How do I install RAM in the Mac Pro?

[seoartinfo]

i want to change and increase my Ram capacity, how do i install it. looking for instructions thanks.

 

[CanadaRAM]

First step: Check the owners manual that came with your machine

There are 2 riser cards in the machine which pull out. There are 4 memory sockets on each riser card. RAM must be installed in pairs. You install RAM in Sockets 1 and 2 on the one riser, then sockets 1 and 2 on the other riser.

 

[seoartinfo]

canada ram

thank you very much for your expertise, i will follow the instructions.

 

[twoodcc]

First step: Check the owners manual that came with your machine

There are 2 riser cards in the machine which pull out. There are 4 memory sockets on each riser card. RAM must be installed in pairs. You install RAM in Sockets 1 and 2 on the one riser, then sockets 1 and 2 on the other riser.

so is it better to have 4 on one riser, or 2 on both?

 

[AaronICT]

so is it better to have 4 on one riser, or 2 on both?

The instructions are silkscreened on the INSIDE of the case. There is a specific order you have to install the pairs.

Two top, then two bottom, then two more on top, then two more on bottom. Look at the picture inside your machine.

 

[twoodcc]

The instructions are silkscreened on the INSIDE of the case. There is a specific order you have to install the pairs.

Two top, then two bottom, then two more on top, then two more on bottom. Look at the picture inside your machine.

it doesn't say you have to. right now i have 4 on the top, 0 on the bottom.

i thought i read somewhere that you have to have 4 to reach the 256 whatever

 

[dkoralek]

it doesn't say you have to. right now i have 4 on the top, 0 on the bottom.

i thought i read somewhere that you have to have 4 to reach the 256 whatever

You have to have four dimms populated to get quad channel (but not four on one riser). You will get better throughput, I would imagine, by having them split over the two risers, rather than full on one and empty on the other.

cheers.

 

[twoodcc]

You have to have four dimms populated to get quad channel (but not four on one riser). You will get better throughput, I would imagine, by having them split over the two risers, rather than full on one and empty on the other.

cheers.

thanks.

can anyone confirm? the only reason i ask is that i thought i read somewhere that it was better to have 4 on one riser, but maybe i am mistaken

 

[Sun Baked]

thanks.

can anyone confirm? the only reason i ask is that i thought i read somewhere that it was better to have 4 on one riser, but maybe i am mistaken

No, the memory is switched.

There are four memory channels spread over two risers (each riser having its own dual channel memory controller) making all the 1&2 DIMMs, or all the 3&4 DIMMs, work at the same time.

Putting everything on one risers cuts you back from a quad memory channel machine to a dual -- and increases latency every time the memory controller for the riser changes from one bank of DIMMs to another.

 

[amtctt]

thanks.

can anyone confirm? the only reason i ask is that i thought i read somewhere that it was better to have 4 on one riser, but maybe i am mistaken

No, you do not want them all on 1 riser. very bad. I think it says right in the manual. it goes 2 on top, then 2 on the bottom, then you can go back to the top if you have more. I have 2x512 on top and 2x512 on the bottom, works great.

 

[ljones]

On the inside panel of the mac Pro is tells you the order. I have 2 in the bottom, added 2 to the top riser when i installed more ram.

Well actually my 1 gigs are on the bottom, and the 512s are on the top. I switched the order around. This has been discussed many times in multiple forums.

 

[twoodcc]

well thanks guys. i guess i'll have to open it up again.

 

[TheSpaz]

Okay, so I have 2x512MB modules on the top and 2x1GB modules on the bottom... this is the correct way to have it? Should the bigger RAM modules be on top or does it not matter since both risers are accessed at the same time?