14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has released updated documentation about the memory found inside Late 2012 iMac models with specific notes for the 27-inch and 21.5-inch models. The Mac maker confirms iFixit’s findings that the low-end models cannot have their RAM upgraded by regular users.
After tearing down the 21.5” Late 2012 iMac, repair shop iFixit concluded that non-savvy users would not be able to upgrade the RAM inside the all-in-one PC.
Even knowledgeable users might have trouble ungluing the screen and removing the logic board, then putting it all back together.
Now Apple confirms that, if you want your RAM upgraded on the newest 21.5” iMac, you’ll need to take it to a specialist.
“The iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) has no user-accessible RAM compartment,” reads a note in the updated KB article HT5523, which dishes out memory specifications for the new iMac models.
“RAM replacement on the iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) must be done by an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider,” says the Cupertino giant.
The 27-inch model, on the other hand, has four SO-DIMM DDR3 SDRAM slots located in a compartment on the back of the computer just above the AC power plug.
“You can use 4 GB or 8 GB SDRAM SO-DIMMs of 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in each slot. The maximum amount of SDRAM you can install in the computer is 32 GB (an 8 GB SO-DIMM in each slot),” Apple confirms.
The 21.5-inch version has only “two internal SDRAM slots inside the computer,” Apple stresses. The company also confirms that the cheaper system can only take a maximum 16 GB of RAM.
Apple’s advice is to pre-configure your iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) with the amount of SDRAM you'd like when you're ordering it, as upgrading may be prove to be a pain in the neck.