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2010 MacBook Pro - how long until more than 8 GB of RAM?

Z

zumajoe

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 8, 2008
52
0
I am looking into getting one of the 2010 MacBook Pro's (i7).

Although I'm a bit dissapointed that they chose the dual core I-7 (would like Quad)- I'm more concerned with maxing out at 8 GB of Ram.

8 GB is nice, but I am working in After Effects and with CS5 you can really take advantage of large amounts of RAM. Also wishing to get more Cinema4D under the belt.

It's been a while since they've been maxed out at 8, how long do you think it will be before they refresh to a higher limit?

Should I wait?


(Currently running a 2007 Santa Rosa 15" 2.4 C2D/ 4GB Ram)
 
Get a Mac Pro with 16GB. I think it'll be another 6 month for the first 'affordable' 16GB modules are out on the market (2x8GB), but thats just a guess..
 
Thanks guys. I think it's a good idea to just get the MBP for now, make some money with that and then wait until the Mac Pro refresh to do the big daddy work while I'm at home.

One more question- I'm running my current MBP with a 23" display (1920x1200). I don't clamshell so both displays are running, but it seems like it really slows down the overall performance of the computer.

Do the latest video cards fix this? I'm planning on the 17" with the highest resolution.
 
zumajoe said:
Thanks guys. I think it's a good idea to just get the MBP for now, make some money with that and then wait until the Mac Pro refresh to do the big daddy work while I'm at home.

One more question- I'm running my current MBP with a 23" display (1920x1200). I don't clamshell so both displays are running, but it seems like it really slows down the overall performance of the computer.

Do the latest video cards fix this? I'm planning on the 17" with the highest resolution.
Click to expand...

The external monitor shouldn't slow down things really. You may notice some difference on intensive graphics work. What GPU you got? I'm no graphics expert but i think some modern GPUs have separate processors to power the second display. Maybe someone could confirm that or confirm that i'm dreaming things again!?

Just to clarify, the new MBPs will run 2 monitors fine
 
Rhalliwell1 said:
The external monitor shouldn't slow down things really. You may notice some difference on intensive graphics work. What GPU you got? I'm no graphics expert but i think some modern GPUs have separate processors to power the second display. Maybe someone could confirm that or confirm that i'm dreaming things again!?

Just to clarify, the new MBPs will run 2 monitors fine
Click to expand...

For the most part it's ok, but I do notice it with Flash animations if I have a couple youTube windows open.

Here's my specs:

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3175
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
SDM-P232W:
Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
 
zumajoe said:
For the most part it's ok, but I do notice it with Flash animations if I have a couple youTube windows open.

Here's my specs:

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3175
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
SDM-P232W:
Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Click to expand...

I got the same GPU but the 512 model. Then again my native resolution is 1920x1200. I haven't run an external monitor on my laptop for some time but when i did i didn't notice any slow down.

The GPUs in the new MBPs are similar, if a little better, than what i got in my iMac and i have 2 1920x1200 displays on that (one built in of course) so based off that it wont be an issue.

Also, from apple:

Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colours
Click to expand...
 
I don't think they make 8GB sticks yet. It might not even be supported.
 
The Arrandales don't even support more than 8GB RAM, and a laptop, no matter how "pro" it is, has no business doing anything that requires more than 8 gigs of RAM.
 
I'm sure apple can squeeze in another 2 ram slots in the 15 and 17" MBP. I mean, HP did it in the ENVY's, they support up to 16gb of ram and a quad core i7.
 
alust2013 said:
The Arrandales don't even support more than 8GB RAM, and a laptop, no matter how "pro" it is, has no business doing anything that requires more than 8 gigs of RAM.
Click to expand...

What do you mean has no business? There's lots of business for it!
 
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