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omvs

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2011
495
20
The supported ram for my single-socket 2009 machine is apparently registered/ECC. However, I'm curious if I can get away with non-ECC and/or unbuffered, especially if I'm not using the 4th slot and not mixing with other memory types.

I'm also planning to up the firmware to 2010 and drop in a W3580 if that makes any difference.

Thanks!
 

666sheep

macrumors 68040
Dec 7, 2009
3,686
291
Poland
Yes, you can. If you want to go this route, you can as well choose i7 9xx instead of Xeon, especially if you'll manage to get one cheaper than Xeon.
 

omvs

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 15, 2011
495
20
Yes, you can. If you want to go this route, you can as well choose i7 9xx instead of Xeon, especially if you'll manage to get one cheaper than Xeon.

That's interesting! Is there a list of i7's that are known to work with the firmware?
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,611
8,537
Hong Kong
No worries, this is what I am now using in my Mac Pro 2009.

4x8G Non-ECC UDIMM
IMG_0018.jpg

The RAM now running at 1066MHz because I use all 4 slots. Otherwise, it will run at 1333MHz (tested).
Screen Shot 2014-05-18 at 9.41.10.png

Personally I prefer the xeon rather than the i7. As Umbongo said, it may be cheaper. Also, I can alway go back to the ECC route if I want to.
 
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