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32GB of RAM showing up as only 16gb???

S

sammyman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 21, 2005
998
65
For some reason, my RAM is showing up as only 16gb. I read some articles that said that my 2009 (with firmware upgrade to 2010), 3.2ghz 6-core, should be able to handle 32gb of RAM. Then other places said only 16gb is possible. I purchased 4 x 8gb Hyinx 1333 memory sticks. It is also only registering as 1066 right now.

Is there anything I can do to make this work? Or am I hosed and will I have to sell this RAM and buy 4 x 4gb sticks?
 
I took out 2 dimms and took this screenshot. It is only showing 4gb per dimm! This is the same RAM that I purchased. Are there anything in these features that show it is incompatible?

Manufacturer SuperMicro
Manufacturer Part # MEM-DR380L-HL03-ER13
Cost Central Item # 11200166
Product Description Hynix - Memory - 8 GB - DIMM 240-pin low profile - DDR3 - 1333 MHz / PC3-10600 - registered - ECC
Storage Capacity 8 GB
Upgrade Type System specific
Technology DDR3 SDRAM
Form Factor DIMM 240-pin low profile
Memory Speed 1333 MHz ( PC3-10600 )
Data Integrity Check ECC
Features Dual rank , registered
 

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Here is another picture with all 4 dimms installed. Was originally going to do 4 x 4, or 3 x 8 until I found a guy selling this for a decent price. Now I am feeling ripped off big time.
 

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take a photo. maybe something is wrong. was it a private sale or a real company?

the 1066 is normal downclock not a problem but the 4 gb vs 8gb does not seem correct.
 
i attached a picture of the RAM.
 

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Hey,
from reading the "Mac Pro (Early 2009) - Technical Specifications" on Apples website it looks like the 2009 Mac Pro can only support 4GB DIMMS with 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM.

Quote

Memory
1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
8-core: Eight memory slots (four per processor) supporting up to 32GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs
Quad-core: Four memory slots supporting up to 16GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs

http://support.apple.com/kb/sp506
 
JaHull said:
Hey,
from reading the "Mac Pro (Early 2009) - Technical Specifications" on Apples website it looks like the 2009 Mac Pro can only support 4GB DIMMS with 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM.

Quote

Memory
1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM
8-core: Eight memory slots (four per processor) supporting up to 32GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs
Quad-core: Four memory slots supporting up to 16GB of main memory using 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB DIMMs

http://support.apple.com/kb/sp506
Click to expand...

I am not so sure about that. I believe that they can unofficially support 32gb of RAM.

I googled the stickers on the RAM, and something is fishy. It says it is a different brand memory. I think this RAM is bogus. The sticker says Patriot Memory 2x4gb = 8gb. but the outside of the RAM casing says Hynix.
 
Feeling used and abused. Should I file a claim in Paypal? This seems too fishy with the Patriot sticker and the hynix label. The sticker says this is 2x4gb. Someone has definitely tampered with this RAM.
 
Yeh I would file a claim and try to get your money back since that sticker does seem very dodgy. Can you see the Manufacturer Part "MEM-DR380L-HL03-ER13" anywhere on the ram sticks since that part number is an 8GB Hynix RAM stick which you were ment to be buying.
 
sammyman said:
i attached a picture of the RAM.
Click to expand...
PS38G13ER2K-E = 8GB KIT (which means it's 2x 4GB sticks).

JaHull said:
Hey,
from reading the "Mac Pro (Early 2009) - Technical Specifications" on Apples website it looks like the 2009 Mac Pro can only support 4GB DIMMS with 1066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM.
Click to expand...
They can run more than 16GB. Users already have 32GB running on them (4 * 8GB RDIMM), and Samsung's recently released 16GB and 32GB RDIMM's (means they can actually run more, as they're the same memory controller as the DP units).

As per 1066MHz, Apple fixed the memory frequency in the firmware on the 2009's, but fixed it with the 2010 models, so long as the memory controller on the CPU supports faster memory frequencies.

But there's a recent firmware update utility developed by the hackintosh community that allows 2009 users to flash 2010 firmware to their systems (there is some issues with Lion though, but you can revert back to the 2009 firmware if you need to). Up to each owner to decide if this is for them or not (most that do it are after the B1 stepped processors in the Westmere series' = Hex cores become possible in 2009 systems).

sammyman said:
I am not so sure about that. I believe that they can unofficially support 32gb of RAM.
Click to expand...
They can.

sammyman said:
I googled the stickers on the RAM, and something is fishy. It says it is a different brand memory. I think this RAM is bogus. The sticker says Patriot Memory 2x4gb = 8gb. but the outside of the RAM casing says Hynix.
Click to expand...
What you have is a kit (2 * 4GB sticks).

