1333Mz ram in 2009 mac pro

Question

Level 1

13 points

1333Mz ram in 2009 mac pro

I have a MacPro4,1 2009 8x2.66GHz that originaly needs 1066MHz ECC Ram.

I need to upgrade it with plenty of ram right now, 8x8GB for a total of 64GB so I can use 2 extremely ram hungry apps at the same time.

My problem is that I am pretty sure I'll get in the coming months another MacPro, probably a 12 cores 2010 in refurb, so I want the investment of ram to be reused in this new machine (or even ending spreading it into 2 machines with 32GB each, depending on the needs)

A priori I do not see why a faster ram would not work in a slower system, ie 1333 working in a 1066 machine.

Providing of course the ram is right to Apple specs (I am looking at NuImpact, originally at MacSales or TransIntl but buying from Europe and at the end the price will not be so different with the NuImpact I can get here, without import taxes).

Can anyone confirm this?

Posted on Apr 21, 2011 12:32 AM

Reply

Answer 1

perspixe Author

Level 1

13 points

Apr 21, 2011 12:35 AM in response to perspixe

Just one more thing, I don't expect the 1333 to run at 1333 but at the MacPro4,1 speed, so 1066...

This move is just about planning a near future upgrade to a newer MacPro.

Reply

Answer 2

trilobyte

Level 3

545 points

Apr 22, 2011 9:10 AM in response to perspixe

You are absolutely correct, the RAM should work without any problem. It'll step down and perform as 1066 in the 2009 Mac Pro today, and then perform at 1333 if/when transplanted into a machine that uses that speed. You won't need to do anything special to configure your machine, it will just detect and work properly in each machine.

Reply

Answer 3

Apr 22, 2011 9:15 AM in response to trilobyte

Two important points:

RAM for 2008 and previous is completely different, and can not be used in 2009 and later.

Be sure you are getting the proper ECC RAM for Mac Pro. Installing non-ECC RAM will turn off the ECC feature for the whole machine, a Bad Idea.

Reply