I purchased the iMac 27" quad core I7 in mid march of 2014. Although, technically, Apple still classifies it as the "late 2013" model.
I purchased this memory module kit after verifying its compatibility through the official Crucial website. This memory was verified by Crucial to work in late iMac 2013 all processors, Mac Mini late 2012, and all the recent Mac Books.
The memory arrived in two days, very well packed and protected from static electricity. Ordered Sunday evening, delivered Tuesday.
After verifying the correct product, I was able to install the memory module with my two fingers and a chopstick. (The chopstick was used to safely push the door open button without scratching my new toy). Basically, you lay the monitor face down, and remove the AC plug. Under the plug is a small (2mm by 4mm) button. Depress the button to unlatch the memory door cover. Remove the door and set it aside, remembering its orientation. There are two small "handles" that press to allow the module to swing out. There are arrows to show you the direction. Once it's out, you can gently but firmly press each of these memory modules into place. If you look at the picture, you will see Memory has a short and long side. The short side goes on the right. Gently press down firmly and equally on each corner at the same time and it will "pop" into place. Then swing the module back into the housing and replace the door. You may have to press a bit hard on the door, it's designed to fit tightly. Return the AC plug and upright your monitor and plug her back in. The entire process should take between 2 and 3 minutes. Hit your power button. The initial boot up the first time takes a bit longer than normal, so don't panic if it takes a minute or so before your screen flickers to life. To verify it has gone well, go to the very top left and press the apple in the corner to bring down the menu. Hit the "about this Mac", and it will bring up a box with the memory total and should also give a speed of 1600.
This memory has been very stable. No glitches or heat issues. The speed of the computer has improved, particularity with booting up and processing pictures. Memory is the best, easiest, and cheapest upgrade for a computer. I have also noticed a small improvement accessing the ssd during some games. There is little difference in simple tasks such as emails or web browsing. Computers are already fast at that. However, using iPhoto has seen an improvement. Steam (an online game client) has also seen an improvement in speed. I am able to max all game settings without any frame loss or slow down.
The iMac is set up for a voltage of 1.35 and this memory has a dual nature to run at a voltage of 1.35 or 1.5
This is convenient as it allows the smaller voltage to be used, cutting back on power consumption (although only pennies a day and realistically negligible) but also cuts back a little on heat production, which is the bane of all electronics. If you use your computer for any lengths of time, or push the processor hard, heat matters, and this could theoretically save wear and tear on your machine to keep it around longer. This is a good thing as apple products are not cheap...
I did some research before purchasing. There are many brands of memory. Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Transcedence, OWN, and the list goes on. Although Corsair seems to be the choice for most Intel pc computers, Crucial is the choice for Mac machines, by a pretty large margin. When doing your own research, be sure to be on Mac centric forums/boards.
After such a positive experience with Crucial's customer service (about a 6 hour email response time to my compatibility question), the ease of install (credit to apple here though), performance boost, and no issues, I bought a second 16 gig kit to replace the four gig sticks that came with the machine. Don't be afraid to buy and install your own memory. Apple charges $600 to upgrade to 32 gigs of ram. You can purchase two of these kits for $300 (or under) and still have the 8 gigs you pulled from your machine to sell on eBay. (Save the memory stick package from your purchase for easy shipping packaging).
One last thought. It seems the prices fluctuate a good bit. I bought my first kit on Amazon for 148$ about a week ago. Today, still on Amazon, I only paid 139$ for the same thing. Just something to keep in mind.
| RAM | 16 GB DDR3 |
|---|---|
| Memory Speed | 1600 MHz |
