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Mac Pro Ram price dropping...

FF_productions

FF_productions

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Apr 16, 2005
2,822
0
Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Almost every week on OWC/Transintl, the price on the ram is dropping. For $368, you can get 16 gigs of ram (32 gigs for $1200 exactly).

Maybe I sound like I'm asking if you guys could predict the future, but is the price going to stall at one point or possibly go back up?

Last year I bought 2 gigs of ram for $190, I can get 8 gigs for the EXACT same price now.
 
RAM pricing is an upside-down Bell Curve. It starts expensive, reaches its cheapest just after it stops being the mainstream format, and then gets expensive again as it gets harder to find.

Once the new Mac Pros hit, we'll start to see prices for the FB-DIMMs go back up.
 
I hope these savings reach these shores (UK). Right now 32Gb is running $2,590 (converted from UK Crucial... 2x4Gb = 440 pounds odd...)
 
Tallest Skil said:
RAM pricing is an upside-down Bell Curve. It starts expensive, reaches its cheapest just after it stops being the mainstream format, and then gets expensive again as it gets harder to find.

Once the new Mac Pros hit, we'll start to see prices for the FB-DIMMs go back up.
Click to expand...

DDR2 has been dirt cheap for more than a year, and is still the mainstream format. It'll be a while before the prices go back up, DDR3 is still very much high end memory, even if it's no longer prohibitively expensive.

FF_productions said:
So we can assume that FB-Dimm's will not be used in the next revision, hence the price going back up?
Click to expand...

The i7 processors only support DDR3, so that's a pretty safe bet :)
 
FF_productions said:
Almost every week on OWC/Transintl, the price on the ram is dropping. For $368, you can get 16 gigs of ram (32 gigs for $1200 exactly).
Click to expand...

16GB is what I have, and it seem more than sufficient for CS4 & FCS2. Anyone out there NEEDING 32GB? What remarkable difference have you observed?
 
ObaMaciden said:
16GB is what I have, and it seem more than sufficient for CS4 & FCS2. Anyone out there NEEDING 32GB? What remarkable difference have you observed?
Click to expand...

Mine as well ask you, how much faster is your Mac Pro with 16 gigs of ram? Does it scream or is it just able to handle a lot more open applications?

I only got 3 gigs of ram, I need to upgrade...8 gigs of ram is only $190 but I might just step it up to 16 (then again, I could upgrade to a 3870 Card and get 8 gigs of ram kill 2 birds with one stone).
 
the only way that much RAM is going to make your machine faster is if you're really using it all. editing big ass video files or something.

most apps (unless their 64 bit) can't use more then 4 anyway.
 
rockinrocker said:
The only way that much RAM is going to make your machine faster is if you're really using it all. Editing big ass video files or something.

Most apps (unless they're 64 bit) can't use more then 4 anyway.
Click to expand...

I have a late 2007 model Mac Pro with 12 Gb RAM (all slots occupied, as per Apple's recommendation for speed), & I leave the Floating CPU Window (Activity Monitor ap) on continuously, to observe RAM usage. I frequently see single core spikes of varying endurance while using typical aps, like Safari, or Photoshop. Keep in mind that many aps will apparently use as much RAM as you give them. One of my favorite aps, Studio Artist, is designed to use all 8 of my processors at once, & uses every bit of my 'measly' 12 GB RAM! It'd use more if I had it.
 
FF_productions said:
Mine as well ask you, how much faster is your Mac Pro with 16 gigs of ram? Does it scream or is it just able to handle a lot more open applications?

I only got 3 gigs of ram, I need to upgrade...8 gigs of ram is only $190 but I might just step it up to 16 (then again, I could upgrade to a 3870 Card and get 8 gigs of ram kill 2 birds with one stone).
Click to expand...

I went for 16GB thinking that:
1: with 8 slots, optimal fill would be: 8 x 1GB, 8 x 2GB, and 8 x 4GB
2: CS4 takes 4GB, FCS 4GB, VMware (running XP+apps) 3GB, OSX+apps 1-4GB...
So, 16GB is what I expected to be the optimum for my needs. 32GB would seem like an overkill for me.;)

In any case, going from 3GB to anything larger will mean you can access larger apps with better performance.:D
 
FF_productions said:
So we can assume that FB-Dimm's will not be used in the next revision, hence the price going back up?
Click to expand...

The next revision of the MacPro would probably be based on the latest Intel Core i7 technology which will undoubtedly utilise DDR3 Technology. At a guess, the logicboard will probably require users to install RAM upgrades in Triple Channel format.

I would of thought users who are thinking of upgrading, in favour of an Hyper-Threaded Core i7 should forget about buying DDR2 memory as it's incompatible with the newer systems.
 
UltraNEO* said:
The next revision of the MacPro would probably be based on the latest Intel Core i7 technology which will undoubtedly utilise DDR3 Technology. At a guess, the logicboard will probably require users to install RAM upgrades in Triple Channel format.

I would of thought users who are thinking of upgrading, in favour of an Hyper-Threaded Core i7 should forget about buying DDR2 memory as it's incompatible with the newer systems.
Click to expand...

It shouldn't require triple channel, just support it. No doubt RAM kits in multiples of 3 will be the best $ per GB though.
 
Umbongo said:
It shouldn't require triple channel, just support it. No doubt RAM kits in multiples of 3 will be the best $ per GB though.
Click to expand...

You have to remember. If and when Apple starts building systems with the i7, it'll be built as a server or a high-end workstation....
 
UltraNEO* said:
You have to remember. If and when Apple starts building systems with the i7, it'll be built as a server or a high-end workstation....
Click to expand...
Yes, but that doesn't mean that they'll place 3 sticks of DDR3 ECC per CPU in the base i7 model. They don't put 4 sticks of FB-DIMM in the current Mac Pro to max out the channels either.

As Umbongo stated, it will certainly work at the max number of channels, but we have to pay out more $$$ for the additional memory. Especially if we're crazy enough to buy it directly from Apple. :p
 
NightSailor said:
Right now for 4 (4Gb Dimm boards) 800 MHz

Memory America $549 free shipping
OWC $647 with shipping and insurance
Crucial $848 free shipping but taxes added
Click to expand...

Are they reliable with mac pro ram? with the heatsinks and all? I have been looking around and they do seem to have the best value. just want to make sure its not to good to be true.
 
ObaMaciden said:
16GB is what I have, and it seem more than sufficient for CS4 & FCS2. Anyone out there NEEDING 32GB? What remarkable difference have you observed?
Click to expand...

I stepped up to 16GB for After Effects. I would've preferred 24-32GB for maximum benefit - assigning 2GB per core for After Effects with the rest being left to other apps I tend to run at the same time like Photoshop and Premiere Pro - but I couldn't justify the cost difference of going from 2 to 4GB DIMMs.

At the moment, I am assigning 1.5GB per core for After Effects with the rest reserved for other applications.

Sam
 
Hello, i have a stupid question so sorry in advance...
iam in japan and its difficult for me to check website for memory and iam looking for memory for a january 2008 mac pro.
i lookd for FB DIMM but i only find DDR2 DIMM not FB....
is it ok ?
something like that http://img.kakaku.com/images/productimage/fullscale/05200912059.jpg

i post the spec, sorry if it appear in japanese ^_^;
2GB 枚数 2枚
メモリ規格 DDR2 SDRAM メモリインターフェイス DIMM
モジュール規格 PC2-6400(DDR2-800) 1MBあたりの価格 \1

it say like 2x2gb you can understand the rest... and DDR2 800 but DIMM not FB... does FB mean just we have to use by Pair ?
 
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