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Memory configuration – will this work?
Hey!
My mac octo is shipping now.
Memory config is 4*512I plan to add 4*2 gig extra from crucial.
Giving me 10 gig total
Will his work?
All 8 slots used.. but different specs on the ram….. any problems with that?
Thanks guys.
Becker
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4 Replies
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You could run into problems with that…
I’m not sure about the Octocore system, but that would be an issue with the Quadcore systems. Memory should be at least 8 gig on an Octocore. And…. I would have to predict that mixing 2 gig bars with 512 mag bars could casue you trouble.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com
https://blogs.creativecow.net/waynecarey -
No, he will be fine. The config he mentions is specifically mentioned by Apple as good for best performance:
https://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304492
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Actually, reading the article again, best performance would be to just distribute the 2GB DIMMS across the risers and not use the 512s.
The OPs original config won’t cause problems though, it just isn’t optimized for fast memory access.
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This config should be OK as long as you distribute each set of four as 2 above, 2 below. I would however move your 2GB sticks in to the 1 and 2 slots on each riser (where the 512s will be when you get your Octocore), and let the 512s be the second set.
This is because the 512MB units are typically single lane and 1GB and above are typically dual lane, therefore they’ll run a bit slower than your new ones from Crucial so by putting the crucial ones first most of your memory usage will operate within the first 8GB or so and you’ll be running at top speed. In my case, I sold the 512s that came with my Quadcore 2.66 and replaced all slots with identical 1GB chips.
However, Apple doesn’t really acknowledge this or else they wouldn’t ship an Octo with 512MB modules. There have been articles on anandtech and on diglloyd.com about the fact that even a full roster of current DDR2 modules for the MacPro (of which ony CAS-5 speeds are on the market) is not really enough throughput to properly support the 8-core machine…but that’s really splitting hairs. And BTW 8GB should be plenty of RAM until we all start running Leopard
Lu Nelson
Berlin, Germany
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