Question on RAM upgrade

[LordFox]

Hi all,

I own a MacBook Pro 13.3 (MacBookPro 5,5) and i am looking to upgrade my ram from 2GB to the maximum of 8GB and i found a bargain on amazon of 2x4GB sticks made for the mac (Crucial Sticks) i have 2 ram slots and they accept 1067Mhz DDR3 modules and i was wondering if i would have any problem with these sticks.

Here is the link for the amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-204-p...,+204-pin+SODIMM,+DDR3+PC3-8500+memory+module

Any help Appreciated

 

[jav6454]

No problem... those will work fine.

 

[LordFox]

great thanks Jav

 

[T5BRICK]

great thanks Jav

I ended up buying something similar:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002YUF8ZG/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?qid=1343190870&ref_=sr_1_2

They actually run at 1333MHz instead of 1067MHz in my mid 2009 MBP.

 

[LordFox]

I ended up buying something similar:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002YUF8ZG/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?qid=1343190870&ref_=sr_1_2

They actually run at 1333MHz instead of 1067MHz in my mid 2009 MBP.

So does this mean i will notice a large performance boost with these as apposed to 1067MHz sticks?

 

[theSeb]

So does this mean i will notice a large performance boost with these as apposed to 1067MHz sticks?

No, you will not notice a performance boost. I am running 1600 MHz RAM in my 2011 Mac, which came with 1333 MHz. The difference can be seen in a benchmarking tool, like geek bench, but not in the real world.

 

[T5BRICK]

No, you will not notice a performance boost. I am running 1600 MHz RAM in my 2011 Mac, which came with 1333 MHz. The difference can be seen in a benchmarking tool, like geek bench, but not in the real world.

It's probably all in my head, but I did notice a SLIGHT improvement in the playability of Diablo3 after I installed the new RAM. I'm running a mid-2009 13" MBP, so I figure the faster memory also helped speed up my graphics subsystem(being that VRAM is just shared system RAM).

Other than that, I haven't noticed a difference.

 

[jav6454]

No, you will not notice a performance boost. I am running 1600 MHz RAM in my 2011 Mac, which came with 1333 MHz. The difference can be seen in a benchmarking tool, like geek bench, but not in the real world.

It's probably all in my head, but I did notice a SLIGHT improvement in the playability of Diablo3 after I installed the new RAM. I'm running a mid-2009 13" MBP, so I figure the faster memory also helped speed up my graphics subsystem(being that VRAM is just shared system RAM).

Other than that, I haven't noticed a difference.

Oh you two are very wrong.

If you put a higher clock Memory Module into the slot, no improvement will happen.

The higher clocked modules will just work at the speed of the bus. In other words, those 1600MHz modules placed into a 1333MHz or 1067MHz bus clocked machine will run at the speed set by the bus (ie 1333 or 1067).

 

[theSeb]

Oh you two are very wrong.

If you put a higher clock Memory Module into the slot, no improvement will happen.

The higher clocked modules will just work at the speed of the bus. In other words, those 1600MHz modules placed into a 1333MHz or 1067MHz bus clocked machine will run at the speed set by the bus (ie 1333 or 1067).

No, I am most certainly not wrong and not very wrong either, because I do have a bit of clue about this stuff.

On 2011 models the memory does run at 1600 MHz since the CPU supports it. Take a look at my two geekbench results, one with 1333 MHz and the other with 1600 MHz. You can work out the speed of your memory from the clock and , not surprisingly, the memory performance and memory bandwidth performance are very different between these two bench marks, everything else is pretty much the same. The memory does run at 1600 MHz. This should not even be an argument.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/530246

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/530175

Memory Memory performance 5511
Stream Memory bandwidth performance 6925

Memory Memory performance 5014
Stream Memory bandwidth performance 5948

So, what real world differences does one get from this, apart from bragging rights? Well, you do get a slight performance increase in the IGP performance, since it uses the system RAM and does not have its own dedicated VRAM, but it's a couple of frames per second.

In terms of other stuff, like encoding, there is no noticeable difference

I wouldn't post stuff without a qualifier, if I didn't know what I was talking about.

 

[jav6454]

I have to look into the whole CPU memory bandwidth check for those models. I am sure those CPUs only support up to 1333MHz

 

[theSeb]

I have to look into the whole CPU memory bandwidth check for those models. I am sure those CPUs only support up to 1333MHz

According to Intel's specs, yes. But not in real use. You do see the increase in performance, using synthetic bench marks. The results I've shown are repeatable.

 

[arashb]

I have to look into the whole CPU memory bandwidth check for those models. I am sure those CPUs only support up to 1333MHz

Intels spec only shows what's officially supported, they often like to play it safe just to get no complaints it seems like. Lots of other lower end MBPs that support 1333 MHz max from apple are able to run 1600 MHz stick at the 1600 MHz speed.

 

[T5BRICK]

Oh you two are very wrong.

If you put a higher clock Memory Module into the slot, no improvement will happen.

The higher clocked modules will just work at the speed of the bus. In other words, those 1600MHz modules placed into a 1333MHz or 1067MHz bus clocked machine will run at the speed set by the bus (ie 1333 or 1067).

Using the tools I have available, my memory is showing that it is running at 1333MHz not 1067MHz.

I've also noticed similar results in my geekbench scores. My upgraded RAM is certainly running faster than the stock RAM did.