Recommended Ram Amount

[scott.gehman]

Hi everyone. I'm probably purchasing a 2009 8 core Mac Pro to upgrade to a 2010 12 core 3.47 this summer. I'm considering purchasing 64 gigs of ram. Is that too much? I use Native Instruments and Play libraries along with Korg's VI series. My current 3.1 Mac pro has 8 gigs and I hit the ram limit often. Also, any recommendations for purchasing other than OWC? I've seen DDR3 EEC 1333 16 gig sticks on Amazon, but some seem to not be compatible according to reviews. I'm thinking Kingston or Crucial - I don't believe it makes much difference. I'm planning to use an Atto 8 lane 8 port Sata card to create some SSD arrays; I'll use the internal Sata for backup.

Opinions are welcome. I'm not afraid of spending some money if there is a performance return for it.

Regards

[HCMarkus]

I've yet to hit the wall with 24 gigs of RAM.

Good choice on the 2009 upgrade… make sure you understand the CPU delidding thing (or proceed with great caution when tightening down those heatsinks.)

[David Polich]

One can never be too rich, too good looking, or have too much RAM.

[menright]

Too much RAM is like the Holy Grail: legendary, infinitely desired, and finally, unattainable.

[Tim]

One can never be too rich, too good looking, or have too much RAM.

I may not ne rich or good looking, but I don't have too much RAM.

[Gravity Jim]

"All that your conscience will allow, and then a little bit more." - my grandma

[mikehalloran]

The brand of RAM is not as important as the vendor (as long as it meets specs, of course). If there's a problem, I want it replaced ASAP. This is why MemoryX and OWC get my business.

I take care of 30 Macs at any time and will go through one or two sticks a year. TechTool Pro finds bad RAM that the freeware can't. There are so many different symptoms that I put checking the RAM on my list when I can't find a solution to a problem quickly.

http://www.memoryx.com/ In the case of MemoryX, I can drive there and they'll replace it while I wait.

OWC often has better prices on the newer stuff while MemoryX is my go-to if it's older.

Too much RAM? I never strain 20G but I am not using certain VIs and apps known to be RAM hogs.

[HCMarkus]

Interesting Factoid: Much RAM sold as 1066 is actually 1333

[James Steele]

Interesting Factoid: Much RAM sold as 1066 is actually 1333

I can vouch for that! I remember wondering if I should get 1066 or 1033 for my MacPro4,1 knowing I wanted to do the hexcore upgrade and convert it into a MacPro5,1. I ended up getting 1066. Soon as I installed the new firmware and upgraded the chip, my 1066 started running as 1333.

[musicman691]

I've had good luck with both Crucial and OWC, having them in two machines here (OWC in my production iMac and Crucial in my web/Photoshop Mac mini). Nice thing with OWC is you can get a credit back if you send them your old ram in exchange for the new ram.

[Rick Cornish]

I have 32gB in my MacPro (trashcan) and have never hit the wall. I've run 20+ VIs at once with 1-4 plugs on each and many more plugs on my subs and master buss. No issues here. I wonder if the guys doing virtual orchestration who are running 40+ instances of Kontakt need more RAM—I would suspect so, but don't have any direct info on that. Thus far, at least, 32 has been plenty for me.

[Shooshie]

40GB here, and never a complaint. It handles my email just fine. Sometimes I get really wild and compose one of these posts in TextEdit, with Safari in the background. Whew! Hasn't blown a transistor yet!

Shoosh

[monkey man]

Hey Shoosh, I've got your exact-model machine, with the same amount of RAM.

Question: Why not do the Xeon 5680 upgrade, bro'? When I bought the beast, I, like you, opted for the entry-level CPU config, anticipating a cheap upgrade down the track.

For once, the plan seems to have worked out just fine. I'm sure you'd have at least thought about it...

[Shooshie]

Hey Shoosh, I've got your exact-model machine, with the same amount of RAM.

Question: Why not do the Xeon 5680 upgrade, bro'? When I bought the beast, I, like you, opted for the entry-level CPU config, anticipating a cheap upgrade down the track.

For once, the plan seems to have worked out just fine. I'm sure you'd have at least thought about it...

I hadn't given it any thought at all! I'll have to check out this 5680. So you got yours in 2012, too? I sure hope that's the exact model match with mine, because if it's the previous one, the one I bought in 2007, then you're probably in dire straits right now. But I'm pretty sure you mean the 2012 12 core. Now, THAT has been one smooth operating machine, except for the OS X bungles that reduced the Magic Trackpad to the status of a has-been. (I still find it exhibiting the same anti-scrolling behavior in many apps, not just DP, but especially in certain websites.) I'll look up that 5680 and see if it's something I can't live without.

Shooshie

[mikehalloran]

Interesting Factoid: Much RAM sold as 1066 is actually 1333

This has been going on for decades. If the newer RAM is backwards compatible, there's no longer a reason to make the older part.

To lessen the confusion, it will still be listed under the old part#.

What is weird is that some will charge different prices for the same part under different numbers. I haven't noticed this at OWC but there are others.

It is nowhere nearly as bad as the auto industry, however, where a part could be $9, $37 or $266 depending on whether it was sold by a VW, Audi or Porsche dealership. All three symbols were cast into the part and the same number was stamped on. Those who knew, ordered the VW water outlet housing and charged the Porsche price when working on a 924.

In my reckless youth, I was a mechanic and later owned an auto parts warehouse. It was something to pay the bills between gigs.