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1333MHz vs 1600MHz RAM?

LarryJoe33

LarryJoe33

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jul 17, 2017
2,668
1,140
Boston
When I upgraded the memory in my MBP (Late 2011) I was not aware that it could run 1600MHz modules. I know this is vague, but how noticeable is the speed difference for normal computing tasks which is pretty much what I do. Worth swapping out?
 
Got it. That’s what I thought. I just wished I had known if would run it when buying the memory. I already felt like I had one up on things when going to 16GB even though my model doesn’t officially support it.
 
Forgot to mention that the 2x4 GB memory I put into a late 2011 15.4" was ddr3L 1.35v memory as per the label attached to the module. I'm not sure if the ram is actually operating at 1.35 or 1.5 but it has been stable for the past three weeks.
 
Kingston Hyper X Impact (self overclocking) 2133 MHz RAM is running fine in my Late 2011 MBP and the speed increase is really noticeable compared to the 1333 MHz it had before.

Edit: Geekbench prooved it after I noticed myself.
 
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Late 2011, 13'. 512 GB SSD.

Upgraded to 1600 (16 Gb) from 1333 (4 Gb) , can't tell the difference; light user.

Sometimes run VM (windows) and Andy (Android Emulator), never had any problems.

Thanks Erdbeertorte, good to know it will run 2133 MHz also.
 
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MBP_187 said:
Hi LarryJoe33,

Please check if it will run DDR4 (your link). Usually Late 2011 only runs DDR3, I think, but better to be sure.

Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Ddr4 is physically different and will not fit in to dd3 slot.
The notch is in different location by 2-3mm.

And there is the issue with cpu not supporting it and the north bridge processor, plus bios.

Ram is not backwards compatible like USB.
 
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Thanks everyone. I know my iMac takes the same ram as my MBP, so maybe I’ll buy this and stick the 1333 in the iMac mid 2011.
 
LarryJoe33 said:
Ordered it! Thanks for the link. So, you basically popped this into your late 2011 MBP (same as my system) and it overclocked to 2133 all by itself?
Click to expand...


Yes, I even found some screenshots posted in an older thread for the Late 2015 iMac. I originally purchased two of those kits for that one, but didn't need that much RAM, so I put two of them just in my Late 2011 MBP and was really surprised because I didn't know about self overclocking RAM.

Does not work with my Mid-2011 27" iMac though, they just show up as 1.333 MHz. So putting the old ones in your iMac is a good idea.


Here you can see that it works:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2133mhz-ram-test-results.1929801/page-5#post-22163890


And here are the Geekbench results compared to the 1.333MHz RAM that had been in it before:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2133mhz-ram-test-results.1929801/page-5#post-22167409
 
Erdbeertorte said:
Yes, I even found some screenshots posted in an older thread for the Late 2015 iMac. I originally purchased two of those kits for that one, but didn't need that much RAM, so I put two of them just in my Late 2011 MBP and was really surprised because I didn't know about self overclocking RAM.

Does not work with my Mid-2011 27" iMac though, they just show up as 1.333 MHz. So putting the old ones in your iMac is a good idea.


Here you can see that it works:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2133mhz-ram-test-results.1929801/page-5#post-22163890


And here are the Geekbench results compared to the 1.333MHz RAM that had been in it before:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2133mhz-ram-test-results.1929801/page-5#post-22167409
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's crazy impressive. I am pumped, I thought I was done (did everything I could think of that is) with upgrades for this machine. Something new to play with. I might try to sell the 16GB sticks to offset some of the $170 for the 2133. The iMac has 8GB in it and still has a spinner in it. I'm not sure the increase would help that machine. An SSD surely would but taking apart an iMac is a b!tch. I only paid $75 for the Crucial 1333 off Amazon and now it's selling for $120.

The irony here is that I really don't do anything intensive, I just love that a 2011 machine is just as fast as the 2017 models.
 
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How can it be confirmed that the ram is running at anything above 1333 on a late 2011 Macbook or iMac?

I understand that the machine may report the speed of the ram based on SPD but I'm at a loss as to how such an old chipset can overclock to these speeds when the cpu is multiplier-locked.
 
LarryJoe33 said:
Thanks, that's crazy impressive. I am pumped, I thought I was done (did everything I could think of that is) with upgrades for this machine. Something new to play with. I might try to sell the 16GB sticks to offset some of the $170 for the 2133. The iMac has 8GB in it and still has a spinner in it. I'm not sure the increase would help that machine. An SSD surely would but taking apart an iMac is a b!tch. I only paid $75 for the Crucial 1333 off Amazon and now it's selling for $120.

The irony here is that I really don't do anything intensive, I just love that a 2011 machine is just as fast as the 2017 models.
Click to expand...

You will benefit far more from SSD than you would from RAM Mhz upgrade.
Once you replace the record player aka hard drive with SSD, you will be blown away.
Dollar for dollar, SSD is a better investment.
[doublepost=1503702773][/doublepost]
Audit13 said:
How can it be confirmed that the ram is running at anything above 1333 on a late 2011 Macbook or iMac?

I understand that the machine may report the speed of the ram based on SPD but I'm at a loss as to how such an old chipset can overclock to these speeds when the cpu is multiplier-locked.
Click to expand...

Yeah.. I'm also trying understand how MacBook overclocks RAM on its own. Bios isn't written to do so.
 
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KGB7 said:
You will benefit far more from SSD than you would from RAM Mhz upgrade.
Once you replace the record player aka hard drive with SSD, you will be blown away.
Dollar for dollar, SSD is a better investment.
.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I said. Just to be clear, I was referring to my iMac. I have an SSD in MBP that I will be putting the 2133 RAM in.
 
KGB7 said:
Just don't expect mind blowing performance gains in real world usage.

Enjoy your upgrade. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks I will. Yeah I’m sure it won’t be mind blowing but I’ll enjoy seeing 2133MHz on the About screen. Yes, I have a hardware problem!
 
Erdbeertorte said:
Yes, I even found some screenshots posted in an older thread for the Late 2015 iMac. I originally purchased two of those kits for that one, but didn't need that much RAM, so I put two of them just in my Late 2011 MBP and was really surprised because I didn't know about self overclocking RAM.

Does not work with my Mid-2011 27" iMac though, they just show up as 1.333 MHz. So putting the old ones in your iMac is a good idea.


Here you can see that it works:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2133mhz-ram-test-results.1929801/page-5#post-22163890


And here are the Geekbench results compared to the 1.333MHz RAM that had been in it before:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2133mhz-ram-test-results.1929801/page-5#post-22167409
Click to expand...
One last question for you. My MBP has an i5
(2.4 GHz Intel Core i5)
and yours has an i7, do you think this will be an issue? I tried scouring geekbench for an i5 setup like mine and haven't found anyone running at 2133 with an i5. Lots of i7's. I guess I will know soon enough. RAM coming Monday.
 
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