Level 1

3 points

Only 64GB Ram in New Mac Pro?

I tried to post about this yesterday, but it looks like the topic got a couple of unhelpful responses and then got shut down. I'll try again ...

Can anybody explain why the New Mac Pro only has 4 DIMM slots, offering a maximum of 64GB of RAM? This on a system aimed at the pro user, where 96GB and 128GB configurations are increasingly common.

I have 64GB in my current 2010 Mac Pro and really need to ramp it up to 96GB, which I was planning to do when I purchased a new system (I'm a composer and have a large template which places high demands on RAM usage for sample streaming). Are we just waiting for RAM manufcaturers to come out with 32GB DIMMs, or is there something else I'm msising here? Much as I might wish otherwise, faster SSD storage and Mavericks' RAM compression is not going to compensate for less RAM.

Can anybody shed any light? Does this make sense to people who understand this stuff more than me, or are RAM-hungry users going to have to look elsewhere?

Thanks for any enlightened feedback.

Jules

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Oct 23, 2013 12:13 AM

23 replies

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Oct 30, 2013 8:40 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks, I read that it would support 16GB x 4 in your Mac Pro 4,1 Early 2009 - but didn't save the article or link. That the 3 x 16GB limitation was removed.

Odd isn't it? that Mac Pro 2009 is easier to outfit with 128GB than a system 5 yrs later (assume the 6,1 really isn't wildly available until production "rams" up after the new year actually.

And even 128GB won't satisfy everyone.

Network 23

Level 6

12,351 points

Oct 31, 2013 2:08 PM in response to The hatter

The hatter wrote:

Apple seems to be betting the farm on new 10.9 memory compression core technology - solving the abuse and excess use of memory seen in Mountain Lion helps.

So far in Mavericks, I've seen OS X resist swapping for a much longer time than in Mountain Lion and earlier. Before Mavericks, it seemed like I really should have put 16GB RAM in my MacBook Pro. After Mavericks, it's acting like what I currently have is enough, since page outs are very low, almost nothing.

It's a valid question to ask. Are we criticizing Apple for not letting us spend huge sums of money on more RAM because our experience tells us we really need more RAM...or was the real reason we used to need more RAM that Apple had done a less than optimal job of managing RAM in the past?

When the power users really do get their hands on the new Mac Pros it will be interesting to see if our RAM expectations do need to be reset. I for one will not mind if it turns out we don't need to buy as many expensive RAM modules as we used to.

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Oct 31, 2013 2:52 PM in response to Network 23

That kind of first hand experience helps. And yes to me it has seemed much like "why does Windows doing basically the same things" gets along fine on X-amount of RAM (I have 12GB, up from 8GB) while my Mac I would install more RAM and it would use more (which is fine if it is used, RAM is cheap compared to decades past).

I can't get use to 10.9 being "Mavericks" with an 's' and keep forgetting. Are we the wild west OS now?

Trailermen Author

Level 1

3 points

Nov 1, 2013 3:12 AM in response to The hatter

Mavericks may indeed have improved memory efficiency for Macs, but ultimately it doesn't really change the amount of RAM that power users need for ram-intensive tasks.

For example, most of the RAM I use every day is given over to preload buffers for audio samples which are loaded as part of my Logic template for composing. This is a fixed amount of ram, determined by the buffer size that I stipulate in the software sampler Kontakt 5. The only way I can actually reduce the amount of phsical ram these processes require is by reducing the buffer size, which in turn affects performance.

In short, the issue remains the same: for users like myself, the memory gains of Mavericks will only tinker around the edges of overall memory loads, and not significantly affect the physical RAM requirements we have of our systems. In turn, this makes the 64GB limit for the new Mac Pro look problematic.

That said, there are whispers on the grape-vine of 32GB DIMMs being in the pipeline, but then I dread to think what they're likely to cost. I still can't help feeling that Apple would have served their higher-end users more effectively if they'd offered more DIMM slots in the basic design.

Nov 1, 2013 5:29 AM in response to Trailermen

I belive the existing 2010/2012 Mac Pros do support up to 128 GB memory though the official specs never explicitly confirmed this. Hence, similarly the 2013 cylinder Mac Pro should support at least 128 GB RAM, too.

However, as mentioned above, an Apple document Core Technologies Overview has semi-officially confirmed this in an implicit wording saying "OS X Mavericks has been tested to support up to 128GB of physical RAM on qualified Mac computers".

Even so, I do agree with you that 128 GB is now an increasingly common requirement for pro users, Apple should be doing something on this.

Trailermen wrote:

...

Can anybody explain why the New Mac Pro only has 4 DIMM slots, offering a maximum of 64GB of RAM? This on a system aimed at the pro user, where 96GB and 128GB configurations are increasingly common.

...

Jules

Mar 11, 2014 10:17 PM in response to The hatter

I think 128GB (32GBx4) for new Mac Pro is possible, from the CPU point of view. But it wil be very expensive!

Jul 6, 2014 9:20 AM in response to The hatter

Hello I don't think you need 128GB of ram in the 2013 mac pro I have a 2013 mac pro with 1TB SSD 64Gb of RAM and 2.7ghz processor

that's more then enough for photo editing, film editing ect it even enough power for animation making

I mainly am I wedding photographer but I do a bit of film and graphic design and that spec is more then enough of me

Jul 19, 2014 3:44 PM in response to Trailermen

http://blog.macsales.com/23397-owc-introduces-128gb-memory-upgrade-kit-for-lates t-apple-mac-pro-offers-up-to-double-the-ram-vs-factory-maximum-offered

Other World Computing today officially expanded its MaxRAM Certified Upgrades to include up to 128GB memory upgrade kits for the latest AppleMac Pro 2013 6-Core, 8-Core, and 12-Core models. The new OWC 32GB modules and matched kits up to 128GB, are Fully Tested, Qualified, and MaxRAM Certified for the most demanding applications and are backed with a Money Back Guarantee and OWC’s Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty.

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Only 64GB Ram in New Mac Pro?