Mac Pro advice

[pcpaulh]

Hi all, I was all set to purchase a nMP (4 Core £1800) until I stumbled across this forum now I've spent days weighing up pricing and expandability!
I require a Mac that will be used predominantly for running multiple virtual machines using Fusion 7 Pro. May main requirement is for 32GB+ memory and SSD storage.
I'm a bit confused about what the max memory is for the 6 Core 3.33 CPU. I've read that it is capable of 48GB which would be perfect for all the VMs I run but the Intel site mentions a max of 24GB for that particular CPU.
Anyone running a similar setup (high number of VMs) and have a hardware recommendation? I see most people use these machines for Photo and Video work so use multiple high spec GPUs. I'm only interested in running a couple of 24" HD monitors, would a couple of GT120's or a single ATI 5770 be OK?
I'm looking t but from eBAY (UK) and there are a load of machines available-just trying to get the best 'bang for my buck'.
Thanks if you've had the patience to read the entire post and for any advice you have for me.

 

[edanuff]

I can see how all the posts on this board would be confusing given all the flame wars between classic and new Mac Pro owners. The nMP can handle up to 128GB of memory. I have 64GB of Crucial memory in my 6-core nMP with no problems. For the purpose of running VMs, it's a perfectly good choice. Running multiple monitors is generally not a problem at all, assuming they are DisplayPort monitors. If they are DVI monitors, you'll want to look into active DP-to-DVI adapters rather than the passive ones Apple makes.

 

[ixxx69]

I can see how all the posts on this board would be confusing given all the flame wars between classic and new Mac Pro owners. The nMP can handle up to 128GB of memory. I have 64GB of Crucial memory in my 6-core nMP with no problems. For the purpose of running VMs, it's a perfectly good choice. Running multiple monitors is generally not a problem at all, assuming they are DisplayPort monitors. If they are DVI monitors, you'll want to look into active DP-to-DVI adapters rather than the passive ones Apple makes.

The OP's post is kind of confusing, but since the 6 core 3.33 CPU and other hardware he's discussing is related to the cMP, I assumed he was more asking about the capabilities of the cMP.

 

[pcpaulh]

The OP's post is kind of confusing, but since the 6 core 3.33 CPU and other hardware he's discussing is related to the cMP, I assumed he was more asking about the capabilities of the cMP.

 

[pcpaulh]

Hi, my OP was a little rambling! I'm interested in any advice be it cMP or nMP related. The 6 Core 3.33 max memory was however cMP related so still interested if it is 48GB for that particular CPU. Edanuff, thanks for your information.

 

[h9826790]

For the W3680, it's max RAM is 56G at this moment, tested by few users here (16Gx3 + 8G).

For a single X5680, it's up to 64G RAM in the cMP (16Gx4).

If you concern about the RAM size, you may go for the X5680, it's not that expensive now.

In any case, you can easily install 48G RAM (16Gx3). What I can tell is that the information on the Intel webpage may not be up to date. That 24G looks like a "max demonstrated by that time", and then they never update that limit again.

 

[pcpaulh]

Thanks for everyones help. Purchased a cMP with a 6 core 3.46 and 64GB memory. Waiting for it to arrive now.

 

[carylee2002]

My understanding the max ram for a computer with w3690 is 48gb. That is what I have in my cMP, and running tri-channel setup. It is said that installing on all 4 slots reduces efficiency overall vs using only 3 slots.