Mac Pro users — 4 or 6 GB RAM?

[C Heat]

I have a Mac Pro 2.66 with 2GB (4x512GB) RAM.

Do I—

1. Grab another 2GB ($210 AUD) to make 4GB total

or

2. Grab another 4GB ($460 AUD) to make 6GB total.

It's 'only' an extra $250 option number 2, but it's not like I have money to throw around either.

Any suggestions?

Thanks all :)

[AMIEL]

Originally Posted by C Heat

I have a Mac Pro 2.66 with 2GB (4x512GB) RAM.

Do I—

1. Grab another 2GB ($210 AUD) to make 4GB total

or

2. Grab another 4GB ($460 AUD) to make 6GB total.

It's 'only' an extra $250 option number 2, but it's not like I have money to throw around either.

Any suggestions?

Thanks all :)

I have the exact machine..I have 4 GB and never had a memory issue!

Now ..I use Protools HD accell 3.....but even using many native plug ins....never had a problem.


More memory is always good...but really 4GB is a good amount! just buy good memory!

[Barbary Ape]

I've discussed this in another thread most DAW applications on Mac if not all of them are 32 bit apps running on a 64 bit OS like Leopard or Tiger and all 32 bit apps in Mac are limited to utilize a maximum of 4GB.

So if you run a lot of samplers and load a lot of samples and load all sorts of plugins those are all counted within your DAW program and you can only go as high as 4GB. You can can have 4GB alloted to your DAW app and 2GB(that's a lot) for your OS, 6GB will be all that you'll need but if are not sampler and softsynth heavy in your work, 4GB is more than enough.

[C Heat]

Thanks AMIEL and Barbary Ape

I appreciate your time to reply.

I'll sleep on it over the week-end, but an extra 2GB (to make 4GB total) sounds like the way to go.




6Gb total would be nice though

[Reza]

Mate - order from 'MacSales' in the US.

Mac Pro Memory - Apple Mac Pro Xeon 8-Core and Quad Core Memory Upgrades DDR2 Fully Buffered 240 Pin DIMM 800MHz PC6400 / 667MHz PC5300 at OtherWorldComputing.com

I purchased RAM from those guys last week, and had it sent to Sydney.

You'll get 4 Gig shipped for around $200 Australian.

Really smooth transaction!!!

[jcschild]

reagrdless of what you buy you need 4 or 8 of the same exact ram

so it doubles each time

2, 4, 8, 16, 32

anything else is not properly configured.

Scott
ADK

[Firechild]

More RAM is better. It is a fact that most applications can´t handle more than approx 3 gb RAM but nowadays plugin developers come up with workarounds. For example Logic Pro 8.0.1 handles the EXS24 samples "outside" Logic. The Vienna Instruments are also working in a way that the samples are using RAM outside the host DAW. You can also use for example Kontakt or BFD2 as a standalone app and then routing the audio back to your DAW which also of course use RAM outside you DAW, so....the more RAM the better. I have no problem maxing out my 8 Gb RAM.

[timtoonz]

Originally Posted by jcschild

reagrdless of what you buy you need 4 or 8 of the same exact ram

so it doubles each time

2, 4, 8, 16, 32

anything else is not properly configured.

Scott
ADK

So if I've got 6 gigs in my MacPro, something's not right?

[C Heat]

Originally Posted by jcschild

reagrdless of what you buy you need 4 or 8 of the same exact ram

so it doubles each time

2, 4, 8, 16, 32

anything else is not properly configured.

Originally Posted by timtoonz

So if I've got 6 gigs in my MacPro, something's not right?

Good question.

My current config is:

DIMM Riser A/DIMM 1 512MB
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 2 512MB
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 3 512MB
DIMM Riser A/DIMM 4 512MB

DIMM Riser B/DIMM 1 Empty
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 2 Empty
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 3 Empty
DIMM Riser B/DIMM 4 Empty

Can't I just put 2x2GB into 2 of the 4 empty slots?

[C Heat]

Originally Posted by Reza

Mate - order from 'MacSales' in the US.

Mac Pro Memory - Apple Mac Pro Xeon 8-Core and Quad Core Memory Upgrades DDR2 Fully Buffered 240 Pin DIMM 800MHz PC6400 / 667MHz PC5300 at OtherWorldComputing.com

I purchased RAM from those guys last week, and had it sent to Sydney.

You'll get 4 Gig shipped for around $200 Australian.

Really smooth transaction!!!

Really? Interesting. I always get worried with things like electrical/RAM being shipped from OS—all that X-Ray gear and all at airports/processing...

