iMac RAM upgrade - is it worth it?

dizzy

dizzy

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David Thomas
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Hey guys, I’m hoping there’s someone with enough Mac knowledge to help get rid of my beach ball angst!!

I’ve just changed camera systems to Sony and LR is almost incapable of coping with the files off the A7rii on my iMac - compressed RAW files are over 40mb, uncompressed in the 80s. We’re talking over half an hour to import 10 compressed raw files to LR - it seems to be building smart preview that causes the wait - and then constantly staring at a spinning beach ball when I’m trying to actually edit.

It’s a mid 2011 model 2.7Ghz intel core i5 with 4Gb RAM running high sierra. It has been generally much slower of late so the spinning ball isn’t just a LR issue. It is worth noting that I’ve only just upgraded to LR CC, however, it’s not having any issue processing the smaller files from the A7ii.

I believe I can upgrade the RAM to 16 GB for around £180. Is this likely to solve my issues or would I just be wasting my money??

Thanks in advance!
 
I have the same iMac (a 27 inch) and upgraded the RAM to 24 GB. I exclusively shoot RAW with an average file size of 40 Mb before processing in Capture One. I find that Photoshop is the biggest memory hog if I leave it open while editing in Capture One. The extra RAM has helped me but I wasn't getting the spinning beachball/pizza with the 8 GB RAM I had previously.

Extra RAM will always help but I would check which Apps are hogging memory and possibly revise your workflow accordingly. I still leave Photoshop open so that I can return to the TIFF version image for further edits if needed.

I hope this helps.
 
Hi, I cant comment specifically on your system, but i upgraded my iMac ram from the OEM 8GB to 32GB of crucial RAM. use their website to determine which exact model you need for your machine, an easy and painless process. Much cheaper than going through the apple store. Plus you get to sell your OEM RAM to offset the cost slightly. My machine flies now, and there is also the old adage of "you can never have too much RAM'

Fitting was a 2 minute process and also painless.

Good luck.
 
Yes a RAM upgrade will help and it is very easy on your model of iMac... however look at your LR preferences, there is no need to be building smart previews on import....
 
RedRobin said:
I have the same iMac (a 27 inch) and upgraded the RAM to 24 GB. I exclusively shoot RAW with an average file size of 40 Mb before processing in Capture One. I find that Photoshop is the biggest memory hog if I leave it open while editing in Capture One. The extra RAM has helped me but I wasn't getting the spinning beachball/pizza with the 8 GB RAM I had previously.

Extra RAM will always help but I would check which Apps are hogging memory and possibly revise your workflow accordingly. I still leave Photoshop open so that I can return to the TIFF version image for further edits if needed.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Many thanks - I haven't got anything else open so it's just LR doing the damage!

gremlin16 said:
Hi, I cant comment specifically on your system, but i upgraded my iMac ram from the OEM 8GB to 32GB of crucial RAM. use their website to determine which exact model you need for your machine, an easy and painless process. Much cheaper than going through the apple store. Plus you get to sell your OEM RAM to offset the cost slightly. My machine flies now, and there is also the old adage of "you can never have too much RAM'

Fitting was a 2 minute process and also painless.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Sounds perfect, thank you! It was their website I was looking at so it's great to have feedback on them!
 
PhilH04 said:
Yes a RAM upgrade will help and it is very easy on your model of iMac... however look at your LR preferences, there is no need to be building smart previews on import....
Click to expand...

Cheers. The import runs very quickly if I don't build smart previews but then it takes forever to open the images and edit them in LR - the time/pain I was getting on my old import seems to be transferred to the edit phase. Am I missing something obvious here??
 
2011 computer so that means it is DDR3 ram.

£180 for 16gb ddr3 ram in 2018 is not a good idea.

ddr3 was released in 2007 I think and was replaced by ddr4.

the problem is when ddr4 was released they simply keep charging £180 for 16gb of ddr3 ram ( new ) even though by right it should be cheap as chips now because it is old tech.
 
•


For photo, 16GB of RAM is a very comfortable number!
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
Can’t comment on the performance but I can theprice. Check out Crucial as you can get 2x 8gb modules for £133
Click to expand...

Thank, Chris. I’ll have another look as the first time I put all the details in to the crucial website it said around the 175 mark for the 16gb set.
 
4gb is really really not enough, i'm surprised OSX can even run on 4gb ram
my laptop has 16gb, I could do with more, probably 24gb rather than the full 32 though

I think the imac has 4 ram slots, so you can keep your current ram and add in more- I wouldnt buy new, just buy used
 
I think a ram upgrade will be beneficial, but an SSD will be much faster, and provide more bang for your buck. You can even install an ssd into the optical drive bay. Quite a few different ways to make your machine quicker.
 
GTG said:
2011 computer so that means it is DDR3 ram.

