Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

16GB DDR3 UDIMMs and SO-DIMMs

T

twmemphis

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 19, 2014
6
0
Hello!

In the thread OWC vs Crucial Memory Mr. Retrofire mentioned that there are 16 Gigabyte UDIMMs and SO-DIMMs now (in single modules! Not kits!) from the company I'M Intelligent Memory

This is correct. I work for a worldwide distributor of I'M Intelligent Memory and can provide some further details:
- The modules will be available to order by end of february
- The price will be below $300 each

But, unfortunately, these will not YET work on Apple Systems, because the BIOS for Intel processors does not recognize the capacity.
Some technical background:
The BIOS contains a so-called 'Memory Reference Code' (MRC) which reads the SPD memory information from the module and programs the memory-controller in the CPU with all required data to drive the memory.
For 16 Gigabyte modules, this SPD information says that the DRAM-chips on the modules have a capacity of 8 Gigabit per component, but currently the MRC software-code only understands to handle 1, 2 and 4 Gigabit DDR3 chips. With 8 Gigabit parts on a 16 Gigabyte module the systems hang during boot as the BIOS/MRC software does not yet support that.
From a hardware-point of view, there is no problem at all. The Memory Reference Code in the BIOS is the only limiting factor currently.

We hope that Apple or Intel take action and release an updated BIOS, as we see a fairly high demand from the Apple community.
If anybody knows a way to inform Apple about the issue, let me know!
Regards,
Thorsten
 
Hnnnggg. The thought of sinking 32GB of RAM into my MacBook Pro gives me a tingle in my dingle. :cool:

This is excellent news but not sure what we can do about it. I know Apple use an EFI rather than a BIOS (although I can't say what the difference is). And if there's anybody looking to make Macs more upgradeable beyond the norm, it certainly won't be Apple. Heck, they still say that 8GB is the maximum supported in the cMBP.

If Intel release a chipset/firmware update, this may filter down into Apple updating the EFI, allowing support for more RAM (this has happened in the past, if memory serves with the one-button plastic MacBooks).

Fingers crossed from me, though! :)
 
keysofanxiety said:
Hnnnggg. The thought of sinking 32GB of RAM into my MacBook Pro gives me a tingle in my dingle. :cool:

This is excellent news but not sure what we can do about it. I know Apple use an EFI rather than a BIOS (although I can't say what the difference is). And if there's anybody looking to make Macs more upgradeable beyond the norm, it certainly won't be Apple. Heck, they still say that 8GB is the maximum supported in the cMBP.

If Intel release a chipset/firmware update, this may filter down into Apple updating the EFI, allowing support for more RAM (this has happened in the past, if memory serves with the one-button plastic MacBooks).

Fingers crossed from me, though! :)
Click to expand...

If you wanted 32 GB of RAM before , you could have bought a Windows based laptop.
 
I didn't know that all gaming and mobile workstations were 2" thick. My W530 is only 1.25" thick. I get 3 or 4 hours of battery life normally. My trackpad isn't that bad. I can call IBM anytime and get customer support right away. A technician visits my workplace or house as well (via NBD service) if I need warranty service. My W530 is also built quite well.

Also, I can do my work done faster on my W530 thanks to the Quadro GPU.
No MacBook Pro has a professional class GPU with ISV certifications.

I can also sell my W530 for the same amount of money I put into it over 1.5 years later.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
kelon111 said:
I didn't know that all gaming and mobile workstations were 2" thick. My W530 is only 1.25" thick. I get 3 or 4 hours of battery life normally. My trackpad isn't that bad. I can call IBM anytime and get customer support right away. A technician visits my workplace or house as well (via NBD service) if I need warranty service. My W530 is also built quite well.

Also, I can do my work done faster on my W530 thanks to the Quadro GPU.
No MacBook Pro has a professional class GPU with ISV certifications.

I can also sell my W530 for the same amount of money I put into it over 1.5 years later.
Click to expand...

??
Anyway, the Thinkpad W540 is expensive compared to a full retina. The quadro K2100m is roughly a GT 750m
 
dollystereo said:
??
Anyway, the Thinkpad W540 is expensive compared to a full retina. The quadro K2100m is roughly a GT 750m
Click to expand...

Quadro GPUs are optimized for professional 3D work (e.g. making 3D designs for a big car company). A Quadro card will be much faster than its consumer equivalent when it comes to CAD work.

BTW a Quadro K1100M is closer to a Geforce GT 750M. When it comes to CAD work , the Quadro K1100M will beat the GT 750M by a noticeable amount.
 
It really depends your work.
In OSX there is not proper drivers for a quadro card, so yes, a quadro will just perform as a GeForce.
When you buy a workstation card, you pay the drivers, but in OSX we dont get any, so it's worthless.
I do performance computing, and use the Cuda cores for calculations (math), the GeForce series perform better than the Quadro series. (Faster clock, and faster memory).
I realy think Nvidia "cheats" forcing their GeForce series underperform in some professional situations. (I am not an expert, but I think in Maya or SolidWorks the gap is huge).
Anyway, it depends your workflow.
A nice article showing the performance difference:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/nvidia-quadro-k5000.html
 
going to bump an old thread to see if there is any change now that the I'M stuff is available for purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back