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How much RAM could the 4 quad core and 8 core 2.8 GHz Mac Pros take?

C

Chris7

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 8, 2008
396
0
Lost in Thought
Possibly interested in a used quad core (not 2 duel core) or 8 core Mac Pro. I'm wondering:

When did the 2.8 Ghz models first come out?

How much RAM could the first ones handle?

I called Apple tech support and they said January 2008, and 32 GB of RAM. I thought there was a time when the 4 and 8 core Mac Pros could only take only 16 GB of RAM, so I don't know how much of their info was correct.

Thanks.
 
Chris7 said:
Possibly interested in a used quad core (not 2 duel core) or 8 core Mac Pro. I'm wondering:

When did the 2.8 Ghz models first come out?

How much RAM could the first ones handle?

I called Apple tech support and they said January 2008, and 32 GB of RAM. I thought there was a time when the 4 and 8 core Mac Pros could only take only 16 GB of RAM, so I don't know how much of their info was correct.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
It's a function of how large the FB-DIMMs where at the time of release. Larger capacity sticks came out later, and allowed the max limit to increase. :D

So 8 memory slots filled with 4GB FB-DIMM's will give you 32GB.

Now 8GB and even 16GB FB-DIMM's exist, but are very hard to find, and incredibly expensive. But exist if you have to have more than 32GB. ;)

Hope this helps. :)
 
nanofrog said:
It's a function of how large the FB-DIMMs where at the time of release. Larger capacity sticks came out later, and allowed the max limit to increase. :D

So 8 memory slots filled with 4GB FB-DIMM's will give you 32GB.

Now 8GB and even 16GB FB-DIMM's exist, but are very hard to find, and incredibly expensive. But exist if you have to have more than 32GB. ;)

Hope this helps. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have had to order 16GB and 32GB modules for servers before and they had to be custom ordered. They were way more expensive than the server itself.
 
It depends which model you are talking about

The first gen Quad and 8-core MacPros take DDR2-667 MHz FB-DIMMs and the max module size is 4 GB, for a total of 32 GB in 8 slots

The second gen 8 core and 4 core MacPros take DDR2-800 MHz FB-DIMMs, similarly the max is 4 GB modules for 32 GB total in 8 slots

The third generation Nehalem MacPros take DDR3-1066 ECC DIMMs with thermal sensors, and currently the largest available module is 4 GB. There are two motherboard designs, one with 8 memory slots and one with 4, for 32 GB total in an 8-slot machine and 16 GB on a 4 slot machine
 
CanadaRAM said:
It depends which model you are talking about

The first gen Quad and 8-core MacPros take DDR2-667 MHz FB-DIMMs and the max module size is 4 GB, for a total of 32 GB in 8 slots

The second gen 8 core and 4 core MacPros take DDR2-800 MHz FB-DIMMs, similarly the max is 4 GB modules for 32 GB total in 8 slots

The third generation Nehalem MacPros take DDR3-1066 ECC DIMMs with thermal sensors, and currently the largest available module is 4 GB. There are two motherboard designs, one with 8 memory slots and one with 4, for 32 GB total in an 8-slot machine and 16 GB on a 4 slot machine
Click to expand...
I took the OP as having an '08 model, which uses the 800MHz variant. And it uses the Seaburg chipset, which is capable of operating 128GB.

Since 16GB FB-DIMM's do exist, it could actually hit the capacity limit. It would likely be a PITA though, as the heatsinks would likely have to be replaced with the correct ones for a Mac. Not impossible, but not a simple drop in, and the cost would be extremely excessive. Specific needs could justify it, but not for most users. :p

Sorry about any confusion. :eek:
 
nanofrog said:
It's a function of how large the FB-DIMMs where at the time of release. Larger capacity sticks came out later, and allowed the max limit to increase. :D

So 8 memory slots filled with 4GB FB-DIMM's will give you 32GB...
Click to expand...
Makes sense as to why it appeared that the RAM capacity had increased. Looks like the tech was correct. Thanks.

CanadaRAM said:
...The first gen Quad and 8-core MacPros take DDR2-667 MHz FB-DIMMs and the max module size is 4 GB, for a total of 32 GB in 8 slots

The second gen 8 core and 4 core MacPros take DDR2-800 MHz FB-DIMMs, similarly the max is 4 GB modules for 32 GB total in 8 slots...
Click to expand...

Thanks. The Mac Pro released early January 2008 -- was that the first or second gen 8-core? What was the minimum GHz on the original 8-core?
 
2 x 3.20GHz X5482 Harpertown.

But also CanadaRAM is incorrect about the max module size I think. 8GB modules have been tried and shown to work in the 2006 Mac Pro according to a few posts on the Apple Support forum. 2008 machines are probably also capable of accepting 8GB modules. ;)
 
Thanks. The Mac Pro released early January 2008 -- was that the first or second gen 8-core? What was the minimum GHz on the original 8-core?
Click to expand...