[C Heat]

Originally Posted by jcschild

reagrdless of what you buy you need 4 or 8 of the same exact ram

so it doubles each time

2, 4, 8, 16, 32

anything else is not properly configured.

Scott
ADK

I think you were referring to this?:

Four or More FB-DIMMs installed provides for best performance FB DIMM technology takes advantage of multiple channel access. Apple recommends the use of 4 or more modules to take advantage of this 256-Bit Wide memory architecture. Modules must be installed in pairs, each module is 64 Bits Wide + 8 Bits for Error Correction (ECC).

[AMIEL]

Hi!

I bought my memory here:
Apple Compaq Dell HP Sony Gateway Computer Memory - Data Memory Systems

great place is rated as one of the best places for mac memory ..i never had a problem...fair prices , excelent service and advice!

read this article is very important!

Getting memory upgrades right on the Mac Pro

[C Heat]

Some nice additional reference AMIEL.

Very useful information.

Thank you

[tnjazz]

Interesting. I've got 9gb in mine (4 x 2gb on one card, and the stock 2 x 512mb on the second).

Would I see a performance increase if I dumped the stock and went down to 8gb?

[Ashermusic]

Originally Posted by jcschild

reagrdless of what you buy you need 4 or 8 of the same exact ram

so it doubles each time

2, 4, 8, 16, 32

anything else is not properly configured.

Scott
ADK

I don't buy it. The RAm has to be installed in pairs but that does not mean it must be doubled AFAIK. And this is my second machine that I have mixed Apple and Crucial RAM with no problem.

More RAM is better. I have 5 and I will gradually bump it up to at least 8.

[AMIEL]

Originally Posted by C Heat

Some nice additional reference AMIEL.

Very useful information.

Thank you

You are welcome!

[gainreduction]

Originally Posted by jcschild

reagrdless of what you buy you need 4 or 8 of the same exact ram

so it doubles each time

2, 4, 8, 16, 32

anything else is not properly configured.

Scott
ADK

That's exactly what I was told by my dealer when I recently bought my 8-core MacPro. It came with 2 GB of RAM and was expanded to 8.

The ultimate for PTHD seemed to be OS 10.4.11 and 8 GB of RAM.

[Reza]

Originally Posted by C Heat

Really? Interesting. I always get worried with things like electrical/RAM being shipped from OS—all that X-Ray gear and all at airports/processing...

It was really well packaged in a custom molded tray etc. No problems at all!!!

That's all these guys do - ship mac upgrades (mainly RAM and hard drives) around the world.

If you read some reviews online you'll see they're very reputable. Plus they would purchase in massive quantities and they have no shop-front, hence the great price. I actually wouldn't be at all surprised if many of the small computer stores here in Oz buy RAM and hard drives from dealers like this and then on-sell it at a massive margin.

Do what you're comfortable with. I was hesitant as well, and nearly paid double to a dealer here in Sydney, but then took the risk, and would recommend it to everyone.

It's your call, but I had a great experience.

[C Heat]

Originally Posted by Reza

It was really well packaged in a custom molded tray etc. No problems at all!!!

That's all these guys do - ship mac upgrades (mainly RAM and hard drives) around the world.

If you read some reviews online you'll see they're very reputable. Plus they would purchase in massive quantities and they have no shop-front, hence the great price. I actually wouldn't be at all surprised if many of the small computer stores here in Oz buy RAM and hard drives from dealers like this and then on-sell it at a massive margin.

Do what you're comfortable with. I was hesitant as well, and nearly paid double to a dealer here in Sydney, but then took the risk, and would recommend it to everyone.

It's your call, but I had a great experience.

Thanks Reza!

Yeh I did some research on these guys.

I'm gonna place an order with them today. It's a big saving too

Thanks for your help. I appreciate it

[6dyslexicelephnt]

I have a macbook pro with 2GB ram. I haven't had any problems with Logic since I increased the "priority" of logic (not sure if this is the right word). You have to go into the activity monitor and then the terminal and enter some code. I read about it on the logic forums... apparently people also do it for Final Cut Pro

Since then not a hiccup. Very smooth. Although I'll probably still upgrade the ram to 4GB when I have $100 to kill

[seclusion]

I grabbed 2x4 gigs for my 2.66 original Mac Pro, so I have have 2x4 in riser 1 and 2 512's in riser 2. I believe that whatever you buy has to be in pairs, I see this place has Accelerate Your Macintosh! News Page - 5/16/08 for $145 2x4's. Might grab that in a while. But my machine has been running great with 5 gigs of ram.
Later

[jcschild]

from the link posted

DUAL CHANNEL vs QUAD CHANNEL
In order to get the full benefit of the Mac Pro's 256 bit memory data path, you'll want to populate both memory riser cards, each with at least one matched pair. If you put your memory on only one riser, you are dropping from quad channel to dual channel mode.

not only does this work with using both riser cards but again with doubling

you need 2 and 2 or 4 and 4 etc on both riser crds
otherwise you will not run in quad more.

white papers from Intel will verify this
it does not matter if windows or Mac OS the system boards chipsets are identical.

