10GB vs 8GB in my new Mac Pro?

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Level 1

35 points

10GB vs 8GB in my new Mac Pro?

I installed matched RAM from OWC in my new Mac Pro. During the installation I moved the Apple-installed RAM as the directions showed and installed the new RAM in pairs in the slots as you are supposed to.

When finished I put the original 2GB from Apple back in the machine, paired, in the slots OWC said to.

I have since read an article stating that it is better to leave the 2GB from Apple out of the machine - putting the machine at 8GB (4 on each RAM board) rather than reinstall the Apple ram with the OWC RAM for a total of 10GB

Is this the case?

Dual 2.8GHz Xeon Mac Pro, 10GB RAM, 1.6TB HDDs, Mac OS X (10.5.5), 23" Cinema Display

Posted on Oct 20, 2008 9:47 AM

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Answer 1

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Oct 20, 2008 11:20 AM in response to Jeremy Riga

You left out what configuration you bought.
Reading between the lines, my guess, 4 x 2GB.

Ideal? 8 DIMMs. Pick up another 2 x 1GB maybe 😉

http://www.barefeats.com/harper3.html

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Answer 2

direwolf8

Level 4

1,286 points

Oct 20, 2008 11:20 AM in response to Jeremy Riga

Without the Apple memory you'll get the best possible memory speed under all circumstances. But the difference is pretty trivial -- about 3% according to the benchmarks, and even that will only be measurable under very specific conditions (ie: very frequent access to a large contiguous block of memory that spans those particular modules). I think the extra 2 GB are worth more than the very minimal speed difference that might occur under some circumstances.

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Answer 3

Jeremy Riga Author

Level 1

35 points

Oct 20, 2008 12:52 PM in response to direwolf8

Awesome, thanks for the tips - I'll leave it at 10GB and if it becomes an issue I'll drop it down!

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