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DDR3 1333 RAM on MacMini mid-2010 (officially supports DDR3 1066)

brdeveloper

brdeveloper

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Apr 21, 2010
2,630
315
Brasil
Hello,

I'm planning upgrading my mid-2010 Mini with 16GB, but OWC prices for 1066 MHz modules are nearly twice the price I get for 1333 "Mac RAM" from other brands. Does anyone know if these "made-for-Mac" modules from Crucial and Corsair will work on systems that originally supported 1066 MHz ones?

Thanks!
 
brdeveloper said:
Hello,

I'm planning upgrading my mid-2010 Mini with 16GB, but OWC prices for 1066 MHz modules are nearly twice the price I get for 1333 "Mac RAM" from other brands. Does anyone know if these "made-for-Mac" modules from Crucial and Corsair will work on systems that originally supported 1066 MHz ones?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

In that Mini (and the 13" MBP of that era) you must stay with 1066. Anything faster is unstable.
 
It seems like at least some of the macs demand the exact frequency of memory specced or it doesn't work by design. (The BIOS queries the RAM and if it's not 1066, it fails to boot).

Which is silly. 1333 SDRAM modules are simply parts that are faster, and the standard allows them to be run slower than their specced for. All "normal" motherboards have no problem with this.
 
I used to have 2010 mini and tried three types of RAM that I had on hand before opting to upgrade - PC3-8500 (1066), PC3-10600 (1333), PC3-12800(1600). It didn't boot with anything but 1066.
 
In this scenario, I don't know if it's worth upgrading or would be better waiting for the next Mini. Currently, a 250GB SSD + 16GB RAM will cost around USD 700,00 after taxes in Brazil.

A base Mini + BTO upgrade to 16GB costs USD 1500,00 in Brazil. If Apple keeps the price in the next version, it will probably have faster memories, processor and PCIe storage. It's twice the price, but with a 4x performance bump, I suppose.
 
It should work. Even though you bought 1066 RAM, as long as they are not Apple RAM, the compatibility issue may be there.

I have use all sorts of RAM in my Mac, 1066, 1333, 1600, ECC, non-ECC, mix use of them. As long as the RAM can support 1066 CL7, never have any stability issue.

Anyway, get the RAM from a seller with good return / exchange policy may safe you from the possible trouble.
 
iBarça-Boy said:
Used 1333mhz modules on my unibody 2008 macbook and mac mini 2009 and all worked fine...
Click to expand...

The RAM compatibility issue is specific to only the 2010 Mini, 13" Macbook Pro, and Macbook.

----------
h9826790 said:
It should work. Even though you bought 1066 RAM, as long as they are not Apple RAM, the compatibility issue may be there.
Click to expand...

No, with these computers, only 1066MHz RAM works reliably.

http://blog.macsales.com/16302-some-2010-mac-owners-can-get-more-ram-than-they-thought

----------
brdeveloper said:
In this scenario, I don't know if it's worth upgrading or would be better waiting for the next Mini. Currently, a 250GB SSD + 16GB RAM will cost around USD 700,00 after taxes in Brazil.

A base Mini + BTO upgrade to 16GB costs USD 1500,00 in Brazil. If Apple keeps the price in the next version, it will probably have faster memories, processor and PCIe storage. It's twice the price, but with a 4x performance bump, I suppose.
Click to expand...

At those prices, I don't think I'd bother unless you have an immediate need- that the computer you have today cannot do a task you need it to do.
The existing quad-core 2012 Minis already are a huge performance jump from the 2010.
 
chrfr said:
No, with these computers, only 1066MHz RAM works reliably.
Click to expand...

I've just tested a 2GB DDR3 1600MHz module on my Mini 2010. It doesn't boot, but cooler and power light turn on. Then I mixed the 1600 module with a 2GB 1066 module and it was recognized normally.

In short, I think I can buy 1x8GB 1600MHz module and mix it with a 1066 module. I'll lost dual channel support but it can be a great improvement anyway.
 
brdeveloper said:
Did you read my previous post? I installed 1600MHz Samsung RAM mixed with 1066 RAM and it worked. Why do you say 8GB 1600MHz plus 2GB/4GB 1066 won't work?
Click to expand...

For some reason the 4GB and up DIMMs must be 1066. The faster ones are unstable, if they're even recognized properly.
 
PracticalMac said:
Went with this one.
Got this, works great!

Used one of existing 1GB SODIMM with it, 9 total, I'm happy!
Click to expand...

You can use DDR3 1333/1600 on a 2010 Mini. Read my signature. I used a Windows app called Thaiphoon Burner which is able to change RAM descriptors. This way, the 1333MHz RAM I bought became "magically" a 1066MHz module. You just need doing the procedure on one module. 8GB 1066MHz are now pretty rare, so this seems the only or at least the cheaper solution for adding 16GB on a 2010 Mini.
 
brdeveloper said:
You can use DDR3 1333/1600 on a 2010 Mini. Read my signature. I used a Windows app called Thaiphoon Burner which is able to change RAM descriptors. This way, the 1333MHz RAM I bought became "magically" a 1066MHz module. You just need doing the procedure on one module. 8GB 1066MHz are now pretty rare, so this seems the only or at least the cheaper solution for adding 16GB on a 2010 Mini.
Click to expand...

Thanks for (belated) info.

Another thing, if slot 1 has a 1066 module, the other module takes others.
Confirmed when when I put original 1GB in slot 1, and a faster 2GB in other (where the 2GB would not work alone or with pair)
 
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