Info Needed on RAM Upgrade on Mac Pro Late 2013

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Vjones870 Author

Level 1

8 points

Info Needed on RAM Upgrade on Mac Pro Late 2013

Hello All!

I currently have a Mac Pro (Late 2013) that is updated with the macOS High Sierra 10.13.6.

Processor: 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5

Memory: 12 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 (3 slots of 4 GB filled)

Graphics: AMD FirePro D300 2048 MB

Storage: 656.28 GB out of 1 TB of Flash Storage

Now I am aware that Macs are not gaming computers, but I use mine for both work and play and with my work (graphics, video editing, 3D modeling, etc.) Macs works better (for me). But I do some gaming that involves heavy graphics, and I do tend to do some work on the side while pausing in the game. I have had it where the program will crash once opened and once I reopen it again, it works fine.

I am looking at upgrading the Memory as when I inspected, I currently use 10 GB out of the 12 GB on average. I reached out to a local Apple reseller (MicroCenter) that is approved for upgrading and working on Macs with Apple. I was told that with this particular model, inputting anything larger than 8 GB Memory in each slot, they have seen issues happen. I wish to know is this true? I would love to upgrade up to 64 GB (piece by piece) and need some insight on if this is possible along with recommendations on which Memory to purchase that is not extremely overpriced and has great results.

I'd love to have this upgraded very soon! Also, any other recommendations on upgrading such as graphics or storage, I am open to! I appreciate all your help in advance! If I left any information out, please let me know!

Mac Pro (Late 2013), macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Oct 9, 2018 3:05 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

140,849 points

Oct 9, 2018 3:53 PM in response to Vjones870

I was told that with this particular model, inputting anything larger than 8 GB Memory in each slot, they have seen issues happen.

They told you PART of the story. These are two kinds of DIMMs for those Macs -- under 16GB per DIMM are Un-Registered, and 16GB and larger are always Registered. The two kinds do not mix.

So if you think you ever want to get above about 32GB, you would have to switch to 16GB Registered DIMMs, and better to do so now rather than later.

There is also a lot of folklore around matched pairs and triples. The real story is you can upgrade by the each DIMM, (except as noted above). If you end up with a matched pair in adjacent slots, they will pair-up and produce a modest speedup. The speedup is not noticeable in real-world tasks, so you should do what your wallet says.

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Answer 2

Vjones870 Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 9, 2018 3:58 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hello Grant!

Thank you so much for answering!

I just want to make sure that I am following correctly. So the reason why they told me this is due to my mentioning just wishing to add the 16 GB when I currently have 3 4 GB in there. That’s when the conflict can occur?

But if I say purchase 2 16 GB DIMMs and remove the all the 4 GB DIMMs currently in there and install these in the opposite slots say slot 2 and slot 3 there should be any issues? And moving forward with adding just be sure to use 16 GB in the remaining slots as long as it does not exceed the capacity of my graphics card?

I greatly appreciate your speedy response!

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Answer 3

Oct 9, 2018 4:17 PM in response to Vjones870

You can't mix the two different kinds, you have that right.

Always populate slot 1 first, then adjacent slots.

Your graphics cards have their own private RAM, separate from System RAM (not upgradeable).

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Answer 4

Vjones870 Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 9, 2018 4:21 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Ok awesome! Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate you taking the time in explaining and helping me better understand it all.

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Info Needed on RAM Upgrade on Mac Pro Late 2013

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