FYI i am both an Apple dealer and a DAW PC builder.

Scott
ADK

[Strobian]

Originally Posted by jcschild

from the link posted

DUAL CHANNEL vs QUAD CHANNEL
In order to get the full benefit of the Mac Pro's 256 bit memory data path, you'll want to populate both memory riser cards, each with at least one matched pair. If you put your memory on only one riser, you are dropping from quad channel to dual channel mode.

not only does this work with using both riser cards but again with doubling

you need 2 and 2 or 4 and 4 etc on both riser crds
otherwise you will not run in quad more.

white papers from Intel will verify this
it does not matter if windows or Mac OS the system boards chipsets are identical.

FYI i am both an Apple dealer and a DAW PC builder.

Scott
ADK

Its a bit confusing. I think I installed two different makers of RAM in my computer and everything seems OK? Are you saying your just have to have to 512 chips side by side or 1gig chips side by side and not the actual manufacturer correct?

[jcschild]

correct
the manufacturer should not matter with FB dimm. (eeprom should be nearly identical)
in fact we often mix the Apple included ram with our replacement.

just size in an even number.

Scott

ADK

[jamwerks]

Originally Posted by tnjazz

Interesting. I've got 9gb in mine (4 x 2gb on one card, and the stock 2 x 512mb on the second).

Would I see a performance increase if I dumped the stock and went down to 8gb?

Same here. So should we drop down from 9 to 8?

[C Heat]

Originally Posted by jamwerks

Same here. So should we drop down from 9 to 8?

Either or from what I've found out online.

In summary — 4 x 2GB sticks in A1 A2 B1 B2 gives best performance (8GB total).

[tnjazz]

OK, I yanked my pair of 512mb DIMMs and verified that I've got slots 1 and 2 on each card populated for a total of 8gb (4 per side).

The verdict?

My machine boots A LOT faster all of a sudden, and things seem to have a lot more zip to them. Hadn't noticed anything in particular with PT, but I wasn't having any issues before anyway.

I can definitely verify that my Mac Pro boots significantly faster than it used to though.

[C Heat]

Originally Posted by tnjazz

OK, I yanked my pair of 512mb DIMMs and verified that I've got slots 1 and 2 on each card populated for a total of 8gb (4 per side).

The verdict?

My machine boots A LOT faster all of a sudden, and things seem to have a lot more zip to them. Hadn't noticed anything in particular with PT, but I wasn't having any issues before anyway.

I can definitely verify that my Mac Pro boots significantly faster than it used to though.

Really? It's not like a 'placebo' effect?

Interesting. Thanks for the update

[whitepapagold]

Please do me a favor an ignore EVERYONE who blanket states "more ram is better". That is one of the most ignorant things Ive heard here yet! Yeah, go ahead drop 32 GB of ram in a Mac Pro....

Load it as apple says- it definitely makes a difference. Pairs.

Ive got a Mac pro quad with 4gb of Ram. The minute you pass 4gb EVERYONE argues as to the ACTUAL benefits and performance. If you wait, the cost will also drop as well as they may actually be able to USE more than 4 gigs in ACTUALITY. Just because your cool ram meter shows activity- DOESN'T MEAN SH*T!

I run Protools HD, RTAS, and sample/softsynths no problem. If you hit a roof ram wise get more BUT definitely wait to see if thats ACTUALLY a problem.

[tnjazz]

Originally Posted by C Heat

Really? It's not like a 'placebo' effect?

Interesting. Thanks for the update

No. It's definitely faster. One of the things that really annoyed me about rolling back from Leopard to Tiger was the longer boot up time the machine had. It was much slower loading Tiger for some reason. The progress bar would go all the way across the OS X logo and sit there for a second or two before going blue and then going to the desktop. On rare occasions I'd even get a couple seconds of the beach ball.

Now it loads the desktop before the progress bar gets more than 3/4 of the way across. I don't even see the blue screen - it immediately loads the desktop and it's ready to roll.

I never timed it, but I'm sure about what I'm seeing being faster.