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How much RAM do you have in your Mac Pro?

How much RAM do you have?

  • 1-2GB

    Votes: 2 1.4%

  • 3-4GB

    Votes: 9 6.4%

  • 5-6GB

    Votes: 25 17.7%

  • 7-8GB

    Votes: 25 17.7%

  • 9-10GB

    Votes: 25 17.7%

  • 11-12GB

    Votes: 24 17.0%

  • 13-14GB

    Votes: 6 4.3%

  • 15-16GB

    Votes: 18 12.8%

  • 32GB

    Votes: 7 5.0%
  • Total voters
    141
B

Bat Commander

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 29, 2009
91
0
I'm curious to find out how much RAM people are running in their Mac Pro systems. I have 5GB at the moment and it seems to do well, but I was considering adding more. I don't know if I really need to add more, but I wanted to see what everyone else was using.

Thank you!
 
Doesn't really matter how much RAM other people have. I believe the best way to determine if *you* need more RAM is to look at your "Page outs" in the Activity Monitor.

I've posted mine below but generally if your page out number is close to your page in number after a while then you might need more RAM. If it's fairly low or very far below your page in number, you're probably good.
 

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SilentPanda said:
Doesn't really matter how much RAM other people have. I believe the best way to determine if *you* need more RAM is to look at your "Page outs" in the Activity Monitor.

I've posted mine below but generally if your page out number is close to your page in number after a while then you might need more RAM. If it's fairly low or very far below your page in number, you're probably good.
Click to expand...

I know. I wanted to get an idea of what most people were running these days.

Also, I was wondering... is there anything wrong with having an uneven number for RAM? 5GB, 9GB etc? Am I suffering from lower performance by having an odd number of GB? I'm using 4x1GB and 2x512MB. Thanks.
 
I hope not. I have 7 GB at the moment... so long as they are paired it doesn't really matter. Make sure you have 2 of anything you have and they are next to each other (not in the middle of the tray!).
 
SilentPanda said:
I hope not. I have 7 GB at the moment... so long as they are paired it doesn't really matter. Make sure you have 2 of anything you have and they are next to each other (not in the middle of the tray!).
Click to expand...

Riser A:
1GB
1GB
512MB
512MB

Riser B:
1GB
1GB
Empty
Empty

I heard that this is the best setup for my configuration.
 
After seeing the OWC thread about the 24/32G RAm now available, I started thinking this same question. I now run the activity monitor to see if I do in fact use even what I have and the answer is not even close.

Is the "System Memory" in the Activity monitor reliable / realistic?
 
I have 32GB, but I still get page outs.

Really now it is a matter of waiting for the software to catch up to the hardware.
 
Had to select 32gb since there is no spot for 24gb. For you folks using the 512 sticks, suggest you get rid of them. Read somewhere they slow your system down.
 
Would I get better performance by taking out the 2x512MB and just having 4GB installed?

Or should I get another 2GB and have 6GB of RAM without the 2x512MB?
 
I'm running 12 GB in mixed mode (four 2GB UDIMMs and four 1 GB UDIMMs) in my tripple channel 2009 octad. I'm getting full triple channel bandwidth with that configuration.

The next upgrade will probably be 24 GB in single mode (six 4GB RDIMMs) with full bandwidth.

If I have to add memory my the following config will be 48 GB in mixed mode (four 4GB RDIMMs and four 8 GB RDIMMs) which I expect to go to full bandwidth again.

The last option will be 64 GB in single mode (eight 8 GB RDIMMs) with significantly reduced bandwidth.
 
milton.sheaf said:
16 GB. Used to have 8 but was sooooo slow with all the paging to disk.
Click to expand...

I'm always amazed in reading some post in this section of the forum.
I can't immagine any activity that requires more than 8 Gb to run flawlessly ...

And I'm puzzled to read something like "Used to have 8 but was sooooo slow ....".
I think you can do about everything with 4 Gb, but I agree with you in putting 8 Gb in a Mac Pro "just in case you need ...".
What do you do with your Mac pro ? :D
 
Max(IT) said:
I can't immagine any activity that requires more than 8 Gb to run flawlessly ...
Click to expand...

Sorry, but 8GB is so 2006. :D:rolleyes:

Just kidding. Many apps run flawlessly with 8GB, but if you're running many apps at the same time 8GB isn't really much.

I ordered my Pro with 12GB (6x2) which I thought would be enough for me for at least a year.
Going to update very soon to 6x4, 24GB in total, because I still get lots of page outs. My page in/out ratio is about 2/1 after two days of work and that's just horrible. Page ins should be considerably higher than page outs.
 
Transporteur said:
Sorry, but 8GB is so 2006. :D:rolleyes:

Just kidding. Many apps run flawlessly with 8GB, but if you're running many apps at the same time 8GB isn't really much.

I ordered my Pro with 12GB (6x2) which I thought would be enough for me for at least a year.
Going to update very soon to 6x4, 24GB in total, because I still get lots of page outs. My page in/out ratio is about 2/1 after two days of work and that's just horrible. Page ins should be considerably higher than page outs.
Click to expand...

It's just curiosity on my side, but what kind of software are you using AT THE SAME TIME to saturate 8 Gb of ram ?
I' m working with Aperture 2 (RAW files from a 15 Mpixel DSLR), with iTunes, Safari, Mail and Transmission open, and I can't saturate 4 Gb of ram.

I know, it' s not "heavy usage", but we're speaking of 8 Gb ...
 
Transporteur said:
I don't even know what RDIMMs are. :eek:
Click to expand...

Xeon 3500/5500 RAM memory controllers can deal with unbuffered and registred ECC memory DIMMs.

1, 2 and 4 GB DIMMs come in unbuffered spec (UDIMMs). 4 and 8 GB DIMMs come in registered spec (RDIMMs). You cannot mix the two types. This is why I recommend to switch to RDIMMs when you hit the 4 GB size.
 
Thanks for posting this poll. Its always interesting, in a peering-over-the-back-fence way, to see what others have in their MPs. Adding some content to the thread....

1) http://macperformanceguide.com/ is good place to start if you want to learn about memory and optimizing Photoshop. Based on what I learned there I bumped my RAM from the stock 4GBs to 12GBs. Huge huge improvements in speed.

2) I work with very large image files. I combine up to a dozen medium sized photos in one large montage. Its not unusual for my image files to be 1 - 2 GBs each. PS requires several times more RAM than the largest file - so even 12 GBs can get a bit tight. I give PS the max RAM it will handle (about 4 GB if I recall without looking) and let OS X handle the rest of the memory usage. I'll often restart the system to clear the RAM and then just open iTunes and PS if I have a big editing session. If I'm just doing a little editing I just open PS and just close whatever I'm not using. I don't know if it actually makes a difference.

3) I used to do this on a older Mini (IIRC a 1.6Ghz) with only 1GB. I would save a file, and then go do some chores 'cause it could take 20 minutes to save. Because I knew I was pushing limits I would save frequently. That Mini never crashed. Not once. It would huff and puff, and churn away, but it never ever let me down. The Mac Pro just shows me a "saving" message for a few seconds and the asks "Now what?" I still miss, just a little bit, that Mini.
 
I had 13gb in my 07 Mac Pro for no other reason than I could, and the ram was really cheap at the time.

I never had any slow down issues with that amount, I came close quite often to having it all 'used' but never fully.
 
Max(IT) said:
It's just curiosity on my side, but what kind of software are you using AT THE SAME TIME to saturate 8 Gb of ram ?
I' m working with Aperture 2 (RAW files from a 15 Mpixel DSLR), with iTunes, Safari, Mail and Transmission open, and I can't saturate 4 Gb of ram.

I know, it' s not "heavy usage", but we're speaking of 8 Gb ...
Click to expand...

Maxwell render or solidworks can easily take up all 16gb for me; otherwise 8gb comfortably runs everything (aperture, photoshop, and a ton of browser windows, and all of the usual smaller apps).
 
kdb31 said:
Maxwell render or solidworks can easily take up all 16gb for me; otherwise 8gb comfortably runs everything (aperture, photoshop, and a ton of browser windows, and all of the usual smaller apps).
Click to expand...
Ok, I don't know so much about that kind of sotware, so I'm going to trust your words ;)
J&JPolangin said:
I wonder if the 9 voters who chose 1 - 4 GB of RAM realized they were posting in a "Mac Pro" thread (and not a MBP thread)...
Click to expand...
Here again: you DON'T need to have 4353728 Gb of ram only because you have a Mac Pro ....
In my organization 6 out of 12 Mac PROs have 4 Gb of ram and are working fine, with good performance.
There is no rule that say: you have a Mac Pro, you ought to have at least 12 Gb of ram :rolleyes:
 
I went from 4gb to 12 gb and it is aweseom!

My machine was extremely slow after 10.6.2 upgrade and now it flies. 3D rendering goes a whole lot better now too. I can definently recommend it for people with heavy demands on their system.
 
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