Mac Pro 2019 7,1 - LRDIMM v RDIMM RAM - Thoughts?

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Mac Pro 2019 7,1 - LRDIMM v RDIMM RAM - Thoughts?

I am coming here after doing a substantial amount of reading and watching a number of YouTube videos. I now know that one has more capacity and is slower ( LRDIMM ) and one has less capacity and is faster ( RDIMM ).

One costs a good deal more, nearly twice the price, LRDIMM. Oh, and don't forget this, what ever path you choose there is no going back unless you completely replace what you have, you cannot mix the two different types together.

But here is where it gets a bit confusing as I apply the knowledge to my interests.

The Internet can be misleading ( quite a revelation ) those favoring the LRDIMM appear to be mostly those installing them into servers, that could simply be they are more active on the Internet and nothing more.

I am not running a server, but perhaps my usage may be applicable to what the server guys are doing.

I am a media designer: 3D, motion graphics, video and very large RAW image manipulation. I run Cinema 4D, Blender, the Affinity Serif suite, etc

At this point, I have just enough knowledge to make a decision but not necessarily a good one.

Thanks for any help, thoughts, etc

Mac Pro, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 23, 2021 12:34 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 23, 2021 4:46 PM in response to Garrett Cobarr

The deciding point will be, "Just how much RAM in total do you expect to install in this Mac Pro"?

The 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB DDR4 modules are R-DIMMs;

the 64GB DDR4 modules are LR-DIMMs.

Mac Pro supports R-DIMM and LR-DIMM memory modules, but the two DIMM types cannot be used in the same system.

from:

https://www.datamemorysystems.com/apple-mac-pro-2019-12-core-intel-xeon-w-3-3ghz-memory-upgrades-/

.

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Answer 2

Jul 2, 2021 1:33 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thank you for the input and link.

I ended up purchasing R-DIMMs, the decision was a reverse / absence of info, logic thought process. I could not find information on this, most likely not knowing where to look. The overwhelming number of these machines are sold in the high pro media industries, of which I am no longer part of, those communities were not available to me.

What I did find were numerous articles in the server communities about LR-DIMMs, this was for all kinds of brands of machines, not Apple, but it is clear they want capacity over performance speeds and that is where the LR-DIMMs shine. You can pack nearly twice the memory in the same amount of physical space and this not cheap, at nearly twice the price. Frankly, they are a marvel, they include a component that directs processes, reducing latency.

It's quite possible that my logic is flawed but seeing only references to LR-DIMMs for servers, seeing none for media and knowing media favors real time performance, I dropped the cash for R-DIMMs.

I will not whine too much, 192gigs in six slots should serve me well for the immediate future. With 12 slots total, I can add more in the future. And of course those will have to be R-DIMMs as well, as you pointed out, you cannot mix them.

Thanks again for your time.

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Mac Pro 2019 7,1 - LRDIMM v RDIMM RAM - Thoughts?

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