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music3

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 13, 2009
6
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I see that the new 2009 Mac Pro comes with DDR3 1066Mhz. Can the Mac Pro support faster memory like DDR3 1333Mhz or 1666Mhz? Since Nehalem utilizes memory so much more, being able to have faster memory certainly will make a difference on a music workstation which is what I would be using the Mac Pro for. Any insights or thoughts on this?
 
I see that the new 2009 Mac Pro comes with DDR3 1066Mhz. Can the Mac Pro support faster memory like DDR3 1333Mhz or 1666Mhz? Since Nehalem utilizes memory so much more, being able to have faster memory certainly will make a difference on a music workstation which is what I would be using the Mac Pro for. Any insights or thoughts on this?

The 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz dual processor Xeons (8 core systems) have memory controllers that support 1333MHz memory. We won't know until it is tested though.
 
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Do we know if the 2.26 is using the L5520 or the X5520? What is the difference? I can see the "L" has lower power consumption and costs more but it seems to have all the same features beyond that.
 
Do we know if the 2.26 is using the L5520 or the X5520? What is the difference? I can see the "L" has lower power consumption and costs more but it seems to have all the same features beyond that.

It's just power consumption/heat I doubt Apple are using the L5520.
 
I wonder why the i7 supports 1600 but the Xeon only supports 1333....

The Xeons are less about cutting edge performance. There is also the issue of available memory. In the end it probably wasn't worth offering support. That doesn't mean the processors won't be able to do it.
 
I wonder why the i7 supports 1600 but the Xeon only supports 1333....

If you look on the Intel web site you'll see that i7 only officially goes up to 1066 so it's slower than the top end Xeons. It is just that people overclock the memory and it is perhaps a bit more flexible than Xeons in this regard.
 
Ahh, that makes sense I suppose.... I noticed that Alienware sells all their top i7 systems with 1600 DDR3 memory....
 
Link fron Intel preferably :)
Would you settle for an article with chart from Tom's Hardware? ;) :p
Do we know if the 2.26 is using the L5520 or the X5520? What is the difference? I can see the "L" has lower power consumption and costs more but it seems to have all the same features beyond that.
E5520 is the 2.26GHz part used in the Octo model. No X version at all, and the L version is lower power, and has less cache (4MB rather than 8MB).
If you look on the Intel web site you'll see that i7 only officially goes up to 1066 so it's slower than the top end Xeons. It is just that people overclock the memory and it is perhaps a bit more flexible than Xeons in this regard.
The non-ECC DDR3 has quite a few vendors stumbling over one another to make OC capable memory. ;) The ECC variants aren't aimed at this market, but it may be possible to do so. ;)
 
Would you settle for an article with chart from Tom's Hardware? ;) :p

E5520 is the 2.26GHz part used in the Octo model. No X version at all, and the L version is lower power, and has less cache (4MB rather than 8MB).

The non-ECC DDR3 has quite a few vendors stumbling over one another to make OC capable memory. ;) The ECC variants aren't aimed at this market, but it may be possible to do so. ;)

I'm convinced. Now I know why the 2.66 is an extra $1400 from Apple. But I also now know by looking at various benchmarks that it's not really worth spending the extra $1400 for the 2.66.. I'm glad I ordered the 2.26.
 
Has anyone been able to confirm whether or not the 2009 Mac Pro's can use DDR 3 1333 MHz?
 
As of now it doesnt matter. All the Nehalem Mac Pros use the 1066MHz anyway.

The 2.66GHz and the 2.93GHz 8 core models controller are specified as 1333MHz but their all locked down to only 1066MHz RAM.

If it stays that way, it gives you one less reason to get the 2.66 and the 2.93 models over the 2.26GHz.
 
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