Interesting iMac memory change.

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
The iMac support 2.5GB of memory but it seems that the flexibility has diminished.



I'm thinking they have 512MB on the motherboard and one open slots. Apple's upgrade options are



512MB-512MB

1GB - 2x 512MB

1.5GB- 512MB, 1GB

2.5GB- 512MB, 2GB



Drats. A 64bit computer...hobbled.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    smalmsmalm Posts: 677member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    Drats. A 64bit computer...hobbled.



    This is an iMac - so what?
  • Reply 2 of 8
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,415member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by smalM

    This is an iMac - so what?



    I don't see a reason for the limitation. It seems odd.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    Apple probably figured that few would do more than add a gig stick. Like the modem, they are taking minimal use parts out and putting better things (like the iSight) in. When I bought the original G5 iMac I paid extra for a lot of things that are now included - the 250 HD, BT, Airport, 512 of RAM and iSight and, recently, Might Mouse. Throw those in with the price cut and the current iMac is a hell of a deal.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    The iMac support 2.5GB of memory but it seems that the flexibility has diminished.



    I'm thinking they have 512MB on the motherboard and one open slots. Apple's upgrade options are



    512MB-512MB

    1GB - 2x 512MB

    1.5GB- 512MB, 1GB

    2.5GB- 512MB, 2GB



    Drats. A 64bit computer...hobbled.




    Hobbled by what? DDR2 has a 64 bit data bus. The mmu of the iMac is barely fast enough to handle DDR2-4300 to begin with. If the problem is that you think 2.5GB is not enough, consider that very few programs can make use of anything more than 2GB.



    Also, an announcement: as of today, I noticed that there are a few 2GB DDR2 for sale at Newegg that should work in the iMac. So what's the big deal? . . . They are sub $300, that's the big deal.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    If the problem is that you think 2.5GB is not enough, consider that very few programs can make use of anything more than 2GB.





    You know of course very well that one can easily take over this amount of RAM by running simultaneously several memory-hungry applications. Devouring this RAM is easy with pro applications, no problem there, but if you have such computing needs, then you are better off with a Power Mac. Besides, by today's standards, I would not say that a computer with more than 2 GB RAM is in the average consumer sphere.



    However, I see this change in the memory configuration as a step back. It has perhaps to do with making the iMac thinner or tolerably hot because it is thinner, I don't know.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    You know of course very well that one can easily take over this amount of RAM by running simultaneously several memory-hungry applications.



    this is, of course, true, but virtual memory these days is pretty good about stashing the memory spaces of latent processes onto disk. but my real point is that most pro apps are still 32bit Carbon jobs, which I believe can only address 2G. That may not be the case anymore, but I think it still is.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,415member
    I can deal with the limitation as I plan to get an iMac in the next couple of month. I think the advantages of



    Superdrive

    integrated 11g and EDR Bluetooth

    Gigabit Ethernet



    Pushed me up from the Mac mini. Front Frow is nice but I'm not going to be looking at a 17" or even 20" screen from across the living room. I view FR as the precursor to a full fledged Media Center.



    I just thought the ram slot limitation was rather odd. No worries. I'm going to be happy with 1.5GB of RAM. Love the hard drive size. 160GB is perfect and I'll augement it with a NAS box soon.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    mattyjmattyj Posts: 898member
    Front Row sounds perfect for Uni student digs.
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