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Mac Pro - Shipping delay because of memory?

S

SnakeOiler

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Original poster
Mar 8, 2009
40
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I ordered a mac pro with 16Gb. Ship date says March 24th. Don't really care how long it takes, I am excited though. Some people are getting stock machines now.

What gives? I work for an electronics manufacturer. When we release a new product, we ramp up on everything to meet demand. Manuals, DVDs, PCBs, people, all the electronics to build the hardware we produce (ram included) are purchased/produced in massive amounts to meet demand. And we do.

Memory on backorder is a lame excuse for a company like Apple. What is the real story for the delay? Are there cooling or stability issues with 16Gb+ of ram? Seems more likely than backorder to me.
 
16gb? That's a bad number. I'd cancel and reorder with stock ram, then buy 3rd party from OWC, go for 12gb/24gb.
 
dr. shdw said:
The 4gb DDR3 sticks are delayed, anyways multiples of 3 perform better.
Click to expand...

Delayed due to what? Were the original shipment eaten by monkeys or something?

Why do multiples of three perform better?

I am getting 16Gb, 8x2gb sticks, according to Apple. What do 4gb sticks have to do with that?
 
SnakeOiler said:
...And turbos make engines go faster...

How, in the Apple architecture, do multiples of 3 make performance better. If you don't know, its ok.
Click to expand...

Has nothing to do with Apple architecture, it's Intel's memory controller on the Nehalem family..
 
dr. shdw said:
Has nothing to do with Apple architecture, it's Intel's memory controller on the Nehalem family..
Click to expand...

Hate to be a jerk but, without out explaining yourself you sound like you have no idea what you are talking about. I understand the spec quite well I fail to see how there will be any performance difference between 12 and 16 gb. 24 is not an option from Apple.

And it has nothing to do with my original question
 
SnakeOiler said:
Hate to be a jerk but, without out explaining yourself you sound like you have no idea what you are talking about.
Click to expand...

He was offering you a suggestion on how to improve the performance of your new machine. Is that such a bad thing?

I understand the spec quite well I fail to see how there will be any performance difference between 12 and 16 gb.
Click to expand...

Well, apparently you don't understand the spec that well.

In fact, even Apple disagrees with you. You'll notice when they wanted to demonstrate the improved memory bandwidth on the new MPs, they used 6GB. Why do you think they chose that number? :)

24 is not an option from Apple.
Click to expand...

Again, I think the helpful suggestion was that getting 24GB from OWC or some other source would be a better value (and better performance) than 16GB from Apple.

And it has nothing to do with my original question
Click to expand...

If you're getting 2GB sticks, I have no idea why your order is delayed. Are you sure it's not something else you customized?

And if in fact it is the RAM, and if you're in a hurry, just change the order to the base RAM and order RAM from somewhere else. It's not that hard and you'll probably even save some money.
 
eddietr said:
In fact, even Apple disagrees with you. You'll notice when they wanted to demonstrate the improved memory bandwidth on the new MPs, they used 6GB. Why do you think they chose that number?
Click to expand...

Have a link? Some evidence. Your thoughts are not what the thread is about.

I am buying my ram from Apple. If I wanted to go cheapazz i would got another pc box. Out of stock makes no sense.
 
SnakeOiler said:
Have a link? Some evidence. Your thoughts are not what the thread is about.

I am buying my ram from Apple. If I wanted to go cheapazz i would got another pc box. Out of stock makes no sense.
Click to expand...

Attached from apple.com.

Notice they used 8GB in the older model and 6GB with the Nehalem in the comparison. Others have posted explanations why this is the case. You might read them if you are truly interested. See post #10.

I know my next MP will have 12GB.

As for "out of stock makes no sense", I don't know how to argue with that logic. :)
 
Insanity

Can we please stop spreading false info about how tri-channel RAM works?

6GB (3x2GB) will operate in tri-channel mode. Yay.
8GB (4x2GB) will operate 6GB in tri-channel mode, and the other 2GB in dual-channel mode.

The extra RAM that is not in a multiple of 3 will be slower than the rest, but it is still helping.
 
Grimace said:
Can we please stop spreading false info about how tri-channel RAM works?

6GB (3x2GB) will operate in tri-channel mode. Yay.
8GB (4x2GB) will operate 6GB in tri-channel mode, and the other 2GB in dual-channel mode.

The extra RAM that is not in a multiple of 3 will be slower than the rest, but it is still helping.
Click to expand...

Actually, the 4th would be in single channel mode (which is quite a bit slower than double or triple obviously)

But the interesting thing is that results for 4x2 (one triple + one single) are apparently no better than 2x4 (double). For example in this set of tests (assuming of course you're using all the RAM):

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=634&type=expert&pid=12
 
eddietr said:
Actually, the 4th would be in single channel mode (which is quite a bit slower than double or triple obviously)

But the interesting thing is that results for 4x2 (one triple + one single) are apparently no better than 2x4 (double). For example in this set of tests (assuming of course you're using all the RAM):

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=634&type=expert&pid=12
Click to expand...

