Boosting Power and Speed Up Your iMac with RAM Upgrade: A Step-by-Step Guide by Steve Smith
As an Apple enthusiast, it can be frustrating when you've just spent a small fortune on your iMac only to have it feel slow and underpowered again. Fortunately, upgrading the RAM is a simple and cost-effective way to give your iMac a boost in power and speed. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of upgrading your iMac's RAM.
Before You Begin
To determine how much RAM your iMac can handle, head over to Crucial.com and download their System Scanner. This tool will tell you exactly how much RAM your iMac is capable of handling. Once you've downloaded the scanner, run it and it will provide you with the necessary information. For example, my iMac can take up to 32GB of RAM, but I currently have only 4GB installed.
Upgrading Your iMac's RAM
The first step in upgrading your iMac's RAM is to turn off your computer completely. Once it's shut down, disconnect all cables and the power cord from the back of the computer. Place the computer on a soft, clean towel or another flat surface to prevent any scratches on the screen.
Next, using a Philips screwdriver, remove the chin plate. You'll need to remove three screws to do this. Don't worry if they seem stuck – they're cleverly attached to prevent them from falling out. Once you've removed the screws, gently pry open the chin plate and set it aside.
Tucking in the Tab
Now that we have access to the RAM slots, let's take a look at what's already inside. As you can see, my iMac has two sticks of RAM already installed, which adds up to 4GB. To upgrade from this amount, we need to remove these existing memory sticks.
To do this, pull the tab on the RAM slot until it comes loose. You may need to apply a bit more force than expected to get it out completely. Once you've removed the first stick of RAM, you'll be left with an empty slot.
Installing New RAM
Now it's time to install your new RAM. Take one of the new memory sticks and insert it into the empty slot. Make sure that the shorter strip is on the right-hand side – this will ensure that the RAM is properly seated in the slot. Once you've inserted the new RAM, press it firmly into place until you hear a slight click.
Tucking it Back In
After installing your new RAM, tuck the tabs back into their original position to secure them in place. This will ensure that the RAM remains stable and doesn't come loose over time.
Reassembling Your iMac
With the new RAM installed, we need to reassemble our iMac. Place the chin plate back on top of the computer and screw it securely into place using the three screws you removed earlier.
Plugging Everything Back In
The final step is to plug everything back in and turn on your iMac. If everything has gone smoothly, you should see a pop-up notification indicating that the new RAM has been installed successfully.
Conclusion
Upgrading the RAM in your iMac is a simple and cost-effective way to boost its power and speed. By following these steps, you can breathe new life into your aging computer and get it running like new again. Remember to subscribe to our channel for more great content and giveaways – we've got some exciting shows on the horizon that you won't want to miss!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi I'm Steve Smith and welcome to another Cult of Mac suay tips with apple releasing a new iMac every year or so it can get a little bit frustration when you've just spent a small fortune on your iMac only a year or two ago well today I'm going to show you how to boost the power and speed up your iMac which only takes a few minutes and doesn't really cost that much all just by upgrading your RAM let's get started before we get into this we need to know what your system can handle so we're going to head over to crucial.com and find the system scanner the link can be found below once on there you can download the scanner run it and then it will tell you how much RAM your iMac can take so here we go my iMac can take 32 gig and I purchased 8 gig of RAM so I'll be upgrading my Mac from 4 gig to 12 so this works for all iMacs from 2009 to 2011 the newer models have a slightly different technique which we'll cover soon in a video so first step is to turn off your computer once it's shut down disconnect all the cables and the power Corde from the computer place it on a soft clean towel or another flat surface cuz we don't want the computer screen to get scratched then using the Philips screwdriver remove the chin plate has three screws as you can see and don't worry about them falling out they're cleverly attached then the next thing you need to do is on tuck the tab and as you can see it's already got two sticks of ram in there which adds up to my 4 Gig if you pull it out memory stick will come with it this does take a little bit more Force than you'd expect so you really need to give it a good tug all you need to do is insert your new Ram into the empty slot and make sure the shorter strip is on the right hand side after you have inserted it press the ramp into the slot again this does take a little bit of force to put it in but you should hear a slight click when the memory is in place correctly then tuck the tabs back in the way they were and then put the chain plate back on and screw it in plug it all back in turn it on and if everything's gone successfully you'll be able to see it's installed your RAM well that's it for another week let me know what you've upgraded your iMac also if you've got any questions make sure to leave them in the comments below and if you haven't already you've got to click subscribe we've got some great shows and giveaways on the way so you don't want to miss them I'll see you next timehi I'm Steve Smith and welcome to another Cult of Mac suay tips with apple releasing a new iMac every year or so it can get a little bit frustration when you've just spent a small fortune on your iMac only a year or two ago well today I'm going to show you how to boost the power and speed up your iMac which only takes a few minutes and doesn't really cost that much all just by upgrading your RAM let's get started before we get into this we need to know what your system can handle so we're going to head over to crucial.com and find the system scanner the link can be found below once on there you can download the scanner run it and then it will tell you how much RAM your iMac can take so here we go my iMac can take 32 gig and I purchased 8 gig of RAM so I'll be upgrading my Mac from 4 gig to 12 so this works for all iMacs from 2009 to 2011 the newer models have a slightly different technique which we'll cover soon in a video so first step is to turn off your computer once it's shut down disconnect all the cables and the power Corde from the computer place it on a soft clean towel or another flat surface cuz we don't want the computer screen to get scratched then using the Philips screwdriver remove the chin plate has three screws as you can see and don't worry about them falling out they're cleverly attached then the next thing you need to do is on tuck the tab and as you can see it's already got two sticks of ram in there which adds up to my 4 Gig if you pull it out memory stick will come with it this does take a little bit more Force than you'd expect so you really need to give it a good tug all you need to do is insert your new Ram into the empty slot and make sure the shorter strip is on the right hand side after you have inserted it press the ramp into the slot again this does take a little bit of force to put it in but you should hear a slight click when the memory is in place correctly then tuck the tabs back in the way they were and then put the chain plate back on and screw it in plug it all back in turn it on and if everything's gone successfully you'll be able to see it's installed your RAM well that's it for another week let me know what you've upgraded your iMac also if you've got any questions make sure to leave them in the comments below and if you haven't already you've got to click subscribe we've got some great shows and giveaways on the way so you don't want to miss them I'll see you next time\n"
