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Which Ram is better (4GB x 4) or 16GB (8GB x 2) ?

W

wahya

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 1, 2010
14
0
hi all! maybe many people made this question but i will really apreciet if some one can help me , i buy a mac pro 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” and now i need to upgrade the Ram but as you can imagine money is the problem, now i have only 3 GB ram !!! i plannig to work using final cut studio and adobe CS5 ,edition, animation and web design are my goals with this computer !!! i also i own a dell monitor U2410........ !! im looking for the best performances ....... which one is a better .....16GB (4GB x 4) $435.99 or 16GB (8GB x 2) $637.99 ........ i had red that 3 slots of ram is the best decision but what about the diferences between this 2 options .... i hope i can get some help !!! like i said money is the problem and i cant put more money into my comp ..... !! :cool: thank you very much and grettings from denmark!!
 
How about 3x4GB + 3x1GB (existing) = 15GB total, plus in the preferred sets of 3 sticks?

For the 2 options you mention, 4X4GB and 2X8GB, the only difference is the 2 empty slots you could have for another upgrade in the future. 8GB sticks haven't started dropping in price yet, so you pay a hefty premium for them right now. If it will be more than a year before you want to upgrade again, I would go with the 4GB Sticks. By that time, the 8GB sticks will have dropped in price to the point that you end up spending about the same amount over all.
 
Guys, what is the correct order for Mac Pro 2010 memory? Anyone got a chart pls?
Thank you
 
get whatever you can afford. the only advantage of 2x8GB is that you have two slots open for more memory later.

the difference between single, dual, and triple channel is so trivial it isn't worth pursuing.
 
gracias amigo

what about between this 2 ? which one can get faster performance ? 3X4GB or 4X4GB,
 
i think that i will do 12GB (4GB x 3) $327.99 !!! it sound ok i guess , i want it to go for 24 GB but money is the problem !!! im trying to build a small studio , my purchase will be .

Apple Mac Pro 3.33 Ghz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Base System
Includes $100 discount
• One 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere”
• (4GB x 3)
• 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
• ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
• Upgrade to Blu-ray
• Apple Magic Mouse
• Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad
(English) & User's Guide

Apple iMac 2.93 Ghz
• 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
• 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x 4GB
• 1TB Serial ATA Drive
• 8x double-layer SuperDrive
• ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
• Apple Wireless Keyboard
• Magic Mouse

Dell UltraSharp U2410 24-inch Widescreen Flat
Panel Monitor

OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD 120GB for my mac pro

Wacom Intuos4 Pen Table Medium

Final cut Studio

i already have Adobe CS5 , i recieve coments !!! thank you to the people who anwers my questions !!!
 
You have 4 slots. If you fill only the first 3 (starting closest to the side with the door off) you will take advantage of triple channel memory. Although tri channel is not optimised by many applications it is technically the fastest way to go.

I use 3 x 4GB sticks and do most my work in Photoshop/Lightroom.

If you need lots of memory then go for x2 8GB sticks and get a third later. Though to use 24 GB in Photoshop your files must be HUGE! I work on 1.5 - 3GB files and rarely max out 12GB.
 
mjsmke said:
You have 4 slots. If you fill only the first 3 (starting closest to the side with the door off) you will take advantage of triple channel memory. Although tri channel is not optimised by many applications it is technically the fastest way to go.

I use 3 x 4GB sticks and do most my work in Photoshop/Lightroom.

If you need lots of memory then go for x2 8GB sticks and get a third later. Though to use 24 GB in Photoshop your files must be HUGE! I work on 1.5 - 3GB files and rarely max out 12GB.
Click to expand...

i feel good wit my decition , im not shure how 12GB will behave when i render HD files in Final Cut Studio ....? im planning to make a particion and use windows !!!! do windows work fine in a mac using boot camp ? i have adobe CS5 for windows and i will like to use it in a mac !!! have some one try somethis like this ? is there any complication doing this ?
 
wahya said:
i feel good wit my decition , im not shure how 12GB will behave when i render HD files in Final Cut Studio ....? im planning to make a particion and use windows !!!! do windows work fine in a mac using boot camp ? i have adobe CS5 for windows and i will like to use it in a mac !!! have some one try somethis like this ? is there any complication doing this ?
Click to expand...

