Lately, I was thinking of buying a new iMac because of the limitation of Ram that apple had specified for my late 2007 iMac.
The new machines' prices are crazy. So, I was looking for ways to optimize and max whatever I can on my mac for as long as I can.
I did search for answers and to my surprise I came across these and more:

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/forums/viewthread/82056/

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1350519

it turns out that my mac can hold more ram than specified.Apple says max is 4 gig but in reality it can hold 6 which is not bad.

I am no computer smart but I get around fine if I ever run into a problem. I would like to ask the experts in our community about this and learn from them.
What do you guys think? Should I add more than specified? Did anyone do this?
I am really thinking about giving it a try but I am worried that maybe it can cause a problem. then end up losing more than gaining.

The other question is, if it can hold 6 gig of ram, why not 8? this is the part i didn't get

 

Well I have an imac 21,5" mid 2011 with 2,5 quadcore CPU, 20gb (ram can upgrade up to 32gb and apple said only support 16gb ram)
I sugest you to buy the same machine as i have for less than USD 800 plus 16 gb ram for another USD 150
It´s a powerfull machine, you don´t need more than these, believe me
I run 2 instances Adicctive drums, 3 of Omnisphere, 2 of Stylus RMX and many plugins waves, Plugin Alliance and many more for my songs
However i have more than 100 plugins running in Logic pro X.

Sorry for my english

 

RAM is not the only factor.
If your iMac is a 2007 model, it's likely a dual core Intel machine. Not bad, but if a 6GB upgrade is enough will depend on what you want to do with it. If you mainly have one sampler (e.g. Kontakt, EXS24), 6Gb can get you quite far.
If, however, like anvier, you plan to run multiple instances of CPU-eating VSTi you machine will have to run with higher latency or not be able to handle all VSTi playing simultaneously.

I recently purchased a Mac mini i7/quad with 4GB of RAM which i planned to upgrade to 16GB anyways, but after working with it for a while, I have seen no rason to do so:
- I'm using an SSD for Kontakt banks with thousands of small samples, so Kontakt's preload buffer can be decreased, hence lower RAM usage
- Using multiple resource-heavy VSTi is quite a difference on an i7 CPU, compared to a Core2Duo.

If you mostly use samplers (and it seems so because you asked for RAM), purchasing an SSD first could be a good idea.
Even if it doesn't work out as expected, you still have fantastically fast loading times and you can still use it later in a newer machine, should you eventually purchase one.

 

build a Hackintosh,
upgraedable, cheap, estable and cheaper

 

I write really big letters for absolutely no reason.

 

back to topic. Fiction said it all right.

hackintosh aren't that cheap. And come without any guarantee whatsoever.

 

No Hackintosh Buy a Real Mac More Stable and Has a Warranty and bi the time you buy all the PC Parts for a comparable Mac it's almost the same price

 

Well here's an explanation on Audio Production section :

when you open your Daw here'w hat happens,

if you Drop/Drag a sample to goes to Ram, if you Record it goes to Ram.

if you are a Kontakt User : anything you load into Kontakt well goes to Ram, as mush as you load libraries it will Consume Ram.

if you add a VST/VSTi ( Instruments or FX ) : it will be loaded into Memory, but what it does (Generating Sound or Applying FX)well Consume CPU,

in Kontakt case, it does Both use kind of a lot of CPU and Consume Ram (it depend on the Library you load in to it and the instance you load)

the Conclusion :

- CPU is the most important thing in Audio Production, if you're an E.D.M. Production, Try getting the Best CPU you can buy : and 8Gigs is totally enough if you want to load some Sample Based VSTi sush as True Piano, Real Guitar and Kontakt yo your Project,

and if you make Orchestral Stuff wish needs a lot of Ram, try getting 16 gigs at least, even 32 gigs is a way too mush for scoring or Orchestral Production.

if you Record a lot you will need 16Gigs MAX !

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Now as Ovalf said, Try building a hackintosh, is a way better Option if you know what you're doing you can get a better Spec Computer up to Double even More, and almost half the Price, and you will have your mac Stable (if you buy the right Hardware, as i'm talking from a personal experience all you need is the right motherboard )

anyway we can help in anyway, clear your mind and tell us what you've decided.

 

Thank you all for you input and suggestions.

You guys made an easy decision harder for me now . I am leaning towards getting a new mac after reading your replies. It seems my problem is due to both CPU and RAM. And let me tell you guys, some of you make really good salesmen

I do use VSTi for the most part. I will take all suggestions into consideration. Time to save some money so I can get everything at once.
I was checking Criagslist around my hometown. I found an 2013 iMac, i7 with 8 gig Ram and 1 tb hard.It has only a small break at the edge of the screen glass on top. The guys is asking for an offer. I kind of hesitant to about it. What to you guys think? and how much should I offer him? His ad has been there for a couple of months. I don't many had did make offers for him.

thanks again guys. I really appreciate your help

 

Let me answer your 'other' question:

Some lappys (maybe even something from Apple) have RAM directly soldered on motherboard, so you're not able to remove it/exchange it for bigger one - e.g. one ram is soldered and the other one is removable, thus for example 2GB + 4GB. Also when the RAM becomes faulty, you have to throw away the whole motherboard. Don't know who invented such brilliant idea, but it's there.
mPGA chipsets are the same thing, only with CPU, which luckily usually don't need to be replaced.

