ahcrabb
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: RAM for early 2009 Mac Pro 4,1

I have the above system (2 x quad-core 2.26 GHz Xeon) with 20 GB RAM: 4 GB x 2 and 2 GB x 6; I'd like to go to 32 GB or more.  Apple and Kingston list 4 GB modules being the largest for this system, but OWC sells 8- and 16-GB modules for it.  I may not be able to buy from OWC (institutional purchase, preferred suppliers).  I'd prefer to install the 8's (or even 16's) so as not to lose too much by taking out the 2's. Two questions:

 

1. Recommended upgrade path to say 32 or 40-48 GB?  I've read that Pros from 09 should get RAM in multiples of 3.

 

2. Can I install any DDR3 PC3-8500 1066 MHz ECC 240 pin memory?  Or is the appropriate memory more specialized.

 

Thanks much.  This RAM headroom plus a good SSD will get me more years out of this system.

 

Andrew

Posted on May 10, 2013 10:37 AM

by The hatter,Solvedanswer
The hatter The hatter
Level 9 (60,935 points)
A:

GHz in those processors can make a difference with any type of processing.... when people bought the 2009, some went dual only to have 8 DIMM slots was all, and CS5/6 users have regretted that (does better with fewer and faster clocked cores).

 

Did you send an email to OWC and tell them your purchasing limitations and needs, they may have other institution buyers.

 

People go out on their own - not through Apple - to update the firmware to add support for newer processors and for DDR3 1333. MacRumors has thread on 2009 upgrade. http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1

 

Those Kingston DIMMs are Mac Pro and Xserve, and should be fine, just buy full sets.

 

I found these that should be fine. And I like that they sell pairs and best to buy together to insure compatiblity.

http://www.amazon.com/16GB-DDR3-1066-PC3-8500-1066Mhz-Apple/dp/B0098MLFJG/

 

This site specializes in tips for Mac Pro

http://www.macperformanceguide.com - sponsored by OWC too (he's tech and highend graphic user)

Posted on May 10, 2013 1:04 PM

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ahcrabb

Q: RAM for early 2009 Mac Pro 4,1

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  • Helpful answers

  • by The hatter,Helpful

    The hatter The hatter May 10, 2013 10:44 AM in response to ahcrabb
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    May 10, 2013 10:44 AM in response to ahcrabb

    why can't you purchase from OWC?

     

    Only 16s need to be in 3's but that is for single socket processor system

     

    you probably want the 5,1 firmware

     

    your system likely is held back by those 2.26 processors - at the time people bought in order to have 6 or 8 x 4GB because DDR3 DIMMs were so expensive and they felt they needed RAM more than processors (or that software would make up the difference and everything was "multi-core/multi-threaded" enough (it isn't, GHz still matter the most).

     

    Yes to a good SSD (or two) maybe even with SATA3 SSD PCIe card from Sonnet Tempo SSD line ($150-300 from OWC)

     

    you have to take out the 2's - they don't add or provide benefit, even if you were to go with 2x8GB on each memory bank.

  • by ahcrabb,

    ahcrabb ahcrabb May 10, 2013 12:31 PM in response to The hatter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2013 12:31 PM in response to The hatter

    Thanks for the reply.  My institution only permits purchases from certain major suppliers; I'm trying to get OWC added to that list but for now can't order from them.

     

    If I get 8 GB DDR3 PC3-8500 1066 MHz ECC 240 pin DIMMs from another supplier, should they be OK?  In particular Kingston KTA-MP1066QR/8G . I'm just a bit cautious since the Kingston configurator for this model of Mac only offers 2 and 4 GB DIMMs.

     

    My CPUs are fine, I need the memory for Parallels clients and for medical imaging applications which can eat almost as much RAM as you can feed them.  My boot ROM version is 1.4 which this page says is the most recent, or am I looking at the wrong thing.

     

    Thanks again for the help.  This workstation is a champ and with the RAM and SSD will be good for years yet.

  • by The hatter,Solvedanswer

    The hatter The hatter May 10, 2013 1:04 PM in response to ahcrabb
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    May 10, 2013 1:04 PM in response to ahcrabb

    GHz in those processors can make a difference with any type of processing.... when people bought the 2009, some went dual only to have 8 DIMM slots was all, and CS5/6 users have regretted that (does better with fewer and faster clocked cores).

     

    Did you send an email to OWC and tell them your purchasing limitations and needs, they may have other institution buyers.

     

    People go out on their own - not through Apple - to update the firmware to add support for newer processors and for DDR3 1333. MacRumors has thread on 2009 upgrade. http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1

     

    Those Kingston DIMMs are Mac Pro and Xserve, and should be fine, just buy full sets.

     

    I found these that should be fine. And I like that they sell pairs and best to buy together to insure compatiblity.

    http://www.amazon.com/16GB-DDR3-1066-PC3-8500-1066Mhz-Apple/dp/B0098MLFJG/

     

    This site specializes in tips for Mac Pro

    http://www.macperformanceguide.com - sponsored by OWC too (he's tech and highend graphic user)

  • by ahcrabb,

    ahcrabb ahcrabb May 22, 2013 1:43 PM in response to ahcrabb
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 22, 2013 1:43 PM in response to ahcrabb

    Update: I bought the Kingston KTA-MP1066QR/8G and found that this is registered memory which can't work with the unregistered memory in the other slots (this Apple article is about the 2010 Pro but I assume it applies to the 2009).  The machine won't start with a mix of reg/unreg memory, the status light just flashes rapidly.  Perhaps the OWC 8 GB's are unregistered.  I suppose I'll get another two of the Kingston 8 GB's for 32 GB total with four slots free for future expansion.