Upgrading memory on my late 2013 27" iMac
Ron Knights
Posts: 2,091
in The Commons
I got 8GB of RAM when we bought the iMac in 2014. I recently noted that over 5GB of memory is consumed just running iTunes and Google Chrome. I could easily afford to double the RAM to 16GB. Does it make sense to go any higher with the RAM? Is there a "sweet spot" beyond which you face diminishing returns.
I can't afford to buy a new PC or powerful video cards.
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Comments
It looks like the 2013 iMac uses SODIMM RAM, IOW laptop memory. DDR3 laptop memory is reasonably inexpensive. Going to 16 or 32 Gb might be worthwhile. Depending on your budget and what you do with it.
i would look at those processes very closely, ITunes and a browser should NOT be using that much ram. i don't know Macs, but my PC is currently using 3Gb of system ram with DS, Waterfox( 6 tabs open, one streaming video( Amazon Prime), Skype, Discord and Chrome ( uploading files to a Googledrive) open......
Mac's are notoriously inefficient. The os kernel is pretty decent, it's just linux, but MacOS on top of that is pretty terrible it wouldn't shock me that more than 2 gigs were in use by the OS.
I have upgraded my IMac memory and I had the great pleasure to get a lot of applications running faster. The main important is that you have to buy compatible mac memories which are not the standard ones. When running some renders in CPU mode (I have a Nvidia card in my IMac but with only 2GB which is sometimes not enough to manage a total scene), the whole set of textures is loaded in the main IMac memories. The more you have, the more textures you can load in that case. As far as you have only 4 slots, you have to deal in between 16 or 32GB which is not so expensive.
It's possible Apple somehow checks the SODIMM's against some list of registered ones but unless they do that there is no need to buy Apple certified ones. You just need ones that are the right ratings. Fundamentally that iMac, and every Mac built in the last 20 odd years, is a PC running a different os.
To get the right answer consult https://www.techjunkie.com/whats-the-difference-between-pc-and-mac-ram/ and buy the right one after reading
None of that applies in this case! The 2013 iMac doesn't use ECC RAM or anything else unusual. Just a specific variety of DDR3 laptop RAM. Now I would guess that, since it is a real off ball speed, that it will be labeled as Apple compatible but unless they did something really weird to the UEFI any kit with a higher rated speed should also work fine as well.
This is one of the things that drive tech people crazy about Apple folks. I do know what I'm talking about in this field and still some Apple guy felt the need to try and convince me I didn't without himself understanding the issue at hand.
You do not want to put incompatible RAM in a computer. My 2011 iMac (which was a refurb) had somehow got upgraded with incompatible RAM. I got spontaneous reboots without warning. Not all the time, but enough to haul it off to a shop, which was expert enough to spot the problem and replace it with the proper sort. No such problem after that.
I went to the Mac Sales web site for recommendations. Right now, the 16GB upgrade looks affordable. The 32GB price is a bit hard for me to handle.
https://eshop.macsales.com/upgrades/imac-27-inch-late-2013-3.2-ghz/memory
Just as a data point, I am seeing similar memory usage with iTunes and Chrome running. To be clear, I also have the Activity Monitor and screenshot running as well. I have a Late 2015 5K iMac on macOS Mojave (Version 10.14.1).
Oh, just a little word to everyone. I've been an Apple user since 2007. I may one day buy another PC just to use for DAZ Studio. That's only because Apple doesn't allow us to configure a Mac like you can a PC.