I think you should be OK with that RAM setup for now. You can always sell this RAM when you upgrade to 24GB.

The rub here is that the current rev of FCP is a POS when it comes to processor utilization. That should change sometime early 2011 when FCS 3 is released............... :p

FYI: You can upgrade your CS5 to the Apple flavor.

congrats on the new system!
JohnG
 
wahya said:
what about between this 2 ? which one can get faster performance ? 3X4GB or 4X4GB,
Click to expand...

3x4GB will be faster if any of your programs can take advantage of triple channel memory. 4x4GB is faster the second you use over 12GB of RAM. in all other cases they are exactly the same.
 
gracias amigo

johnnymg said:
I think you should be OK with that RAM setup for now. You can always sell this RAM when you upgrade to 24GB.

The rub here is that the current rev of FCP is a POS when it comes to processor utilization. That should change sometime early 2011 when FCS 3 is released............... :p

FYI: You can upgrade your CS5 to the Apple flavor.

congrats on the new system!
JohnG
Click to expand...
thanks amigo !! well , some years ago i bouth( buy) a mac book , i was so happy with this machine , i sold it and after that i try pc for some years !! now finally i can come back to mac , Back to the Mac !! jijijiji !!! so what about my SSD 120GB for my mac pro , do you think it will help in the performance of the machine ? im so afraid to make mistakes choosing the rong configuration !!! everything smeel good i think !!!
 
Panch0 said:
How about 3x4GB + 3x1GB (existing) = 15GB total, plus in the preferred sets of 3 sticks?

For the 2 options you mention, 4X4GB and 2X8GB, the only difference is the 2 empty slots you could have for another upgrade in the future. 8GB sticks haven't started dropping in price yet, so you pay a hefty premium for them right now. If it will be more than a year before you want to upgrade again, I would go with the 4GB Sticks. By that time, the 8GB sticks will have dropped in price to the point that you end up spending about the same amount over all.
Click to expand...

Yes, they certainly have. They drop in price almost weekly in fact and I have been checking ever since I got my hex-core. A stick was nearly $400 and 24GB was well over a grand when the new Mac Pros were released. If you check OWC now, a stick sells for $309.99 and 24GB is closing in at $900 :) That's quite a substantial drop in only two months, if you ask me.
 
wahya said:
thanks amigo !! well , some years ago i bouth( buy) a mac book , i was so happy with this machine , i sold it and after that i try pc for some years !! now finally i can come back to mac , Back to the Mac !! jijijiji !!! so what about my SSD 120GB for my mac pro , do you think it will help in the performance of the machine ? im so afraid to make mistakes choosing the rong configuration !!! everything smeel good i think !!!
Click to expand...

A 120GB SSD will be plenty big enough for a MP.

Note: When installing FCS put the library files (HUGE..... HUGE ..... HUGE) on a separate data HD. This can be done during the install or afterwards.

I'm partial to the OCZ 3.5" SSD's.......... what I put in my MP.

cheers
JohnG
 
boot camp , CS5

i dont know if i understand something !!! i have adobe Cs5 in windows pc , can i use this software using boot camp in my mac with windows xp proffetional edition 64bit ? or which windows is recomend ? the performance is going to be good ? come on guys , someone that can help me here !!! :)
 
wahya said:
i dont know if i understand something !!! i have adobe Cs5 in windows pc , can i use this software using boot camp in my mac with windows xp proffetional edition 64bit ? or which windows is recomend ? the performance is going to be good ? come on guys , someone that can help me here !!! :)
Click to expand...

CS5 will not install fully on XP64 (After Effects & one other - can't remember which, won't install).

You are going to need either Vista 64 or (much more recommended) Windows 7 64.
 
EricTheRed71 said:
CS5 will not install fully on XP64 (After Effects & one other - can't remember which, won't install).

You are going to need either Vista 64 or (much more recommended) Windows 7 64.
Click to expand...
ok so with windows 7 in my mac i can use my CS5 with boot camp ?:(
 
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