RAM for iMac20,1, iMac20,2

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9 points

RAM for iMac20,1, iMac20,2

My wife's company just purchased her a new iMac for work. She is an illustrator and utilizes all of the Adobe graphics programs. She instructed them to max out the RAM, but to go with another company for RAM since purchasing RAM from Apple is exorbitant. they purchased her the iMac with the minimum 8gb RAM, but did not purchase a set of 128 DIMMS to go along with it. So they told her to buy it herself, and they'll reimburse her.

Turns out this is difficult to find. Crucial flat out doesn't have RAM for this model. They don't even have a kit of 32gb DIMMS to max out at 128. OWC has kits of 4x32 available, and they claim that it is compatible with 2019 iMac and up. But from what I understand, RAM for the 2019 model is not compatible with 2020.

I'm confused further because the 2019 is only supposed to go up to 64gb. OWC has had a 128gb kit for a while, but Apple never officially supported that. Now I'm seeing this:

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MUQQ2G/A/apple-memory-module-64gb-ddr4-2666mhz-so-dimms-2x32gb

This is a set of 2 x 32gb of RAM. Get two of those and you max out your iMac at 128gb. I automatically assumed this was for the 2020. Not that I wanna pay $2,400 for RAM. but if her company is cool with that, then who am I to argue? But wait! There's more!

I click on compatibility and it only shows the 2019 iMac model. Uhhhhh. What? So now Apple is supporting the idea that the 2019 model can be bumped up to 128gb of RAM? And why won't these DIMMS work inside of the 2020 model? According to the tech specs of the 2020 iMac, it accepts 2666MHz DDR4 DIMMS. That's the SAME EXACT RAM that I linked above.

What's the difference? Am I in bizarro world? If anyone can offer some clarification on this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Posted on Jun 10, 2021 11:38 AM

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Answer 1

MACundari Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 10, 2021 12:56 PM in response to rkaufmann87

In the main title I stated "RAM for iMac20,1, iMac20,2". that is the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) according to this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201634

I guess I should have at least indicated the screen size, but I assumed that the title provided that information. And the year definitely was mentioned numerous times (iMac20,1 means that it's a 2020 model, and I mentioned the 2019 and 2020 model in the body text too).

Anyway I am very familiar with RAM and how to install. I've been using Macs for about 30 years. Last time I bought OWC was for my 2008 Pro. Had some issues at first, but they sent me new RAM. Worked fine until we purchased our 2019 iMac. Then I decided to go with Crucial. Maxed it out at 64 gb (4 x 16 DIMMS). So now I'm assisting my wife in researching RAM for her work computer. She does heavy graphics work, and since it has the ability to max out at 128, she figured why not? Wouldn't cost more than $700 from either OWC or Crucial. But Crucial does not have 32gb DIMMS available for this computer. And like I said, OWC claims that their RAM will work on both 2019 AND 2020 models. Makes sense since both models utilize the same exact RAM. but Apple told me otherwise. Makes ZERO sense to me.

I just told my wife to compromise. Crucial does offer 64gb kits for the 2020 model. Should be fine for the work she does. 4 x16 from Crucial will be $354 plus tax. I'm sure her employer won't blink.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,805 points

Jun 10, 2021 12:01 PM in response to MACundari

Have you tried OWC (MacSales.com) for the RAM. That's the only other supplier that most of us will use for RAM. Contact their Customer support and see what they say. They will guarantee compatibility if they sell it to you.

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Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,910 points

Jun 10, 2021 11:43 AM in response to MACundari

It is STRONGLY NOT recommended to have a user attempt to upgrade RAM on 2012 to 2020 iMacs. Upgrading RAM on the upgradable years requires a 100% disassembly of the computer and has a very high risk of damaging the computer.

I think most other experienced users will agree and also recommend that the company return the computers ASAP and re-purchase with 16GB of RAM or more. They should also purchase a model with a SSD and NOT buy one with a hard disk. 21.5" models that use a hard drive are glacially slow. Either that or she will have to suffer using only 8GB.

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Answer 4

MACundari Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 10, 2021 11:51 AM in response to rkaufmann87

What are you talking about? We own a 2019 27" model and upgraded the RAM ourselves through Crucial. 4x16 for a total of 64gb. There's a slot on the back of the iMac that you can open up and add four DIMMS of RAM. It's the only thing that's upgradeable on that iMac. This new 2020 model that her company bought is the same. I'm not understanding this response. RAM can be upgraded easily on these iMac models. There is no need to open up the entire computer.

Can someone please assist me with my original question?

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Answer 5

MACundari Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 10, 2021 12:15 PM in response to Old Toad

If you click on the link I added in my OP, you will see the RAM I am referring to. The specs for that RAM are EXACTLY the same for 2019 and 2020 models. There's ZERO difference. But the 2020 isn't listed under compatibility. And when I called Apple, the tech people informed me that Apple does not support usage of those DIMMS in the 2020.

SO! If that's the case, then the RAM that OWC is claiming works in the 2019 and up models won't be supported by Apple. I mean... cmon.

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Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,910 points

Jun 10, 2021 12:46 PM in response to MACundari

21.5" and 27" imacs are completely different animals. You did not indicate the size of the display, what year and size display computer is it that the company purchased??? If they bought 27" models, the RAM is user upgradeable. Please only buy either www.Crucial.com or www.macsales.com RAM. Why, simple iMacs are extremely sensitive to using very high quality RAM.. Both vendors provide high quality products that work, have very reasonable pricing and provide both pre and post sales support.

To upgrade a 27" please buy matched pairs of RAM. To upgrade to 32GB what I'd do is buy 2 X 16GB DIMMS and add them along with the original DIMSS that shipped with the computer. This will give you 40GB.

Upgrading to 128GB of RAM in a 27" is not necessary in most situations. I operate my 2020 27" iMac with 40GB of OWC (www.macsales.com) RAM and it works perfectly. If the computer is being used to create music or movies then yes, 64GB would be recommended. Other uses 40GB should be way more than enough. I use mine for some photography work, internet surfing with usually 10-15 tabs open at any given time, mail, Sonos music app, Terminal, banking app, etc. I usually have anywhere between 5-10 apps open all the time and the computer never skips a beat.

These are the DIMMS i purchased https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/2666DDR4S32P/. I installed the new RAM in slots 1 & 2 (slot 1 is the top slot and slot 2 is right below it) and the original RAM in slots 3 & 4. Using this method yields the fastest RAM speed possible.

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Answer 7

Jun 10, 2021 2:19 PM in response to MACundari

OWC's site lists the 27" 2019 - current. "current" means 2020 models. it also shows 20,1 & 20,2 model identifier.

this is from their page:

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Answer 8

Old Toad

Level 10

207,805 points

Jun 10, 2021 1:04 PM in response to MACundari

Talk with the OWC support personnel and if they say it'll work go with it. They are very good at taking back items that don't work.

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Answer 9

MACundari Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 10, 2021 1:38 PM in response to Old Toad

Appreciate it. Will give them a ring and see what they say. It's gonna be one of the two companies. OWC for the full monty or Crucial for 64. We shall see! Thank you!

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RAM for iMac20,1, iMac20,2

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