iMac Memory

I’ve just realized that I have been tracking ram prices on iMac Memory for over 13 years now starting with the very first iMac, that teal green model with the round mouse that’s so old now you have to wonder if it’s even worthwhile ugrading thew ram on the original Apple iMac.

I tend to focus on the later iMacs models as I’ve found that’s where the demand is and it only makes sense, I think. Chances are, if you’re going to buy an iMac you’ll want to buy a new iMac as technology marches on and the iMacs just keep getting cheaper and yet better too so it’s my suggestion is when you buy an iMac and maybe it’s for back to school or you’re buying an iMac for Christmas (it’ll be here sooner than you think) and the time to upgrade iMac RAM is right when you buy the iMac.

You can ugrade iMac Memory in one of two ways: The first being to favor simple over cheap and just order your iMac from Apple and max out the iMac RAM from Apple at the same time. If time is money then this is definitely the easiest way to go, as you’re buying an apple product and filling it with apple branded ram at the same time.  The only problem  with this technique is hoo boy, will you pay. Apple RAM has consistently been higher priced than if you bought iMac RAM elsewhere. The savings can be in the hundereds of dollars, especially when you factor in the fact that 16gb of RAM is a lot of RAM for the iMac and it’s a newer technology and we all know the newer bigger ram is the most expensive  RAM you can buy.

The better solution is to buy Apple authorized generic  (or name brand to, but you’ll save less) from memory stores that have been in business for more than a decade and have been selling and suppprting iMac RAM since the beginning of the Apple iMac’s existence.

Heck, even the folks at the Apple Store suggest ramseeker as your destination for RAM because Apple only stocks new and in production products – if you’re looking to uprgrade an older Apple iMac you’re out of luck .

But the good new is new or old Apple iMac, I’ve got a selection of Memory stores that yes, will be happy for your business but actually support and sell memory specific to Apple’s  own memory specifications and the kicker is the iMac RAM from these guys is gauranateed to work!

We all know a gaurantee might not mean much depending on the source but this is just one more reason ramseeker should be your first stop when shoppping for iMac RAM. I don’t list every memory store possible. I only list memory stores that back their product with a gaurantee and have been in business for over a decade (some, two decades) and know RAM for iMacs like the backs of their hands.

That’s how you get the best deal on iMac RAM.  Comparing ram prices from reputable memory stores and buying iMac RAM from a memory store you can trust.

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Install RAM in MacBook Pro 2010

You do know that it’s pretty easy to install the ram you buy from third part memory stores yourself, yes? In fact it’s not too hard at all to install RAM in MacBook Pro 2010 models at all.

You do need a few things to start, like a clean static free work surface and a small philips screwdriver but other than some time to take your time and go slowly you can install MacBook Pro ram yourself and save yourself any unneccesary installation fee.

In fact, it’s so easy that Apple has instructions on MacBook Pro RAM installations and upgrades so it’s not just due to the fact that I’m familiar with ram upgrades, the good folks at Apple think you’re up to the task too.

The very first thing you need to do is to shut off your computer. Don’t put it to sleep but really shut off your computer. You don’t need anything to be powered up when you’re installing or replacing ram upgrades.

Then you’ll need to close the MacBook Pro and flip the MacBook Pro over and remove the bottom cover with the ten screws that are holding it in place.

Once you’ve got the screws out and put aside safely, you want to be sure to discharge any static electricity build up that might happen by touching something metal on the MacBook Pro.

With the cover off, you’ll see the RAM modules from the factory right there. You don’t have to remove any hard drives or anything. What you do have to do is push the levers that hold the factory ram out so that the memory modules pop out at a 45 degree angle and then slowly remove the ram by pulling lightly the ram out of the memory socket.  Do the same for the bottom ram module too.

Now that you have empty RAM slots you’re ready to install your memory. There’s notches on the ram modules that line up with the memory upgrade sockets, so there’s really no way you can screw this up. With the notches lined up, insert the ram into the memory upgrade slot at about a 45 degree angle. You may have to push a bit as those memory sockets are designed to be a tight fit. Then all you do is push downwards on the ram so that it’s sitting flat an parallel to your desktop and the two little springs should click into place to hold the memory upgrade in.

Then just do the same again for for the second or top memory upgrade socket for the MacBook Pro – line up the notch, install the ram at 45 degrees until the ram is seated in the slot and push down until the two little tabs lock the memory module in place.

Replace the bottom with the ten screws  and you’re done. Turn the MacBook Pro over, press the power button and the operating system will automatically recognize your new maximum ram for MacBook Pro.

