How to easily upgrade your iMac RAM for way less money than what Apple charges.

Buy iMac RAM at MacSales

Apple Support: “Installing iMac Memory”

I love Apple products, but it’s no surprise that they overcharge for certain things. So when I was ordering the new 2017 iMac, instead of paying $200 for 16GB of RAM, I chose the 8GB option and saved a lot of money by ordering RAM separately and installing it myself. In this video I’ll show you exactly how to do that for your iMac.

Step 1: Check Compatibility

On your iMac click on the Apple icon in the top left corner and click About This Mac. If your iMac RAM is user upgradeable you should see a Memory tab. Click the Memory tab to see how many RAM slots you’re currently using. Most likely you’ll have 2 slots available. Next, go back to the Overview tab and click System Report to find out your iMac Model Identifier. This info is needed for the next step. You can see mine is 18,3.

Step 2: Order Your RAM

One of the best ways to get RAM for your iMac is through MacSales. Here’s the link to their iMac Memory page. MacSales is great because they tell you exactly what kind of RAM you need for your particular iMac model and they also offer trade-in rebates if you’re not keeping the original RAM that came in your Mac.

Once you’ve visited MacSales click on the iMac that corresponds to your Model ID from your Mac system report in Step one. Mine is 18,3 and it’s the iMac 27” 2017 with Retina 5K display. Now you’ll choose which RAM kit you want for your iMac. Since I have 2 memory slots available I could get the 8GB kit and end up with 16GB of total RAM which ends up being $120 less than what Apple was charging. I’m actually going to get the 16GB kit so I can have a total of 24GB for my iMac.

Step 3: Install Your RAM

After you have your new RAM, turn off your iMac and disconnect the power plug from the back. Find something with a small tip like the end of a headphone cable and push in the small button to eject the RAM cover. On the inside of the RAM cover you’ll see a basic diagram of how to install the RAM. Locate the two levers on the right and left sides of the memory cage and push the two levers outward to release the memory cage. Insert the new RAM sticks into the available slots and make sure they are in the correct orientation. If it doesn’t go in smoothly, flip the RAM stick around and try again. It should just go straight in and align with the other RAM sticks. When you’re finished, push the two levers back into the housing until they click and stay in place, then replace the RAM cover and plug in the power cable.

Step 4: Verify Your RAM

Turn on your iMac and go back into the Apple icon and click About This Mac. Where it says Memory it should now show the new RAM amount and you can also go into the Memory tab to see it too.

So that’s it. It’s very easy to do and it saves you a lot of money as long as the RAM in your iMac is user removable and upgradeable. Thanks for watching. My name is Andy and I’ll talk to you guys in the next video.