£180 for 16gb ddr3 ram in 2018 is not a good idea.

ddr3 was released in 2007 I think and was replaced by ddr4.

the problem is when ddr4 was released they simply keep charging £180 for 16gb of ddr3 ram ( new ) even though by right it should be cheap as chips now because it is old tech.
Click to expand...

It did drop, but ram prices have shot up recently. Its a bad time to upgrade.

andrewc said:
Lightroom is a memory hog, so upgrade if you can. Pays to shop around. An SSD makes a big difference for general usage too.
Click to expand...

Generally lr prefers a fast cpu and disk over ram. Unless you're using masses of complex edits then it should rarely use over a couple of gig.

That said, 4gb is low. 8gb minimum these days, 16 the sweet spot especially for multi tasking.
 
I have a Mac Mini at home, and a iMac 2011 at work, I upgraded RAM on both from the 4Gb they came with to 12Gb for the Mini and 16Gb for the work iMac, best upgrade I ever made. The Mini in particular ran like a dog on 4Gb but flies on 12Gb, and my work machine gets used heavily every day (for work stuff, not LR I should add!) and it never runs out of memory.

I actually don't do PP on either of them, I have a Windows 10 PC which I just upgraded from 8Gb to 16Gb and from an old hard drive to a SSD, and that now goes like a rocket compared to before as well.
 
+ 1 for an SSD upgrade. My Imac really flies now since I use the SSD as the OSX disk only.
All work is held on two drives one SSD and one WD drive as a carbon copy

It’s not as difficult as to be believed to replace the hard drive
 
Mark Dell said:
+ 1 for an SSD upgrade. My Imac really flies now since I use the SSD as the OSX disk only.
All work is held on two drives one SSD and one WD drive as a carbon copy

It’s not as difficult as to be believed to replace the hard drive
Click to expand...
Price of a 500gb SSD sata drive from crucial is £122, cheaper than ram, and faster :)
 
domart said:
4gb is really really not enough, i'm surprised OSX can even run on 4gb ram
my laptop has 16gb, I could do with more, probably 24gb rather than the full 32 though

I think the imac has 4 ram slots, so you can keep your current ram and add in more- I wouldnt buy new, just buy used
Click to expand...
If you add memory, does it need to be installed in a certain order?
If you have slots 1 & 3 occupied, install the additional memory in 2 & 4?
Or does it not matter?
 
Norkie said:
If you add memory, does it need to be installed in a certain order?
If you have slots 1 & 3 occupied, install the additional memory in 2 & 4?
Or does it not matter?
Click to expand...

It depends on age of the machine I think.

Traditionally you paired them, 1+2, 3+4 but I think when I did my 2015 iMac the RAM controllers are now smart enough to just figure it out. But still, they will end up being 1+2 and 3+4 as the original RAM with be in 1+2.

Edit: with regards as to whether you need any more RAM, you can easily work it out and it should be obvious. Having more RAM than you need doesn't make the machine any faster (although it doesn't do any harm either) but have less than you need can cripple it.
 
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i bought a I-Mac 21inch brand new 6 months ago with 8 gb ram
i have been told i cannot upgrade my ram as its soldered on !!
does anyone know if this is the case ?
 
holty said:
i bought a I-Mac 21inch brand new 6 months ago with 8 gb ram
i have been told i cannot upgrade my ram as its soldered on !!
does anyone know if this is the case ?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, Highly likely.
 
holty said:
i bought a I-Mac 21inch brand new 6 months ago with 8 gb ram
i have been told i cannot upgrade my ram as its soldered on !!
does anyone know if this is the case ?
Click to expand...

twist said:
Unfortunately, Highly likely.
Click to expand...

iMacs you can change the RAM, it's Macbooks where you can't as its soldered in.

If in doubt, read the manual - it tells you how to do it.
 
Nawty said:
iMacs you can change the RAM, it's Macbooks where you can't as its soldered in.

If in doubt, read the manual - it tells you how to do it.
Click to expand...

Only more recently on the 21s it seems (2017).
 
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I’m in the same boat at present, Lightroom seems to really slowed down since the update to 7.2. I’ve looked at how the RAM can be upgraded and it’s not exactly easy. I have one of the late 2013 2.5 inch macs which has the glued screen. To replace the RAM I’m going to have to remove the adhesive strip from the glass by slowly cutting between the body and the case, replace screen, fan, hard drive, power board... etc ( that was when I stopped watching the tutorial video as it’s probably something I’m not capable of doing). I’m trying to workout if its going to be a case of upgrading to a 27 inch Mac sometime this year. Going back to a PC isn’t really an option as my storage system uses thunderbolt external drives and carbon copy cloner. I have a couple of friends and a brother in law that have built computers so potentially have help/assistance available to do it but it’s the big question of is it really worth spending the money to upgrade the RAM. I am thinking if I did upgrade the RAM it would be a good idea to upgrade the 1tb hardrive to a fusion drive whilst the case is open but that’s a lot of money and probably not worth the additional cost that could potentially go towards an upgrade to a 27 inch Mac instead (apple have a couple of refurbished 27 inch 2015 and 2017 macs for around £1400-1500 which doesn’t seem so bad when I take into account the potential cost to upgrade my current 21.5 and the potential sell on value a my iMac and MacBook Pro that could be sold to help fund the upgrade).
 