Nonetheless, if you are using 16GB you're much better off taking the hit on 4GB single-channel than on not having the extra 4GB and having to swap.
 
cmaier said:
Nonetheless, if you are using 16GB you're much better off taking the hit on 4GB single-channel than on not having the extra 4GB and having to swap.
Click to expand...

Right, I see what you are saying. But what the tests I've read seem to indicate is that when hitting all 4, accesses to all 4 are slower overall, not just accesses to the last one. At least in the benchmarks.

I'll have to play with it more when I get one this summer.
 
It looks like the 2 gig sticks are the reason for the hold-up.

If you configure a MP w 6GB ram ( 6X1) it ships within 24 hrs.
If you configure it any way that has 2GB sticks it goes up to 2-3 weeks.

8 GB (4X2) 2-3 weeks
12 GB (6X2) 2-3 weeks
16GB (8X2) 2-3 weeks
32 GB (8X4) 5-7 days
 
Peace said:
It looks like the 2 gig sticks are the reason for the hold-up.

If you configure a MP w 6GB ram ( 6X1) it ships within 24 hrs.
If you configure it any way that has 2GB sticks it goes up to 2-3 weeks.

8 GB (4X2) 2-3 weeks
12 GB (6X2) 2-3 weeks
16GB (8X2) 2-3 weeks
32 GB (8X4) 5-7 days
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why anyone would buy RAM from Apple for a MP... one of the key benefits of a MP is that it's user upgradeable... take advantage of that! You can buy top shelf high performance ram that will run at lower latency with life-time warranties from industry leading memory companies like Corsair, OCZ, etc. Why buy crap RAM at inflated prices from Apple? Just because it's sold through Apple doesn't mean its good or even made by Apple.
 
VirtualRain said:
I'm not sure why anyone would buy RAM from Apple for a MP... one of the key benefits of a MP is that it's user upgradeable... take advantage of that! You can buy top shelf high performance ram that will run at lower latency with life-time warranties from industry leading memory companies like Corsair, OCZ, etc. Why buy crap RAM at inflated prices from Apple? Just because it's sold through Apple doesn't mean its good or even made by Apple.
Click to expand...

I did it because there is no sense in throwing out 1Gb DIMMs to replace them with 2Gb DIMMs. Thus the 8Gb version made the most sense to order (I will probably add 2 more once the machine arrives.)

Any extra 3 weeks (considering this machine wasn't even rumored to be released until the 3/24 when mine is actually scheduled to be shipped) really doesn't matter much.

Also, whether or not Apple RAM is "crap" or not, it is still OEM RAM and under *their* warranty. If it fails I bring it to the Apple Store and get it replaced. The same cannot be said with 3rd party RAM.
 
gilroykilroy said:
I did it because there is no sense in throwing out 1Gb DIMMs to replace them with 2Gb DIMMs. Thus the 8Gb version made the most sense to order (I will probably add 2 more once the machine arrives.)

Any extra 3 weeks (considering this machine wasn't even rumored to be released until the 3/24 when mine is actually scheduled to be shipped) really doesn't matter much.

Also, whether or not Apple RAM is "crap" or not, it is still OEM RAM and under *their* warranty. If it fails I bring it to the Apple Store and get it replaced. The same cannot be said with 3rd party RAM.
Click to expand...

OWC RAM has lifetime warranty.
 
VirtualRain said:
...Why buy crap RAM at inflated prices from Apple? Just because it's sold through Apple doesn't mean its good or even made by Apple.
Click to expand...

In the UK, if I - for sake of argument - wanted to have the base quad model to have 3x2GB RAM instead of 3x1GB, getting it third-party would be £121.89. There might be cheaper places, can't say I've exhausted every avenue, but I've had a quick look at a few places and this prices was quoted from my preferred supplier.

When buying the MP, Apple charges £120 - or if like me, you can buy from the HE Store - it charges £100 (and a few pence).

With the third-party route, I would obviously have the 3x1GB sticks but I was rather pleasantly suprised when costing this up.
 
VirtualRain said:
I'm not sure why anyone would buy RAM from Apple for a MP... one of the key benefits of a MP is that it's user upgradeable... take advantage of that! You can buy top shelf high performance ram that will run at lower latency with life-time warranties from industry leading memory companies like Corsair, OCZ, etc. Why buy crap RAM at inflated prices from Apple? Just because it's sold through Apple doesn't mean its good or even made by Apple.
Click to expand...

I have a budget that dictates all is purchased from Apple. Besides Apple and I have been customers of one another for 30 years (google videoterm). No reason at all to use a third party. The time wasted on the third party vendor makes it a break even or a loss for me.
 
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