If you’re going to go through all the trouble of installing ram yourself, I suggest buying 8GB MacBook Pro RAM and maxing out the MacBook Pro 2010.

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Cheapest RAM Prices

If there’s one thing that ramseeker has become known for over the past dozen years or so, it’s that if you want the cheapest ram prices then ramseeker is a great resource  when shopping for memory upgades for your Apple Computer mostly, but I also monitor prices on PC Memory too.

Cheap RAM has to be one of the biggest ways people find ramseeker. They type ‘cheap ram, or cheapest ram, or where can I buy cheap ram and  search engines supply you with an answer: and here you are :)

I know, you’re thinking that there’s lots of stores that advertise the cheapest RAM and at times they do offer the best price on ram (this is assuming you mean best price being equal to lowest price) but I’ve found that for the most part the low price leaders for memory either do one of two things after a while:

1. The cheapest ram dealers go out of business. I’ve seen it at least a few times. These new vendors come on the market and state total domination but then they realize that they’ve pretty much priced themselves out of the market.

2. They give up trying to be the lowest price on ram upgrades because sometimes with that also comes the joys of the internet and sometimes the cost of a sale frankly,isn’t worth the effort as margins are cut so low it’s hard to make any money on RAM if you have to answer a million pre-sale and post sale support questions. Sometimes these low price memory stores realize that after a while, it’s best to be priced higher up. Less sales,  perhaps but also less grief and support costs too.

Lastly there’s one more reason why you should make ramseeker your number 1 destination when shopping for memory upgrades. I get special discounts for you that you only can get by shopping through the ramseeker system.  These memory stores can offer a better deal to ramseeker readers because they know they will be rewarded with better sales which makes up for any profit margins they might lose had they not offered the ramseeker memory discount.

With ramseeker you get the best deal on ram upgrades from Memory stores you can trust year after year after year  to help you find the cheapest ram upgrades for your PC or Mac and the support that you want and expect too.

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Can the Black MacBook take 8GB of RAM?

Can the Black MacBook take 8GB of RAM?  The short answer is no, you cannot install 8gb of MacBook RAM into a black macbook, regardless of age. If it’s black, there’s no way  you can install 8GB of RAM into the black notebook from Apple Computer.

Now,  if Apple releases a new black macbook then I’ll have to update this article at a later date and revise my comment above, but for the time being the maximum ram a black macbook can take is up to 4GB of RAM for the later MacBook models.

When the black macbooks were first released in 2006 and subsequently 2007, the maximum ram supported by Apple for these MacBooks – both white and black – was a maximum of 2GB of RAM officially supported. But then some third party stores did some testing and found that even though the official maximum RAM for the MacBooks was 2GB this was before 2GB memory for MacBooks was even available so what they found was that even though the official maximum RAM was 2GB you could install 4gb of RAM with 2x2gb memory modules in these early macbook models. The problem  was the OS and  motherboard was only designed to accept up to 3GB tops so even though you could get 4gb of RAM in the MacBooks only 3gb would show up. So if you have an older black macbook, you may be able to get up to 3gb to show up when you buy 2x2gB memory modules for MacBook.

Then with later MacBook models (again, black or white) that were released in 2007 with the faster design and increased standard memory you could now see up to 6GB of RAM in a black notebook from Apple even though again the official stance from Apple was that a maximum 4GB of ram was supported. This in part is again due to the fact that 4gb ram chips for MacBooks came on the scene after the release of the MacBook models in 2007 so at the time 4gb was indeed the maximum ram for your black macbook.  But later tests found that if you installed 4gb in one of the two ram upgrade slots and another 2gb memory module in the second ram slot the macbook could use and recognize all 6gb of installed RAM. Technically, it’s not supported  by Apple but it works.

So although you can’t install 8GB of RAM into a Black MacBook, you may be able to max out your black MacBook RAM with either 2GB or 3GB or 6gb of RAM depending on what specific Macbook model you have.

The folks at OWC have a great resource that explains exactly how much ram the black macbooks can accept and use. I recommend you refer to it if you have any further questions on upgrading black macbook memory to the maximum allowed.

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Best Memory Upgrade MacBook Pro

When shopping for ram or memory upgrades for Apple MacBook Pro computer models it’s hard sometimes to figure out what exactly is the best memory upgrade for the MacBook Pro.

