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MacPro RAM (again!)
Just a quickie…
New MP bought, along with 2x2gig Crucial Ram.
I’ve searched but can’t find the definitive answer – even the Apple support doc isn’t immediately clear (or I’m being particularly dense).
for best performance should I have:
Riser A – 2x2gig
then either the 2 512’s in B or none at all, and keep the Apple RAM on the shelf.
Next – internal RAID. I’ve bought 3 Seagate Barracuda SATAII 500 gig drives. Will a 3-way stripe give me better performance than a 2-way? I’m aware that a 3-way has a higher chance of failing but all will be backed up on to FW drives. Not too worried about having 1 TB or 1.5 as I’ve been doing fine with 500 up till now.
Thanks once again for the herd mentality… err you know what I mean.
Jason
(PS If any UK editors want a source for cheap MacPros and monitors (ACDs) PM me. Not connected, just very satisfied and quids in)
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6 Replies
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Put them in pairs on the two risers. i.e. each riser should have identical RAM chips… and put the 2 gig chips in first, then add the 512’s that came with it.
The article isn’t all that clear I’ll agree. They don’t show an example like what you have, but it is true that you need to have the first 2 slots in each riser with chips in them to have the max bandwidth happening for your memory bus. I also think you’d gain performance if you bought another pair of those 2 gig chips… then put them in the second slot on each riser.
I’m running with 8 gigs and can see where the RAM is getting used as I open and run more programs at the same time. Especially running Motion 3 in the mix.
Jerry
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Thanks Jerry, that’s exactly what I ended up doing – though if i get any funkiness then I’ll take out the 2 512s and wait on getting another pair of 2gigs.
Have to say though, I love the MP – such a well designed machine. Sooo easy to set up!
Just waiting on software update to finish then I’m on to installing FCS2…
Happy happy joy joy…
Jason
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Hi
To achieve optimal performance when running Final Cut Studio applications, memory DIMM pairs should be installed evenly on both risers.
https://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304492The table in this link shows that Apple mean that 4 (or 8) identically sized DIMMS are the ONLY option for ‘optimal performance’.
Jason, I live in Bristol, have we met at the Bristol WeFCPUG meetings?
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Hi Paul,
No – we’ve not met, yet! I’ve only just moved to the area (well 18 months ago) and haven’t made many inroads in to the Bristol scene.
If you’d email me details that would be great!
email is jasonp
at ivy-cottage dot eclipse
dot co dot uk
look forward to hooking up sometime!
Jason
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[Jason P] “Next – internal RAID. I’ve bought 3 Seagate Barracuda SATAII 500 gig drives. Will a 3-way stripe give me better performance than a 2-way?”
Yes, most definitely. SATA drives are very robust and have proven less likely to fail prematurely than most drive types manufactured to date, including SCSI, so don’t let fear be the driving force behind your decision making process. Three drives have better perfromance than two, and four better than three.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY
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Although you might get optimal performance when DIMM modules are installed evenly on both risers, it will still work if they are not even (I know first hand). But make sure to install your biggest DIMMs in the first 2 slots of each risers, because access to slots 3&4 add some wait states. If you only have 4 DIMMs, make sure to use them in both risers because this will utiize the full data bus width. Of course, only install them in matched pairs.
Regarding striping – yes 3-way will give better performance than 2-way, but you may not be utilizing the full capacity of the 3rd drive. For example, for 8-bit data, you would write 3 bits to the first drive, 3 bits to the 2nd drive, but ony 2 bits to the 3rd drive. Actual data is 32 or 64 bits, but same principle applies.
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