Ram Prices for new Mac Pros

[midilance]

I am contemplating getting a new Mac Pro but have discovered that ram prices are through the roof. Since I'll be using the computer for music production I need a lot of ram and assume I need it for each core. A total of 4 gigs is a minimum but 8 would be much better. Any ideas about better deals on ram? Also, does anyone envision Mac's ram prices lowering in the near future?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[FFTT]

The ideal starter RAM for music production would be 4 X 1 GB.

Check with Datamem.com and OWC on prices.

Make absolutely sure you are pricing the correct Mac Pro RAM with the
oversized heat sinks.

Prices are high because demand is high for all this new FB ECC RAM required
for better Intel based systems.

Waiting a while might save you 20% at best any time soon.

Many users are buying 4 X 512 MB direct from Apple, then adding another
4 X 1 GB for a total of 6 GB.

This way you take full advantage of the Mac Pro's memory bus architecture.

 

[Irish Dave]

Scary prices !!!


Dave

 

[midilance]

Thanks FFTT. So how many memory slots are there in a Mac Pro? Also, do you happen to know if the memory is available to all cores at once?

 

[midilance]

Actually, I just checked and found out it's got 8 slots. So the methodology is to buy the minimum ram from Apple and then fill in the rest at much better prices from these other places, right? I see the terms EEC and buffered used. I take it that these are prerequite. Just buy ram from a reputable supplier.

 

[robbieduncan]

Actually, I just checked and found out it's got 8 slots. So the methodology is to buy the minimum ram from Apple and then fill in the rest at much better prices from these other places, right? I see the terms EEC and buffered used. I take it that these are prerequite. Just buy ram from a reputable supplier.

The must be FB-DIMMs (that is fully-buffered error correcting DDR2), rated for the correct speed and with the required cooling properties (not all FB-DIMMs have large enough heat sinks to cope with the requirements of the Mac Pro enclosure).