad Interface External HD.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/800/
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1432
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http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/53IM2DDR4GBK/
Dennis

Maximum RAM for iMac 2006 5.2 17" C2D

Having followed the discussions on maximum RAM for this model it appears that 2GB is the maximum possible. I discovered this after purchasing a matching pair of 2GB sticks of RAM :-(
However, as the iMac would not start with the 2 x 2Gb sticks I tried various combinations 1 x 2Gb & 1 x 1Gb, swapping these between the two slots etc etc until the final combination of 1x 2GB and 1 x 256Mb works. I am tempted to purchase a stick of 512mb to see what happens next but I am intrigued as to why the higher combinations do not work, any thoughts on this are welcome.
All the memory is DDR2 667MHz but the combination that works has the 2gb at 2rx8 and the 256Mb at 1rx16.
Spec of machine is : iMac 2006 5.2 17", C2D 1.83ghz, 24x Combodrive, 10.6.8

I would use 2 x 1GB, as the Intel architecture runs just a little faster with matched memory (around 3%-5%).
While 2GB + 256MB boots, have you looked to see what the system is showing as available memory?

Does intel iMac ram have to be "matched" pairs?

Hi,
I jsut got a 17" intel imac core duo and i have a 1gb memory module to go alongside the installed 512mb, my question is can i do this (1.5gb in total) or does it have to be 1gb x 2 or 512mb x2 as in the dual powermacs etc?

As others have stated, you would never notice the difference between matched 512s and the combination of 512MB and 1GB sticks. What you will notice is that your Mac will be able to run more apps at the same time, have more windows open, and run non-Intel native apps faster due to Rosetta's love of RAM.
Plus, you would have maxxed out one slot. If you add a single 512MB stick to what you already have, then the next time you go to upgrade - to get an upgrade worth doing - you will have to take that out and add RAM. If one slot is already at its maximum, then you will only have to replace the original 512MB stick.

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This is what I found:
Crucial Part # CT650014
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CL 2.5
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Non-ECC
DDR333
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Price $47.99
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Crucial Part # CT6464X335
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CL 2.5
Unbuffered
Non-ECC
DDR333
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The only difference I noticed between this one and the Memory Advisor recommended one (besides the price) was the listing of "64meg x 64". One of the first things I asked the expert was what the difference was between this stick and the recommended one. She replied that the recommended one (CT650014) had an "internal" part # of CT6464X335. Interesting.
Crucial Part # CT12864X335
1GB DDR PC2700 200pin SODIMM
CL 2.5
Unbuffered
Non-ECC
DDR333
2.5V
128meg x 64
Price $82.99
When I asked the expert whether this particular stick would work, she stated that my machine was not capable of accepting a 1GB module in the SODIMM slot. When I told her that I had heard from very reputable sources that the slot was capable of a 1GB stick she told me again that it wasn't. I then asked if the stick (@ 31.99) with the same part # as the "internal" part # for the iMac recommended one (@ 47.99) would work. Her response was that Macs require a "special flavor" (her term, not mine) of memory and that the "internal" part # for the iMac recommended stick was really CT6464X335X, not CT6464X335. Kind of makes me wonder if the extra "X" at the end stands for "Xtra cash".
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Thanx in advance for the help,
Steve

Hello,
I'm not a real expert but 2GB is the maximum for the 1.25GHz iMac G4. My machine has been happily using 1.5GB of Crucial RAM for over two years (I picked out both modules independently rather than using their advice) .
Larger capacity RAM modules have come on sale since Apple announced the specs and this explains the discrepancey between the maxmium listing from different people.
I suspect that if you really need 2GB of RAM then actually you'd be better off putting the cash towards a significantly faster Intel-based iMac. How to decide if you actually need more RAM:
Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor.
A 1GB upgrade would replace the 256MB and give you a 1280MB total.
You can find:
Prices on RAMSEEKER (PC2700) (Crucial offers best value in Europe/UK but there are more options in the US.
Instructions.
Hope that helps.
mrtotes

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I've been trying a few things here and there when I've had time, giving time in between to see if the problem reoccurs. So far I've done the following:
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Is this your Mac:
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I had the same model: officially it'll support 3 GB RAM; some people added 4 GB and it ran fine, but it will only address about 3.2 GB. I decided that wasn't worth it and made do with 3 GB.

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Hi,
I have 20" Intel iMac (November 2008) and it has 3GB of memory as of now. I would like to upgrade it to 4GB. I need to know if Apple will do this for me at my local Apple Store and how much this will cost. Also, I want to change my video card from ATI to Nvidia. Is this even possible? If so, please give me some details about it. I am more concerned abut the RAM issue.
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Here's what you can do and need:
Maximum Memory
32 GB (Actual) 16 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots
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OWC
DataMem
Crucial.com

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