Also note that MacBooks are VERY picky about RAM modules, so if you decide to upgrade, triple check the compatibility.
PS: I work on 2008 era laptops and they are the best. No today's model can match them, so I got myself desktop (probably the only solution worth the time today), but still return to my Thinkpads more than often, it just 'feels' better to work on them

 

Yeah, sadly Apple took that way again with the new retinas, but on iMac that's not the case, standard SO/DIMM in there.
On my father's old PowerBook G4 for example there's a 256MB soldered on the mobo and a slot for max 1GB.
But thats actually a good idea, cause if the ram fails you can always use the computer with the onboard ram and try to solve the problem.

The only disadvantage to have 6GB is that it doesn't take full advantage from dual channel operation (one bank is 2gb the other is 4), but no biggies,
always better than 4.
To be sure, grab the free MacTracker and run it on your Mac, it will tell you all infos on the machine
and the real amount of Ram supported. Apple always states that its machines can support usually half of the real amount they support. *no*

As you can see on my MBP it's 16, not 8 like stated:


If I remember well my old 2007 white MB supported 6 instead of specified 4, so probably that's the max also for you, same year.
If you put 8 inside you may have problems, just grab a 4GB stick and pull one 2GB from the iMac.
BTW I would think about SSD, there you will surely see a huge difference (depending on what you do, as other said).


EDIT: yeah, checked on MacTracker here and yours seems to accept only 6GB not 8.
(I imagine is the first aluminium one made by apple, not the older white one sold till august 2007)
MacTracker can be trusted, if it says 6 then it's 6.

As Andrew said be sure to grab the right ram, and of a supported manufacturer.

 

Heh heh it's funny how technology progresses

I remember getting a hard on over a pentium 2 400 or something with 64mb of ram, thinking to myself "wow imagine having 64mb of ram and a 6 gig HD

And, they cost about £1600.00 as well

 

The same as pc.
You can build as lower as possible.
Research before do such affirmations because this is a place of information, not the opposite.
Garantee? Real Mac?
1 if the money is the problem go hack, if your money is problem learn how to fix.
2 if you are lazy you are not serious about music. Computer is your tool and nowadays a musitian must kmow how to fix anything related of computer thats humam possible.
3 A real mac is estable as a good hack (I have both) with the benefit from the hack of easer updates.
If I depended of garantees and a technitian for fixing my computers my studio do not exist...

 

1) Just because you have 2 (inserts/slots) doesn't mean you can stick w.e fits there. (Power issues/compatible parts)
2) I would recommend to stop by and ask on a mac retail shop. They might tell you if they can do it for you, it might be costly but that's probably the best option unless your warranty already expired.

 

Meh, usually changing RAM doesn't void the warranty, in theory it does,
but at apple almost never complain on a return if you just opened it one time to upgrade ram.
BTW it's a 2007 machine, I think it's way out warranty. And with the cost of an Applecare from 2007 till now
he would have bought 2 Macs so I don't think he have it

btw yes, make sure to do some research on the ram you gonna install.
Plenty of online shops that sells apple certified ram, just pick the one that suits you better.

 

Buying a new iMac is the smart thing to do, but you can anyway add up the extra RAM if it doesn't cost you that much, and that can better your workflow until you've saved up for a new one. Since your iMac is ages away from guarantee, you might wanna buy your extra RAM from any other store that has the specs. Ask for it to be installed at the very same store, so if it doesn't work on your Mac, they can act upon it on the spot. At least, in my country, the computer part stores give you tech support on their products for free, This way, they make sure handling doesn't void the warranty of the parts you purchase.

 

After reading all your replies,I gave it a thought and decided to get the whole package(SSD+RAM). Since many of you recommended an SSD, I made sure that was included in the new set up . I didn't know about the benefits of an SSD until you guys mentioned it.

My new iMac is arriving on the 5th of June.


Here are the specs.

27" ALUMINUM IMAC 3.4GHZ Quad CORE I7

PROCESSOR: 3.4GHZ CORE I7

RAM: 12GB (2X4 GB , 2X2 GB)

HARD DRIVE: 256GB SSD + 2TB HD + 7200RPM

I got a good deal on this machine. it was about $1,400 US, shipping included. With these specifications, they can cost a lot. I bought it through a friend who knew the owner.
This will last me a long time. I will use my older iMac as a second monitor.

thanks guys. I really appreciate all the info you provided here