[X4U] entry level iMac supports 16GB?

[Joe Sporleder]

On Jun 21, 2012, at 12:36 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:

> At 10:27 AM -0700 6/21/12, Ron Steinke wrote:
>> You will need to know exactly which model number you are looking at in order to call up the right model specifications, but a quick look told me that almost all the latest models have four RAM slots and can hold up to 32Gb of	RAM if you have the money to pay for it.
> 
> At that point the question becomes, which is cheaper, an iMac with 32Gb of RAM, or a Mac Pro with 32Gb (or more) of RAM?  For those that need large memory configurations, I really recommend running the numbers on both the system you're thinking of, and on a Mac Pro. When I bought my latest system in late-2010, the difference was fairly significant.
> 
> I'm sitting at 24Gb, but I'm thinking about taking it up to 48Gb.  Of course I'm also a heavy user of Photoshop and other photography related software.

The reason I asked is I usually buy my RAM from Crucial, and they offer 8GB RAM DIMMS for the newest Mac minis for a total capacity of 16GB of RAM, although Apple only advertises it as upgradeable to 8GB. I am running a current Mac mini with 16GB just fine. 

Apple also says they support up to 8GB on the iMac I'm looking at, but it has 4 RAM slots, so I bet I can get four-4GB Chips from Crucial for less than a $100 and upgrade it to 16GB. Is there a technical reason for Apple low-balling the maximum capacity of some of its models, such as heat, etc, or is more of a marketing gimmick to encourage you to step up to the next model.