Mac Pro 2009 Memory Upgrade Question

I also have a question about memory. Thought I better post it here otherwise the thread police will put a cap in my ass.

How much memory can the 2009 quad core Mac Pro take?

I've seen some memory sites saying you can put up to 32gb in it (and 64gb in the octo core) but according to the Apple store (and Crucial) the limit is 16gb for the quad and 32gb for the octo.

Anyone?

 

I can answer this before I goto sleep..

As of current, the single-quad core mac pros can go as high as 32GB of memory, but since the 2009's take DDR3 or triple channel memory, its best to use threes instead of fours.. although in the end more memory is better, albeit a slower channel..

Optimum for single-quads using ddr3 chips: 6GB(3x2GB), 12GB(3x4GB), and 24GB or 3x8GB(very expensive).. ANd very shortly when the 16GB ddr3 modules come out, then you will be able to go beyond 32GB.. 3x16GB = 48 or with 4 of those = 64.

So, yes while you can use memory in twos or fours, it may not be optimum as ddr3 is different than ddr2. Your best bet is to access your needs and plan accordingly.. right now for my purposes, 6GB is fine, though I plan to goto 12GB.


But, according to latest stats - 32GB is the max thus far.. a far cry from what apple says and they still deny 32GB for the single-quad and 64GB for the duals...

 

just a note on this - DDR3 and dual/triple channel are NOT related.

The Mac Pro uses a triple channel memory controller thats why three sticks should be more efficient than two or four.

DDR3 can be used in dual channel systems such as iMac/MacBook/Mini and then is best in Pairs (2 or 4)

- nitpicking I know....

 

With 8GB modules being as expensive as they are now, don't you think 16GB modules would be priced "out of this world" when they come out? To upgrade your single processor Mac Pro to 64GB or your dual machine to 128GB, you would be paying more for RAM than you paid for the machine itself!

 

It was just a theory..

at this point, yes.. it would be a lot higher than the machine.. I was just stating this as a theory of possibly working in the single-quad.