MacBook Pro Memory comes from many different memory stores and is available in a selection of manufacturers such as Samsung or Micron MacBook Pro RAM and then you also need to consider whether the generic ram might be an option for your MBP as well.

Once you have determined whether you want generic or name brand MacBook Pro Memory the next question that tends to arise is where are you planning to or going to buy MacBook Pro RAM and at what price should you expect to pay for MacBook Pro RAM?

I  tend to track and monitor prices for all Apple Memory and I usually look for the best price I can find, and by best price I mean the lowest price as this site compares, tracks and lists Apple Memory prices the visitors I see tend to gravitate towards the memory that’s priced the lowest I can find.

Personally, I don’t think this is the best way to go about shopping for ram and I’ve stated in the past and am probably repeating myself, but  I think the real value in RAM is to buy ram from a store you can trust with an excellent return policy and that sells ram that’s guaranteed to work in your computer, whether it’s a MacBook Pro or some other memory type you really just want to buy ram that’s  priced reasonably and works in your MacBook Pro. That’s the best deal.

But, not everybody thinks or shops like I do and  if you’re not caring about ram prices than  I doubt you’ll ever see my site or read this. You’ll just buy ram from Apple probably and you do get the fact that when you buy Apple RAM you get great serivce, warranty and all the rest but the bummer is it will cost you a lot more money for essentially the same ram than if you bought ram from a trusted third party apple memory store.

And that’s where I come in. I list the lowest prices on MacBook Pro RAM and Memory but I also list the higher priced brand name RAM and Memory too as it’s my belief that the consumer should be able to make an educated choice about buying MacBook Pro RAM from memory stores they can be assured will offer the prices and support they expect and deserve as a potential customer.

The best price on MacBook Pro RAM depends on so many factors, and the last one you should base your memory buying decisions on is actually the price you pay at the checkout.

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Looking for the Best Price on a MacBook Pro?

I usually stick to just tracking memory prices for Apple products, and that includes the powerful notebook computers that Apple has named (and it looks like will continue this naming) the MacBook Pro. But before you  can add ram to MacBook Pro you have to buy a MacBook Pro and I got asked this question today so I thought rather than reply via email that others might have the very same question too.

I just don’t get why you would pay full MSRP for a MacBook Pro when with about three seconds work you can get a better deal or even the best price on a MacBook Pro.

Apple’s pretty fussy on who they allow to sell their products and you will rarely find any silly deals on MacBook Pros for current shipping MacBook Pros as Apple has something that they call MAP or minimum advertised price, so if you’re a store selling MacBook Pros you can’t just slap any old price on there. This keeps the new MacBook Pro prices all the same for the most part.

But like anything in life there’s always exceptions. :) One way to get a deal on a MacBook Pro is to buy a MacBook Pro from Amazon. Because Amazon  is so well known, and  even more so than even buying a MacBook Pro from Apple –  you know you’re going to get a good deal on MacBook Pro just because Amazon controls so much of the online marketplace. Amazon sells so much more than books these days and you can buy not only a MacBook Pro but you could also buy RAM and a case at the same time and Amazon has to be the best place for bundling MacBook Pros with other stuff  you might need and they also recommend other MacBook Pros or even MacBooks for a better deal than what you’d pay from the Apple Store.

I don’t know but to me it makes no sense to pay full load for the very same computer just to have the privilege of buying your MacBook Pro from the Apple Store when you’re just a few clicks away from saving money on a MacBook Pro when you buy one from Amazon. Even if  you only get a small discount you still get great customer service and a MacBook Pro for your hard earned money, which is what you wanted anyway: The best price on a MacBook Pro

If I were you: I’d Buy the MacBook Pro at Amazon and then visit right here for the best deals on MacBook Pro RAM. A match made in heaven. :)

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Best Mac Pro Memory

Wow. I’ve already written about how I think that dropping almost 3 large for computer RAM on Mac Pros right now is just flushing money down the toilet. If I know one thing when it comes to ram prices, especially for the Mac Pro RAM Prices and it’s this:

RAM Prices for Mac Pro will drop over time. Even with the newer 1333 MHz RAM for the Mac Pros it was only about a week ago or so that you would have to pay just a touch under $3,000 for Mac Pro 64GB but as I write this the ram prices drop and drop – especially for the bigger chips such as 64GB as there’s more room for price drops. Let’s say a 4gb memory upgrade module drops in price of ten dollars. It’s possible. If you do the math you save ten dollars for 4GB so you’ll save $160 assuming the same discount on the larger Mac Pro Memory Kit. Now, technically you’d need 8x8GB to get to 64Gb so my example is flawed from the start but not really. With few exceptions, 1gb costs ten bucks than 2gb will cost twenty and 4gb will be at $40. There might be a small ‘pricing discount’ to get you to buy ram and the 4GB chip might have a price of $39, but we’re splitting hairs.

