Third-Party RAM for 27-inch iMac Still Far More Affordable Than Apple's Checkout Upgrade Options

Apple yesterday announced a new 27-inch iMac with faster 10th-generation Intel Core processor options, next-generation AMD graphics, and up to a whopping 128GB of RAM.

new 27 inch imac 2020
To max out the RAM at checkout, Apple charges an additional $2,600, which is like buying another whole ‌iMac‌. Fortunately, the memory in the 27-inch ‌iMac‌ is user-replaceable thanks to the easily-accessible memory backdoor slot, and there are far more affordable options available from third parties.

OWC offers 128GB of DDR4 PC4-21300 RAM that's compatible with the 27-inch ‌iMac‌. The total cost on Amazon is $599.99, or $2,000 less than Apple charges its customers. These are the OWC memory upgrade kits available, compared to the prices that you'd pay when purchasing an ‌iMac‌ from Apple:

Apple provides instructions for users wanting to install memory in an ‌iMac‌. Note that the RAM in the 21.5-inch ‌iMac‌ models, which were not updated yesterday other than a change to the base storage configuration, is not user-accessible.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Related Roundup: iMac
Tag: OWC
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

ph001bi Avatar
70 months ago

Do we know why they are so ridiculous, aside from the fact they are Apple?
The modules are installed by Swedish virgins during the full moon. It's really hard to get clear sky and full moon in Sweden. Even harder to find virgins.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
matt_and_187_like_this Avatar
70 months ago

I bet user upgradable ram is gone in arm iMacs.
Tim Cook is heavily innovating in new soldering techniques and glue chemicals.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WannaGoMac Avatar
70 months ago
I bet user upgradable ram is gone in arm iMacs.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
plek Avatar
70 months ago
This has always been the case.

It would be a massive shame if they take away the ability to upgrade the RAM yourself in future iMac re-designs.
? ('https://emojipedia.org/grimacing-face/')
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ajguckian Avatar
70 months ago
Do we know why they are so ridiculous, aside from the fact they are Apple?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wubsylol Avatar
70 months ago
No surprises there.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)