That was the second-generation 8-core, based on Harpertown CPUs. The first 8-core Mac Pro used two Clovertown quad-core CPUs at 3GHz. IIRC, that was the only clock speed offered on the 8-core prior to the Early 2008 refresh.
 
Tesselator said:
2008 machines are probably also capable of accepting 8GB modules. ;)
Click to expand...
They can even take 16GB FB-DIMM's (producing the max memory capacity the Seaburg chipset is capable of handling; 128GB). ;)

Rather difficult to find though, and seriously expensive. ;)
 
nanofrog said:
They can even take 16GB FB-DIMM's (producing the max memory capacity the Seaburg chipset is capable of handling; 128GB). ;)

Rather difficult to find though, and seriously expensive. ;)
Click to expand...

I bet!

8GB sticks are about $550 each... LOL
2GB sticks currently go for about $40 as a comparative.
I guess 16GB sticks are $1500? I haven't looked.
 
Tesselator said:
I bet!

8GB sticks are about $550 each... LOL
2GB sticks currently go for about $40 as a comparative.
I guess 16GB sticks are $1500? I haven't looked.
Click to expand...
They're so hard to find, I'm not even sure what they go for these days. :eek: :p

Somehow, I don't think your estimate is far off the mark though. :D
 
I've been wondering about this too. Right now Apple will tell you Leopard can only support 32GB.

But as RAM becomes cheaper 6GB x 8 slots or even 8GB x 8 slots becomes a possibility. I wonder what the actual maximum is.
 
Cynicalone said:
I've been wondering about this too. Right now Apple will tell you Leopard can only support 32GB.

But as RAM becomes cheaper 6GB x 8 slots or even 8GB x 8 slots becomes a possibility. I wonder what the actual maximum is.
Click to expand...

I think NanoFroggy answered this already:

"I took the OP as having an '08 model, which uses the 800MHz variant. And it uses the Seaburg chipset, which is capable of operating 128GB."​

Which means 8x16GB I guess. I guess we can't use samsung's new 32GB modules then?

It's just a good thing 16GB modules didn't end up looking like this:

800x600_prop.jpg


:D
 
Tesselator said:
Huh? This has 16GB listed as pretty cheap! http://www.TechDepot.com/pro/product.asp?productid=6435600&iid=1252&Hits=429&HKeyword=+
Click to expand...
"Out of Stock"... :p

I usually check Crucial and Kingston, as I've not had much luck locating it both recently and definitely in the past (shortly after the announcement it was to be manufactured).

It would be really good, if they get more in stock. That's a really good price. :D
Tesselator said:
I think NanoFroggy answered this already:

"I took the OP as having an '08 model, which uses the 800MHz variant. And it uses the Seaburg chipset, which is capable of operating 128GB."​

Which means 8x16GB I guess. I guess we can't use samsung's new 32GB modules then?
Click to expand...
Yup. 16GB x 8 = 128GB. ;)

32GB DIMMs: MASSIVE. :p I wouldn't want to see the case mod to make those fit.... :D Even if only limited to 4x max. ;)
 
Tesselator said:
I think NanoFroggy answered this already:

"I took the OP as having an '08 model, which uses the 800MHz variant. And it uses the Seaburg chipset, which is capable of operating 128GB."​

Which means 8x16GB I guess. I guess we can't use samsung's new 32GB modules then?:D
Click to expand...

I'm tired so figure the possibly dumb post.

I understand what you and nanofrog are saying I'm just wondering if Apple has capped the maximum with firmware or some such thing. I have 32GB of RAM installed right now, so an increase in a few years would be a wonderful thing.
 
nanofrog said:
"Out of Stock"... :p

I usually check Crucial and Kingston, as I've not had much luck locating it both recently and definitely in the past (shortly after the announcement it was to be manufactured).

It would be really good, if they get more in stock. That's a really good price. :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, I figured it probably was a mistake. I saw a 2x8GB kit yesterday for $11,000.00 and wondered then if anyone had accidently ordered it yet. :D


Yup. 16GB x 8 = 128GB. ;)

32GB DIMMs: MASSIVE. :p I wouldn't want to see the case mod to make those fit.... :D Even if only limited to 4x max. ;)
Click to expand...

Those are 16GB modules... :D Some odd german company. :p


Cynicalone said:
I'm tired so figure the possibly dumb post.

I understand what you and nanofrog are saying I'm just wondering if Apple has capped the maximum with firmware or some such thing. I have 32GB of RAM installed right now, so an increase in a few years would be a wonderful thing.
Click to expand...

Not dumb. You have 32GB in your system? Sweet! I will in 4 to 6 months I think.

Imagine if you had an '09 Mac Pro... you might be able to install these:



Those are 8GB DDR3 DIMM modules but the chips on them "pave the way for 32GB modules". Weeee.... :D (Click for the article - Click Article image for more details.)
 
I have the 09 model, I took a real hit on the price but it was time to upgrade. Here is a beautiful screen capture.

EDIT: Can you imagine 32GB X 8 slots. 256GB of RAM :D
 

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If i'm not mistaken OS X at it's current state is limited to 32GB of ram, correct?
 
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