Let’s have a look at today’s prices for Mac Pro. And these are the Best Mac Pro Memory Prices at time of writing so you should always check for current Apple Mac Pro RAM Prices as your mileage may vary. :)
best mac pro ram prices

As you will see, the 8gb Mac Pro  RAM costs $272. The price for 16GB Mac Pro RAM? about double at $556, and double again for 32gb of RAM for Mac Pro (actually it seems you pay a bit of a premium for the bigger ram for Mac Pro in this example)

Anyway, the best price for Apple Mac Pro RAM is what you can afford really as the Mac Pros offer loads of options for memory upgrades and this chart is just a sampling of  the memory upgrade possibilities. With  the new 2010 Apple Mac Pro machines you can use 2GB, 4GB, or even 8GB to get to the maximum memory configurtation at the best price that suits your needs and also considering your specific Mac Pro models as some still take the older 1066 DDR RAM and to make things even more confusing not all Mac Pro’s will use the Max RAM of 64GB. It’s a good place to start to see what specific Mac Pro you have and what Mac Pro processor speed and then do some research on Mac Pro RAM Prices from there.

If you need any help with finding the best Mac Pro RAM Upgrade, feel free to contact me. It’s why I’m here.

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Sell Your MacBook Memory

Did you know that to offset costs of a memory upgrade you could sell your old memory? This makes sure that when you replace the old ram with the new ram, regardless of computer make or model, that your ram upgrade will cost less and it doesn’t matter what computer you have. You can sell your memory and the result is a cheaper upgrade for you over all.

Now with the MacBook (or MacBook Pro too) you should definitely be interested in this as it lets you recoup at least some value from the factory ram that you paid apple for (and probably too much too, but that’s an article for another day) when you’re ready to upgrade your MacBook RAM. And all you have to do is sell your MacBook Memory to a reputable memory store.

Some places like Crucial don’t want to buy back your old MacBook RAM, they just want to sell you new ram at new prices but some of the other online stores will happily buy back your old RAM. What do they do with it? I’m going to guess some vendors re-use parts as RAM is really (and I’m no expert in ram manufacturing so bear with me) but RAM modules usually have more than one chip soldered to the memory board which might be of use to make bigger ram chips or otherwise re-use your ram.

But we’re concerned today with where to sell your MacBook Memory to, because otherwise you’ll just toss it into a junk drawer on your desk, or sell it for pennies on ebay or craigslist and when you do that you get all the fun that comes with being a private seller. But when you sell it to an authorized ram dealer, you get a fair value and you also get a better deal on your new ram effectively making your ram upgrade cheaper, which is the whole point or focus of ramseeker – getting you the right price on your next ram upgrade.

So who buys RAM? I know of a few Memory stores that will offer you cash for your old RAM and they are: SMS Assembly, RAMJET and OEMPCWORLD will all buy your MacBook Memory when you’re ready to upgrade. These are the few memory stores for Apple Memory that I am aware of that will buy back your old RAM from your Mac. If you’re aware of any other memory sellers who do this, leave a comment and I’ll update my list.

As far as prices you’ll get for your old MacBook RAM, OEMPCWORLD states that they’ll knock off another 20% off the price of new MacBook RAM and for RAMJET, they’ve got handy list of ram price trade in values for mac.

I hope

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Cheap RAM

Cheap RAM. There’s a good chance that you’re here reading this because you typed ‘cheap ram’ into your browser or search engine and you clicked a link that looks interesting and you’re here. Now, I have to prove myself and actually help you find what you came for, which in this case is Cheap RAM

If you’re looking to buy ram (or memory) you’re closer to your destination but not quite, as I don’t sell any RAM. Not one stick,never have and after 13 years at this it’s probably safe to say that I never will. What I do though is help you get the best deal on RAM for you that’s right for you and yes, I do advertise the lowest ram prices for Mac, or even cheapest PC RAM it’s just because like you, most are just looking to buy the cheapest RAM you can find. You want a deal on RAM memory as it can be expensive for what it is and it’s hard to measure performance with RAM. Yes, your computer is going to run faster and smoother and there won’t be as many crashes or blue screens of death but still, it’s not like say adding a hard drive where when you do that you get a neat little window that says wow, look at all the free space you have to fill up with more and more data.