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Nawty said:
It depends on age of the machine I think.

Traditionally you paired them, 1+2, 3+4 but I think when I did my 2015 iMac the RAM controllers are now smart enough to just figure it out. But still, they will end up being 1+2 and 3+4 as the original RAM with be in 1+2.
Click to expand...
On my 27 inch the original memory is is 1 + 3. If I add say 2 x 16Gb modules is it best to put this in 2 + 4? O does it not mater what slots are used?
 
rob-nikon said:
I’m in the same boat at present, Lightroom seems to really slowed down since the update to 7.2. I’ve looked at how the RAM can be upgraded and it’s not exactly easy. I have one of the late 2013 2.5 inch macs which has the glued screen. To replace the RAM I’m going to have to remove the adhesive strip from the glass by slowly cutting between the body and the case, replace screen, fan, hard drive, power board... etc ( that was when I stopped watching the tutorial video as it’s probably something I’m not capable of doing). I’m trying to workout if its going to be a case of upgrading to a 27 inch Mac sometime this year. Going back to a PC isn’t really an option as my storage system uses thunderbolt external drives and carbon copy cloner. I have a couple of friends and a brother in law that have built computers so potentially have help/assistance available to do it but it’s the big question of is it really worth spending the money to upgrade the RAM. I am thinking if I did upgrade the RAM it would be a good idea to upgrade the 1tb hardrive to a fusion drive whilst the case is open but that’s a lot of money and probably not worth the additional cost that could potentially go towards an upgrade to a 27 inch Mac instead (apple have a couple of refurbished 27 inch 2015 and 2017 macs for around £1400-1500 which doesn’t seem so bad when I take into account the potential cost to upgrade my current 21.5 and the potential sell on value a my iMac and MacBook Pro that could be sold to help fund the upgrade).
Click to expand...

I’ve just been speaking to a very tech savvy friend, his advice was don’t do it unless you upgrade the HD to a SSD. Cheapest option is for a 500gb SSD, 16 gb ram upgrade then he’s recommended some very good external storage that is about £70 for 2Tb. Works out about £300 for the three things.
 
dizzy said:
I’ve just been speaking to a very tech savvy friend, his advice was don’t do it unless you upgrade the HD to a SSD. Cheapest option is for a 500gb SSD, 16 gb ram upgrade then he’s recommended some very good external storage that is about £70 for 2Tb. Works out about £300 for the three things.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I've got the external storage sorted so that's not a problem. If I did do it it makes sense to upgrade the RAM and hard drive once the case is open but the mac only takes 16GB max so not exactly future proof for the cost and trouble of opening it up. I'm guessing 16GB will be on the limit for lightroom in the future.
 
Just thought Id update on my situation. I have just installed an extra 16GB (from Crucial) to my late 2014 iMAC. It took all of 5 minutes. It is now showing as having 24GB

My overall impression is that the boot up time hasn't changed much, however Lightroom is a different animal. Initial startup is considerably quicker as is the time it takes to switch between modules and folders. Switching is almost instantaneous now. It took 10 seconds to open with images showing, it took a further 10 seconds to populate all areas, previously you were looking upwards of a minute. I could make a drink in the time it took to start before
 
Well I've added an extra 16Gb too (from crucial), and moved approx 500gb of images on to an external drive. I am blown away with how much quicker it is! Lightroom is a pleasure to use again rather than something I dreaded opening. It's gone from a 5 minute task that could take an hour to a 5 min task taking 1-2 min! Just waiting for my buddy to come back from an overseas job and I'll get the SSD fitted to the iMac too as he believes that should make a huge difference to the mac performance with the latest iOS.

Thanks for all the input!
 
dizzy said:
Well I've added an extra 16Gb too (from crucial), and moved approx 500gb of images on to an external drive. I am blown away with how much quicker it is! Lightroom is a pleasure to use again rather than something I dreaded opening. It's gone from a 5 minute task that could take an hour to a 5 min task taking 1-2 min! Just waiting for my buddy to come back from an overseas job and I'll get the SSD fitted to the iMac too as he believes that should make a huge difference to the mac performance with the latest iOS.

Thanks for all the input!
Click to expand...
Glad it’s worked for you. When I moved my photos off the internal hard drive that helped quite a bit too. If the screen wasn’t so hard to take off on my late 2012 iMac I would upgrade the RAM and swap to a SSD too.
 
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