RAM....to pair or not to pair my ram?

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Tue May 23, 2006 6:04 pm

Thank you for reading.......

I have been hearing a lot about pairing the same amount of ram in each slot with macbook/pro......

I am gearing up to dive into the macbook/pro, most likely I'll have to start with a gig of ram. Would it be better to buy it as 2 512's to satisfy this equal pairing argument (which makes sense to me),
Or can I spend the extra $$ for a 1, 1gig block of ram so that I can upgrade in the future?

Also, Is the 7200 rpm ata drive worth the $$$ or should I be thinking firewire 800 off of the card buss?

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:43 pm

Because the MB Pros are Dual Core, then it would follow that the RAM should be added in matched pairs. Check this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303553

It could go either way, but the recommendations are clear.

The crazy thing about buying RAM is that if you buy smaller quantities now, you'll have to remove them later if you want to upgrade with the hopes of selling the old chips at a loss. It hurts at first to load up on RAM, but in the longer run it *may* save you some cash and will allow you to do a bit more right from the start-- especially important with a DAW.

As for the 7200 internal HD, I'm not sure that's necessary because it's not recommended that you run audio from your internal drive anyway. If you go with the FW option, then your external drives should be no slower than 7200. Of course, faster is better all the way around, but if a choice had to be made I would suggest getting more RAM without hesitation and a 7200 rpm external HD.

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Sat May 27, 2006 9:40 am

Frodo wrote:Because the MB Pros are Dual Core, then it would follow that the RAM should be added in matched pairs. Check this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303553

It could go either way, but the recommendations are clear.

The crazy thing about buying RAM is that if you buy smaller quantities now, you'll have to remove them later if you want to upgrade with the hopes of selling the old chips at a loss. It hurts at first to load up on RAM, but in the longer run it *may* save you some cash and will allow you to do a bit more right from the start-- especially important with a DAW.

.

does the pairing also apply to manufacturer? Why is apple's ram $300 more for the extra gig than If I buy after market ram? I could almost afford the 2 gigs if I purchased a gig after market instead of through apple?

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Sat May 27, 2006 3:56 pm

Apple marks everything up, and *in some cases* other parts are just as good or better than what Apple offers. This has been confirmed by Apple reps at their own genius bar when I'd asked them about getting a RAM update at one point. They couldn't come right out and say it, but the rep kept telling me to check online-- check online-- just check online-- every time I brought up the subject about RAM. I realized that I was being prompted to read between the lines.

It would be a good idea to use RAM from the same manufacturer. Should there be any problems, it will be easier to track it down. I've had mixed-make RAM before and some of it just didn't play nice together. One brand wouldn't even show as being installed when mixed with another brand-- only when it's own kind shared the slots. It was strange.

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Sat May 27, 2006 6:53 pm

Frodo wrote:Apple marks everything up, and *in some cases* other parts are just as good or better than what Apple offers. This has been confirmed by Apple reps at their own genius bar when I'd asked them about getting a RAM update at one point. They couldn't come right out and say it, but the rep kept telling me to check online-- check online-- just check online-- every time I brought up the subject about RAM. I realized that I was being prompted to read between the lines.

It would be a good idea to use RAM from the same manufacturer. Should there be any problems, it will be easier to track it down. I've had mixed-make RAM before and some of it just didn't play nice together. One brand wouldn't even show as being installed when mixed with another brand-- only when it's own kind shared the slots. It was strange.

I guess I have been lucky in the past, having mixed and matched my ram without concern. How does one slueth defective ram?
thanks for taking the time to give your feedback.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Sat May 27, 2006 11:05 pm

On my old G4 single CPU, I just tried one stick at a time to make sure they were all working in the same slots. Then I put in the second one, reboot and check to see that it's okay. I take it out, put in another in the second slot, reboot, and check again. I kept going until I was sure that each stick was registering and that each RAM slot was working fine.

With a dual, it's a little more involved because you have to put in two sticks at a time-- of course, that's with a tower using at least 8 slots. With a PB, it shouldn't be so bad. First, just put in your RAM and start up "About This Mac" and go to "more info". If you see the proper amount of RAM, you are fine.

However, just because the computer sees the RAM doesn't mean the software will not encounter any problems with mismatched sticks.

You can also run a hardware diagnostics check from the install discs that came with your computer. If there is a problem with the RAM it will tell you. Chances are, the long error code number won't make sense, but at least you'll know to take a closer look at the RAM should an error code appear in that regard.

But, if you just used the same RAM from the same manufacturer it's easier to narrow down the problem-- and then you're not chasing down two different customer support reps who might insist that it's the other company's fault.

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Sun May 28, 2006 4:13 am

thank you for giving me these tips frodo.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Sun May 28, 2006 5:29 pm

A pleasure, j!

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:19 am

Frodo wrote:A pleasure, j!

any info on when the hobbit will be released?

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:56 am

jgest wrote:
Frodo wrote:A pleasure, j!
any info on when the hobbit will be released?

No telling, really. The lawyers and bean counters of Mordor and Angmar are still fighting over rights and percentages.

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:02 am

Frodo wrote:
jgest wrote:
Frodo wrote:A pleasure, j!
any info on when the hobbit will be released?
No telling, really. The lawyers and bean counters of Mordor and Angmar are still fighting over rights and percentages.

iremember the old 70's anamated hobbit as well as my old Vinyl box set of the hobbit

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:47 pm

How well I remember that-- and the two volume FOTR and ROTK animated versions. (Funny how they compressed TTT into that series...)

I don't recall who did the score for The Hobbit, but Leonard Rosenman's score for the LOTR/ROTK was brilliant.

jgest · Post by **jgest** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:18 pm

Frodo wrote:How well I remember that-- and the two volume FOTR and ROTK animated versions. (Funny how they compressed TTT into that series...) That is right, I forgot those!

but Leonard Rosenman's score for the LOTR/ROTK was brilliant.

yes it was!