Want to add some more ram, have a question first

[djray77]

So I talked to the guys at OWC and they told me if im going to upgrade I need 4GB to see a difference? (I have 2gb now). He told me that there isnt much point in going anywhere in bewteen?? This doesnt make sense to me but then again im new to macs. Can someone tell me if this is true or added 2 more gig will infacted be a increase in performance?

OH and also what kind should I get and how many sticks? i.e. 4x512mb or 2x1gb.
Can anyone tell me what brand of ram the macpros come with?

Thanks,

 

[mkrishnan]

This thread is about the PMG5 and not the MP, but the basic principle is the same...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/260906/

Generally, page-outs (see the Activity Monitor program) define how much you need more RAM. Page-outs are cumulative between boot and shutdown (but reset when you reboot). If you open Activity Monitor after your computer has been doing your more intensive tasks, and your page-outs read 0 or close to it, then the answer is easy. You will see NO BENEFIT from adding additional memory, 2 GB or 4 GB.

If you do see page-outs, there's no solid reason that you will see some magical plateau effect at 4GB. Each additional megabyte of RAM will help. However, it's important to keep in mind that you have 8 slots. Say you have 2x1GB now, and you add 2x1GB more. You still have four more slots, and you can add anywhere from 1-8 GB of RAM in those slots. Whereas if you fill all your slots with slightly cheaper 512MB modules, you will have to pull them out and throw them away if you want to upgrade later. So I would say, go with 2x1GB if you can afford it, unless it is substantially more expensive than 4x512. Not because there's a huge step function at 4GB, but because it's a better investment against future upgrade costs....

 

[djray77]

OK right now my page in/outs: 629783/111238 not really sure what that means but im sure you do lol..

I have 4x512mb in the machine right now, so I can add 2x 1gig no problem.

 

[dkoralek]

OK right now my page in/outs: 629783/111238 not really sure what that means but im sure you do lol..

I have 4x512mb in the machine right now, so I can add 2x 1gig no problem.

That's what I have in my mac pro. 4x512 + 2x1024. blazing fast .

cheers.

 

[mkrishnan]

OK right now my page in/outs: 629783/111238 not really sure what that means but im sure you do lol..

It depends on your uptime, and what you do, but I'd guess you'd benefit from it.

The page-outs mean that the OS lacks the free RAM it needs and copies something that is being used out to the virtual memory file. The page ins mean that it copies something into memory. It gets more sophisticated, but generally you can ignore the page-ins.

Anyway, in short again, I'd say the 2x1 would be a good choice if you can afford it. Do be careful that they are giving you the appropriate FB modules with the big heat sinks. The Mac Pro is very picky about what memory it needs. Some people have complained recently about trying to be missold onto the wrong memory for it.

 

[djray77]

1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820150080
2: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/53FB1GD2GBK/
3:http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/53FB512D2GBK/


OK which one??

 

[djray77]

That's what I have in my mac pro. 4x512 + 2x1024. blazing fast .

cheers.

What brand ram did you go with??

 

[TheFuzz]

i picked up 4 of the netlist 1gb when owc had the pricing error, basically got 2 of them for free. after putting them in i did a couple of renders of old after effects projects that took 8 hours and 13 hours each to test them and they were ok. still no problems a week later after working them pretty hard. i don't know how they'll be in a year, but they came with a lifetime guarantee from owc.

 

[dkoralek]

What brand ram did you go with??

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/53FB1MPK02GB/

 

[djray77]

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/53FB1MPK02GB/

ok cool everything is ok with that ram i take it?

 

[djray77]

to late I just ordered it lol. Im sure it will be fine?
Now where to I put it lol. in the card A or B or doesnt it matter?

 

[dkoralek]

to late I just ordered it lol. Im sure it will be fine?
Now where to I put it lol. in the card A or B or doesnt it matter?

when you open up the computer, the inside cover has the diagram. The slots must be filled A1/2 then B1/2 then A3/4 and then B3/4. ONe could theorize that because the lower numbered slots are faster, you might be better off putting the 1 gig dimms in those slots. I just left the 4x512 where they were and put the 2 1 gig dimms in slots A3/4.

cheers.

 

[djray77]

yeah i think thats what im going to do, just leave the 4x512 alone and add the 2x 1, so A 3/4 ok thanks

 

[djray77]

Well guys I just installed the new ram and I dont see a damn bit of difference LOL!

 

[THX1139]

Well guys I just installed the new ram and I dont see a damn bit of difference LOL!

You have to max out your existing ram and processers before you will notice how adding ram helps. Hard to do unless you are pushing your computer. If you are surfing the web or listening to music, the extra ram's not going to make a difference. Fire up FCP with uncompressed footage or multi-layer projects with filter effects and you'll see how adding ram helps.

 

[djray77]

yea i figured as much, but it never hurts to have more ram so its a good thing lol.
I added in my raptor 150 and the benchmarks show alot faster speed but again doesnt seem much of increase. (im sure it is when opening big files).
I have the old mac drive and a 250gb seagate and did a raid 0 wow that got great mb/s scores lol. I dont think i am going to keep it this way as the stock mac WD hd is 8mb cache and my seagate is 16mb cache, so not a identicle match.

 

[speedfreak]

I still have question:

What is wisdome:

leave the 2x512 and get 4x1024 to fill up a3/4 en b1/2??

OR

leave the 2x512 and get 2x2048 en put them in b1/2??

I'll be using photoshop alot with RAW file with a between size between 7mb to 12mb and going bigger in the future.

Also will be using Parallels for Vista