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Getting a new MacPro - Worth upgrading memory from stock 6gb ?

deckard666

deckard666

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 16, 2007
1,293
1,324
Falmouth
I have just bought a new (well 4 months old MP) 2.4 dual quad and it comes with the standard 6 gig (6 x 1 ) - It will primarily be running Ableton 8 which can only access 4 gig at this current time. Is it worth upgrading ? I started to read the OWC guide which seems to suggest that 12 gig is the one to go for but for me will it really make much real real world difference ? If I did go to this would I be best off getting 4 x 2 gig sticks and removing 2 of my 1 gig sticks ? Anyone buy memory from OWC from the UK ? Did you pay much tax/import duty on top ?
 
You don't have to buy memory from OWC - there are plenty of UK supplies who understand the Mac requirements. I bought mine from Scan.co.uk.

EDIT : crucial.com have a memory configuration tool too that helps you ensure you are buying the correct speed/ECC etc for your mac.
 
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I guess you bought the MP as you want power and expandability. In that case I would upgrade the memory to whatever you can reasonably afford/justify.

You will never have too much memory! Real world, you will see snappier apps and better performance from most things.6Gb will run most things well. 12GB will run everything better !

I use Crucial for all my memory and they are great, fast delivery and cheaper than most. At least you know it will work!

Hope this helps

Forgot to mention. You need to install matched pairs, and they should ideally be the same size on the same daughter board.
Personally, I would go for 4GB DIMMs and leave the 1GB on board 1, and 2 x 4GB on board 2. This would be cheap and give you 14GB plus plenty of room to expand. I think you'd be unhappy in 2-3 years time if you had 2GB DIMMs in place.
 
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Funny enough that was going to be my next question about which way to arrange - I will go with 2 x 4 gb for now and see how it goes later....
 
Geekguys gave a good response. The thing with ram is everyone is most people are still stuck on the 32 bit application mindset. If you use adobe products you can see how large the scratch file becomes. Otherwise under activity monitor look at what you're getting in terms of pageouts. If you see them frequently, you could probably benefit from more ram.
 
arrangement: when I installed memory a special dialog box kind of thing popped up on start up showing me where I should install the memory for the best possible performance
 
well that window which popped up at startup told me to put the new (2x2GB) stick in slots 3 and six, and move the 1 GB sticks from slots 3 and 6 to slots 4 and 8 for best performance. But I really doubt it makes any difference.
 
i got 4x 4 GB modules from crucial - bought it straight after ordering the mp - 3gb of ram is a disgusting amout to send with - suprised the com even turned on!

The way things are going, can see my next computer being a Dell-Boy running windows trojan 10 and adobe master collection cs8-10 or whatever it will be... .
 
So my MP just arrived and had a look at the ram motherboards and there is 3 x 1 gig in the front right board and 3 in the back left board so when my 4 gigs x 2 arrive should they be on their own on one board and 4 x 1 in the other or use them all ?
 
I put my 2x 2GB sticks in the two free spaces (slots 4 and 8). Then the system told me to put them in slots 3 and 6 for best performance.
 
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