Could PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz type RAM work with 2011 2.3 i5 Mac Mini?

[GordanFish]

The memory I have came from my old mid-2010 Macbook Pro (8G PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz). Having sold this but kept the ram, I was hoping I could reuse it in the 2011 Mac Mini I've since purchased. I realize the ram listed is slower than the specified ram for the i5 Sandy Bridge chip, but I don't mind a bump down in speed to save $45 bucks it would cost to upgrade new ram again. I've searched various websites but have yet to find a definitive answer (conflicting reports). Will this work?

Many thanks in advance to this knowledgeable community!

 

[monokitty]

The memory I have came from my old mid-2010 Macbook Pro (8G PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz). Having sold this but kept the ram, I was hoping I could reuse it in the 2011 Mac Mini I've since purchased. I realize the ram listed is slower than the specified ram for the i5 Sandy Bridge chip, but I don't mind a bump down in speed to save $45 bucks it would cost to upgrade new ram again. I've searched various websites but have yet to find a definitive answer (conflicting reports). Will this work?

Many thanks in advance to this knowledgeable community!

You create unnecessary risk by using slower RAM - you may experience performance issues, stability issues, no boot or Kernel Panic issues. I'd spend the $45 and get the correct RAM.

 

[paulrbeers]

Yes it will work. You will probably cause about a 5% drop in processing power in situations where memory bandwidth is at a premium, but otherwise you will have no problems.

Edit: As a side note, I've even used 10600 in 2009 and 2010 laptops/minis with no issues. The Intel Macs are a lot more tolerant of various memory speeds.

 

[GordanFish]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Still, these are slightly conflicted (i.e. one says it will cause problems another that it won't). Does anyone else have an opinion?

 

[philipma1957]

IT WILL WORK FINE !!! been there done that. If it was good ram and worked in your 2010 macbook pro the success rate will be 99%. The 2011 mac mini is not very picky with ram. You will not suffer with noticeable performance loss.

Just do it!

BTW This is not an opinion this is fact.

Now putting in 1333 ram in a 2010 mac mini less then 50% chance it will work.

 

[paulrbeers]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Still, these are slightly conflicted (i.e. one says it will cause problems another that it won't). Does anyone else have an opinion?

Seriously, it will work as I already stated and Phillip has agreed with. Many users still believe that you must use the exact same timings as what Apple puts in their computers (they would be wrong). While using the exact same timings is fairly fool proof in getting compatible memory, it isn't a necessity. Heck many people have put PC12800 and PC15000 in their minis which Apple will state doesn't work. You might as well do it. If for some reason it didn't work, you can always pull them and put the factory memory back in. It won't hurt it (though I am 99% certain you won't have any problems).

 

[GordanFish]

Thanks much, guys. You've saved me some money! All the best to you