Q: Will almost any ram work on my MAC PRO?
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Mar 20, 2014 2:32 PMby Ralph Landry1,Macs are extremely sensitive to the ram and just any ram will usually not work. Not only do you have to use ram of the correct specification, but it also has to be Mac certified ram. PC ram often does not have the same timing or latency as needed by a Mac. If your spec calls for ECC then that is what you have to use or it is not likely the machine will boot for you.
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Mar 20, 2014 4:12 PMby Grant Bennet-Alder,On the Mac Pro 65lb silver tower, you DO need ECC, the correct timing on a multitude of memory parameters, Apple approved large Heatsinks, and an Apple-approved thermal sensor built into the DIMM.
If you do not have all of those, the fans in your unit may run on maximum and you risk it not booting at all.
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Mar 21, 2014 7:28 AMby Suhov,http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301117734023?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1 423.l2649
Will this work in my 2009 mac pro?
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Mar 21, 2014 8:52 AMby The hatter,Even when dealing with PC motherboards, "just any RAM" often doesn't and is a recipe for problems if you were to go that route.
DDR3 ECC with the ranking, type of DRAM, and SPD all help make for a solid stable properly working system. Whether proper Kingston, or OWC or Datamemorysystems, RAMjet and many others.
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Mar 21, 2014 8:59 AMby FatMac>MacPro,Suhov wrote:
...Will this work in my 2009 mac pro?Well, consider - if they don't work, what is your recourse? The actual manufacturer says only that they "meet or exceed OEM specifications" but doesn't mention Apple, and as both previous posters point out, Apple's specs are more demanding than other OEM's. Indeed, the seller says that the DIMMs are used and “This ram will not work in a desktop/pcs.” What will it work in?
Finally, that RAM is buffered (registered) which cannot be mixed with unbuffered RAM. If you're planning to use it with what your Mac Pro came with, it most likely won't even boot.
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Mar 21, 2014 9:10 AMby Suhov,http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360681232783?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1 423.l2648
And what about this? Seller claims its gonna work with 2009/10 Mac Pro and to me it looks the same as this stuff that I posted earlier
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301117734023?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1 423.l2648
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Mar 21, 2014 9:30 AMby FatMac>MacPro,Suhov wrote:
Jesus Christ, is it that hard?...
Actually yes. Details matter.
Suhov wrote:
...What means registered?...
See this discussion for an explanation.
You can use just three of the buffered DIMMs for 16 GB, but that still doesn't answer the question of if "This ram will not work in a desktop/pcs,” is the seller telling you why it's now for sale after he used it? And what do you do if you plug it in and your Mac doesn't boot?
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Mar 21, 2014 9:51 AMby Ralph Landry1,Buying from eBay you are taking a huge chance...if the ram does not work, will the seller take it back and refund your money? Usually they will not do that.
The reliable option is to buy from someone reliable like OWC, http://www.macsales.com or Crucial, http://www.crucial.com or similar sources that know Macs and guarantee their ram to work or money back.
It is complicated when you want to buy from an unknown source...you have to be very sure you are getting ram the Mac will accept.
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Mar 21, 2014 10:02 AMby FatMac>MacPro,I think we all understand your desire to save money, and you're not alone in that. But the flip side of the coin is that you get what you pay for, and if the DIMMs aren't compatible and/or are defective, you'd be out a lot more money than what you saved. And, as Grant Bennet-Alder pointed out, if the DIMMs aren't fully compatible, your fans could go nuts, thereby driving you nuts, and wearing them out to boot.
