Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Upgrading Mac Pro Ram: Does the Riser Matter? Is the upgrade from 2GB worth it?

S

smitha96

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 11, 2005
101
0
I currently have 2GB of Ram in my Aug 2006 2.66ghz Mac Pro in a 4x512MB configuration on Riser 1.

Q1: I want to add 4GB in 2x2GB configuration (about $125 upgrade). Should I put them on Riser 1 with a 2x512MB pair, or put them alone on Riser 2?

I use my Mac Pro as a non-professional. It holds all our HD family videos (about 1TB worth), family records, email, etc. and acts as a media server to the rest of the house (Apple TV, etc). Right now I have 12MB of ram free and 600MB inactive. My computer will run faster with more ram, right? Even though I'm not a crazy FCP or CS3 user?

Q2: Will the upgrade help my computer run faster? Is it worth it?

Thanks as always!
 
Any RAM upgrade is a speed increase, and generally 2 GB is enough for casual users, I wouldn't call it necessary. The 2008 Mac Pros were designed to access RAM a little differently so it's actually more important for those models to upgrade to a minimum of 4 sticks of RAM.

I would say the answer is a qualified yes, upgrade. OWC has best prices and I believe they have a page dedicated to showing speed variances for Mac Pro models so you can see actual data on how much speed you'd be getting. If you are unsure, and are happy with current speeds you don't absolutely need more RAM.

OWC also has charts as to what risers to install RAM into if you do choose to upgrade. Hope that helps.
 
smitha96 said:
I currently have 2GB of Ram in my Aug 2006 2.66ghz Mac Pro in a 4x512MB configuration on Riser 1.

Q1: I want to add 4GB in 2x2GB configuration (about $125 upgrade). Should I put them on Riser 1 with a 2x512MB pair, or put them alone on Riser 2?

I use my Mac Pro as a non-professional. It holds all our HD family videos (about 1TB worth), family records, email, etc. and acts as a media server to the rest of the house (Apple TV, etc). Right now I have 12MB of ram free and 600MB inactive. My computer will run faster with more ram, right? Even though I'm not a crazy FCP or CS3 user?

Q2: Will the upgrade help my computer run faster? Is it worth it?

Thanks as always!
Click to expand...

The way the Mac Pro uses memory is more like how a server uses it, after all this thing minus the storage solution is built like most decent servers using Xeon CPU's. This machine BEGS for more memory and trust me, you will use it more and more. I am now at 10gigs and will be upgrading to 16 next week, memory is cheap (as long as you don't buy from Apple, use OWC!) and the system will thank you for it. ;)
 
viking396 said:
The way the Mac Pro uses memory is more like how a server uses it, after all this thing minus the storage solution is built like most decent servers using Xeon CPU's.
Click to expand...

I just cannot buy into that statement. Our servers can mirror memory within it, or have online spares for memory as well. Additionally, the FSB is higher, and the machines have out-of-band management capabilities. None of these you will find on the Mac Pro.

viking396 said:
This machine BEGS for more memory and trust me, you will use it more and more. I am now at 10gigs and will be upgrading to 16 next week, memory is cheap (as long as you don't buy from Apple, use OWC!) and the system will thank you for it. ;)
Click to expand...

A machine doesn't beg for memory. It is the applications and processes that determine that. At some point, you have no effective gains in speed or performance. Yes, a Unix system will use the additional memory, then puts it into an inactive state where it can be reused later.

I'd love to know why you need 16GB of RAM for on a desktop. Unless you're using some programs that are pushing your active memory to 100%, it's a waste.
 
belvdr said:
A machine doesn't beg for memory. It is the applications and processes that determine that. At some point, you have no effective gains in speed or performance. Yes, a Unix system will use the additional memory, then puts it into an inactive state where it can be reused later.

I'd love to know why you need 16GB of RAM for on a desktop. Unless you're using some programs that are pushing your active memory to 100%, it's a waste.
Click to expand...

Agreed 16 GB is not necessary for a casual user, but 2008 Mac Pros are designed to have 4x1GB minimum RAM installed to get a serious baseline jump in speed, it's how the motherboard is designed. To have under 4 GB is a waste on those models. The OP of course is referring to a 2006 Mac Pro, so that point is moot.

But the statement "All RAM = massive speed boost" is false. It is completely dependent on the application's needs, and the speed and quality of the RAM will also affect that as well. In my experience the current (in the last 3-4 years) I think 4 GB of RAM is a reasonable amount, 2GB is on the low side.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back