Patriot is the company that sells it, but Hynix is the memory manufacturer (assembly was likely done by another company on behalf of Patriot; aka ODM supplier).
 
This really blows chunks. Last week I also bought a 5770 video card that was for the "Mac Pro" but when it arrived it was just the plain PC version. Now this RAM is the total wrong thing. The only positive to this is that this RAM costs about as much as the cheapo Hynix ram that I wanted, so if the seller doesn't return this I won't be out a ton of money. Grrr.
 
Like nanofrog said, Hynix makes the chips and companies like Patriot, OCZ, Corsair etc source and sell them. Only a handful of companies actually manufacture the chips.
 
sammyman said:
This really blows chunks. Last week I also bought a 5770 video card that was for the "Mac Pro" but when it arrived it was just the plain PC version. Now this RAM is the total wrong thing. The only positive to this is that this RAM costs about as much as the cheapo Hynix ram that I wanted, so if the seller doesn't return this I won't be out a ton of money. Grrr.
Click to expand...
I realize you're upset, but it seems you didn't understand what you ordered (not saying the page was clear, as I've seen kits advertised by their total capacity without clear mention that it uses multiple sticks to reach the stated capacity, such as 8GB, and not clarify that 8GB = 2 * 4GB sticks). :(

So it's in your best interest to check things out further (price would have been a clue if you knew what it actually goes for), such as copying down the manufacturer's P/N, and search their site directly (even Patriot's site wasn't that clear - biggest clue was the image of 2x sticks, while it was made clear by some resellers that popped up when I searched the P/N I read off of the pic you shot of the memory).

One of those "Live and learn" situations... :rolleyes: ;) :D :p

For memory, I'd suggest OWC, as their site is easy to navigate, and they specialize in Macs. So what you order will work in your system. Prices are decent as well (others have found better pricing from time to time, but to be successful, you really need to understand the details). So the convenience is worth a couple of dollars IMO to eliminate the aggravation and cost if you end up with the wrong stuff and have to pay the return shipping, and possibly a restocking fee.
 
nanofrog said:
I realize you're upset, but it seems you didn't understand what you ordered (not saying the page was clear, as I've seen kits advertised by their total capacity without clear mention that it uses multiple sticks to reach the stated capacity, such as 8GB, and not clarify that 8GB = 2 * 4GB sticks). :(

So it's in your best interest to check things out further (price would have been a clue if you knew what it actually goes for), such as copying down the manufacturer's P/N, and search their site directly (even Patriot's site wasn't that clear - biggest clue was the image of 2x sticks, while it was made clear by some resellers that popped up when I searched the P/N I read off of the pic you shot of the memory).

One of those "Live and learn" situations... :rolleyes: ;) :D :p

For memory, I'd suggest OWC, as their site is easy to navigate, and they specialize in Macs. So what you order will work in your system. Prices are decent as well (others have found better pricing from time to time, but to be successful, you really need to understand the details). So the convenience is worth a couple of dollars IMO to eliminate the aggravation and cost if you end up with the wrong stuff and have to pay the return shipping, and possibly a restocking fee.
Click to expand...

I looked pretty closely. It was clearly described as 8gb x 1 dimms.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hynix-8GB-DDR3-...ultDomain_0&hash=item51992e690e#ht_711wt_1141

I agree though, from now on I will never buy used computer parts from eBay. This is a huge hassle.
 
eBay??? OMG

I just can't see buying stuff from some shyster front man for criminals using eBay as their street corner. Of course there are honest people selling on eBay by why take a chance?

I'd rather pay ten bucks or so more per unit and buy from someone I can trust like Newegg, OWC or B&H. Life is too short to spend time chasing crooks.
 
scottsjack said:
eBay??? OMG

I just can't see buying stuff from some shyster front man for criminals using eBay as their street corner. Of course there are honest people selling on eBay by why take a chance?

I'd rather pay ten bucks or so more per unit and buy from someone I can trust like Newegg, OWC or B&H. Life is too short to spend time chasing crooks.
Click to expand...

I know I know. Sucks. Dude has over 2000 feedback, so you'd think it was legit.
 
Go back to the seller and explain. Then go to eBay if you can't get a return from them. The "no returns" is not permitted under eBay rules if the item is not as described.
 
You won't have trouble if you need to escalate this. The seller clearly is just selling anything they can and probably didn't understand what these were.
 
Last edited:
He look like a good seller that made an error. Just contact him and say your add reads 8gb sticks you sent me 4gb sticks. I want to return for a refund. With his feedback rating I would be stunned if he said no. Also give him a link to this thread. I am sure he will make good. As for ebay purchases many times they are good much better then newegg , OWC or B&H. Of course they can also really suck. But in this case the seller would take the return and he would certainly lose if he said no and you opened a case against him.
 
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