But with RAM, cheap or no the effects and benefits can be less but still allow you to work faster and with less hassle from computers, which I’m sure I don’t have to tell you: computers are great when they work and are a big pain in the..well, you know when they don’t. And that’ where adding RAM does offer the greatest value: There’s less chance of user frustration when you fill up your computer with RAM regardless of the model, you still get more work done faster and with less grief and misery. That’s where RAM upgrades really shine.

But RAM’s not cheap. Especially at first when it’s released. I remember about a year ago, to fill up your iMac to 8GB (which at the time was the maximum RAM you could buy) it cost just as much as the iMac itself, which is just nuts. Thankfully as demand and supply increase, ram prices drop like a stone and quickly.

The trouble with cheap ram is that you could be setting your self up for customer service headaches if you buy ram from memory stores that don’t offer a few essentials: A secure website to order from – It’s 2010 and indentity theft is real and scary. Do you know who you’re sending your credit card information to? And how about a guarantee? When some sellers of memory offer ram at the cheapest prices, they do so at the cost of customer service. Some sales are final or they make it so hard to deal with returns and shipping that the few bucks that you saved on the cheapest ram might not feel like much of a savings if you can’t get support if you have trouble for your memory purchase.

Which is why I always suggest that you buy RAM from the stores I list as they all have been selling memory upgrades for at least as long as I have been tracking ram prices and that my friends has a value you can’t put a sticker price on. Some are big corportations and some are smaller small businesses and some even specialize in just Apple Memory and don’t bother with PC RAM at all. But do yourself a favor and forget the cheapest RAM and buy the RAM that’s guaranteed to work from a memory store you can trust.

That’s the real value in my opinion. But, not to disappoint – here’s a list of the cheapest mac ram and the cheapest PC RAM. Enjoy.

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Crucial Memory RAM Price Tracker

Welcome to I think the only site that tracks and monitors crucial memory upgrades as just one of the memory vendors. I will confess that at ramseeker I do specialize in Apple Memory from Crucial more so than the PC stuff but over time I want to change that and start to track crucial ram for Dell, Apple, HP and compaq computers just to name a few of the major windows computer manufacturers.

Tracking RAM Prices from Crucial for Mac is pretty easy to do as there’s only four (well, OK, five) Apple Computer models that currently ship that you can add more ram to: Apple iMac Memory, MacBook Pro Memory, MacBook Memory and Mac Pro Memory are the best selling RAM from Crucial memory as well as the other vendors I monitor and track prices as they each deserve their own articles so for this one I just want to Talk about Crucial Technology.

One thing that Crucial does carry (and other memory stores are coming online with) are SSD drives which are essentially faster hard drives that offer no moving parts so there’s less chance you’re going to need data recovery if your hard drive crashes. SSD drives are quite similar in design to flash memory drives for your digital camera, but now you can use them in modern computers, with most uses being in notebook or netbook computers. Currently, SSD hard drives from Crucial are still a bit pricey as they are new technology and with any new technology to be a leader – you’ll pay. The reward is much faster start up and operating time which result in a snappier feel overall as compared to hard drives that have essentially worked like record player or turntables. There’s moving parts that can get damaged and take all your data down too.

But back to RAM from Crucial; There was a time when Crucial RAM was really expensive. Really expensive – more than what Apple or Dell charged expensive, but over time you’re just paying a minimum fee for the crucial brand as opposed to generic ram. Crucial RAM just works. Their site, when you order RAM from Crucial is a bit dull in my opinion and is a bit monotone and there’ no where for the eye to go when you first land on the page. I’d be promoting the Crucial RAM Configurator much much more, than what they are. But Crucial’s a big company and changes probably take years if not months to make and int the mean time, they do offer more than one easy way to buy ram from Crucial which is really all you want: Either you know your computer model so use the menu system to select your brand/line/model number to get the right ram for your computer guranateed (as they like to advertise) or alternately you can download a computer program that you can install on your computer that will scan your computer and spit out the right ram for your computer – again, gauranteed.

Crucial offers a good product a a good price. Crucial is not the lowest price on ram you can find but they offer a pretty good deal on ram and memory upgrades most days and carry ram and memory for every computer every made too. You could do worse than buying RAM from Crucial Technology

Posted in Apple Memory, Dell Memory, HP Memory, How To Install Memory, Mac Mini Memory, Mac Pro Memory, Macbook Memory, PC Memory, iMac Memory | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment