How much RAM is be the best for me?

[JasO]

Hi guys,
I'm looking for info on how much RAM I should be getting for optimum price/gain. The machine is a MacPro 2008 2.8 Octo

I use the adobe suite/maya and am starting to use final cut pro. That being said should I...

- Buy 4x2GB sticks now and later upgrade to 16GB of ram (selling my original 1GB sticks)

- Buy 2x4GB sticks for around AU$100~ more but giving me the option to have 32GB or ram anytime down the future?
* I like this option however I will most likely end up buying 2x4GB now, then another 2x4GB in a few months, and continue to do that over time. So I will end up getting maximum gain later than sooner.


So...
- Buy the LARGER sticks for more money, though enabling you to have the most amount of ram
- Buy the SMALLER sticks and live with 16GB of ram?


I also thought of the option of just setting myself up for the option of 16GB through 2GB sticks, however I don't like the idea of having to sell them in order to fill it up with 32GB if it's going to make a significant difference.


Anyone with either 16GB of ram or 32GB of ram please let me know what the performance is like.

 

[srl7741]

Larger Sticks

If you have the funds purchase the larger sticks now, it will save you in the end when or if you ever need to add more Ram.

If you purchase the smaller sticks now and need to add more later if may force you to sell those and loose some money and time.

 

[JasO]

If you have the funds purchase the larger sticks now, it will save you in the end when or if you ever need to add more Ram.

If you purchase the smaller sticks now and need to add more later if may force you to sell those and loose some money and time.

Yeah that's one of the things I'm worried about, deciding later on that the 32GB would actually be better. Then the process of selling all the 2GB sticks would end up leaving me very short changed for the purchase of the 4GB sticks.

It seems like the more sensible option, however I just worry that not filling all the slots for quite a while may be a downside.

I am leaning towards setting myself up for a 32GB future though.

 

[mcavjame]

I actually went with 14GB... added 3 sets of 4 to the original 2GB. Benchmarks show that you get the best speed when all four slots are filled with the same speed RAM. The 4GB sticks are too prohibitive in terms of cost/benefit for me. I'm only using 10GB right now with 8 apps open.

Is Maya faster with more RAM. I'm assuming that is why this is even a concern. What amount of RAM can Maya take advantage of?

BTW - I was able to sell the existing RAM in the system (original owner had mixed 667 RAM with the original 800 RAM) for pretty close to retail on eBay. Of course you get nicked with seller fees and paypal fee, but It only cost me $100 to switch 8GB of PC5300 for 12GB of PC6400. This is mostly due to the fact that PC6400 is actually a little cheaper for some reason.

 

[JasO]

I actually went with 14GB... added 3 sets of 4 to the original 2GB. Benchmarks show that you get the best speed when all four slots are filled with the same speed RAM. The 4GB sticks are too prohibitive in terms of cost/benefit for me. I'm only using 10GB right now with 8 apps open.

Is Maya faster with more RAM. I'm assuming that is why this is even a concern. What amount of RAM can Maya take advantage of?

BTW - I was able to sell the existing RAM in the system (original owner had mixed 667 RAM with the original 800 RAM) for pretty close to retail on eBay. Of course you get nicked with seller fees and paypal fee, but It only cost me $100 to switch 8GB of PC5300 for 12GB of PC6400. This is mostly due to the fact that PC6400 is actually a little cheaper for some reason.

Oh, thanks for the info about the price on eBay! I was thinking about selling my original 2GB sticks to help with the funds of the larger RAM sticks.

I'll look into how much ram my programs can even access, I guess that's the smartest thing I should be doing right now! Thanks =)

Edit - I remember reading that photoshop can only use 3GB of ram unless you fiddle around in the settings, however then you can enable it to access as much as you desire I think. Source - http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080716133717914

 

[Mintin8]

Buy the big RAM sticks now. When snow leopard comes out, the extra RAM will be worth it. (No doubt it's still worth it now on Leopard).

 

[JasO]

Buy the big RAM sticks now. When snow leopard comes out, the extra RAM will be worth it. (No doubt it's still worth it now on Leopard).

I'm surprised I actually forgot about snow leopard.

So far I really can't see any reason to go for the 2GB sticks apart from the money. I think I'll just go with the 4GB sticks =)