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I am looking to update my iMac's Mid 2010 RAM from 4GB to 12GB and wondering if this RAM is alright to use and what is the difference between the two sets of RAM because they are the same price, both for the iMac/Macbook Pro but have slightly different configurations.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-apple-imac-macbook-macbook-pro-ddr3-so-dimm-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-apple-macpro-ddr3-so-dimm-pc3-8500-(1066)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-7-7-7-20-150v

Using crucial.com, their system scanner tells me my system is a mid-2011 iMac even though I am 100% sure it is Mid-2010 because my system was bought in 2010 and says it in the system preferences. The scanner recommends http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=D7403679A5CA7304

System Info

  • iMac 21.5" Mid 2010
  • 4GB 1333Mhz DDR3
  • ATI 5670 512MB
  • 3.2 Intel Core i3
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  • can you idenitify your iMac model, some models are limited to 8Gb
    – Stu Wilson
    Feb 20, 2012 at 10:04
  • actually, the lowest end iMac (2010) supports up to 16 gb of RAM
    – abc905
    Feb 20, 2012 at 11:21
  • Please provide more details on your iMac (CPU speed and type, and display size). I recommend checking on Crucial (crucial.com) as their price is better and their memory work extremely well with Apple products (they have a wizard to help you find the right memory). I went from 4GB to 32GB, on my mid-2011 iMac 3.4Ghz, quad i7, 27", amazing difference!
    – user268
    Feb 20, 2012 at 12:54
  • Using crucial.com, their system scanner tells me my system is a mid-2011 iMac even though I am 100% sure it is Mid-2010 because my system was bought in 2010 and says it in the system preferences. The scanner recommends crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=D7403679A5CA7304
    – Mintuz
    Feb 20, 2012 at 16:10
  • Mintuz, the Crucial recommended sticks are identical to the Corsair ones in the first link, same FSB speed and timings as per my answer
    – Stu Wilson
    Feb 20, 2012 at 21:34

2 Answers 2

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The iMac Mid-2010 supports DDR3 10666 (from the Apple support site)

The first link is to the correct RAM for that Front Side Bus (FSB) speed The second link is to a slightly quicker set of RAM, but runs on a lower FSB.

The differences between the two are characterised by the two notes above, the FSB speed and the clock timings.

In the first, the FSB speed is higher, but the timings for the RAM are slower. In the second, the slower FSB allows the RAM to work at slightly faster timings.

If you want to know about timings, a search for RAS CAS delay is a good starting point.

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From what I googled, the difference between dual and single channels aren't that great, while the RAM speeds matter a bit more. So if the prices and sizes are the same, it seems the better deal would be the one with more speed, meaning the second option.

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