[Hydra]

Originally Posted by Xyrrus

I just wanted to toss this out there. The ram that apple appears to put in the Intel XServes does not have any oversided sinks - just what looks to be standard spreaders. Granted, an XServer does not need to run as quiet as a Pro, but also the airflow in one of those cases looks much more restricted; especially if there are any PCIe cards in the back of the case.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Im...serve-hero.png

Just food for thought,

-Xy

The airflow in the Xserve is much much greater, and louder for that matter, than the Mac Pro. The Xeon Xserve has multiple blowers with counter rotating blades and is going to move much more air over those FB-DIMMs than the Mac Pro will.

-Jerry C.

[gcox18]

MaxUpgrades.com seems to have added 2 upgrade "kits". One offering is 2GB (1gb x 2) with/MaxSinks for $399.99. The other is 4GB (2gb x 2) with MaxSinks for $799.99. These are the cheapest Memory+Good Heat Sink prices I've seen.

I'm a little confused though, no where on their site do they mention having memory for Mac Pro's...the specs on the memory modules they have on their MaxSink page matches that of the Mac Pro memory specs, but they don't come out and say "hey buddy, here's a Mac Pro memory upgrade" like with all their other upgrades. I also haven't read anything about anyone buying this memory from them.

Here's the product page (use the drop down to see the 2GB and 4GB options):
MaxUpgrades.com: MaxSink: HeatSink for Fully Buffered DIMM Memory Module

Has anyone purchased this memory from MaxUpgrades?


BTW, I'm gonna go ahead and say it, their website is horrific in the design/visual department. What on earth are they thinking?

[justmetoo]

FYI: RE: Maxupgrades (TIAYW):

Had a look at the site (it is rather, "odd..."), and emailed them a few quick questions:
1) was their RAM compatible with MacPro, if so, why are they not marketing as such
2) were they selling matched pairs (a MacPro req'm)
3) who made the RAM
They responded within 5 minutes or less (I have not removed anything):

>>>Hello,

We are doing that......we missed the most important info.....!
They are matched pairs.
These are samsung FB DIMMs with MaxSinks installed on them.

Thank you.

Thanks

MaxUpgrades

[brokenjago]

Well, if someone orders from these guys, please, tell us of your experience!

If no one does, I'll probably go for it when I get my Mac Pro.

[EFFENDI]

Just for everybody's information, the 1GB Kingston modules from NewEgg are not compatible with the Mac Pro. Multiple ECC errors and overheating issues.

I had to return them to NewEgg and bite the $54 restocking fee bullett. I haven't replaced the purchase yet, any (reliable) recommendations?

[gcox18]

This memory is for the Mac Pro indeed. I emailed BareFeats.com since they'd done a lot of Mac Pro memory testing to see if they new about the MaxUpgrades.com memory deal and this is what they said:

That's definitely for the Mac Pro. I've tested it.

I'll mention to the webmaster to clarify it as Mac Pro memory.

It's the best price on the 4GB (2x2GB) kit I've seen and, for the record, the temperatures I measured were lower on average than any other heat sinks I've tested.

I've got a 2GB kit being delivered today. I'll post my experience with it.


I'm at a loss as to why their website is so unfortunately designed. I wonder if they know that almost no one knows about their Mac Pro memory?

[gcox18]

Originally Posted by gcox18

I've got a 2GB kit being delivered today. I'll post my experience with it.


I'm at a loss as to why their website is so unfortunately designed. I wonder if they know that almost no one knows about their Mac Pro memory?

Okay, just got the two 1GB FB-DIMMS from MaxUpgrades, with pre-attached MaxSinks (these things are massive!). They seem to be working great so far. I'll post my heat tests this weekend unless someone else does first.

[EFFENDI]

Cool. Thanks for being the Guinea Pig.

[TimmyDee51]

In looking at a new Mac Pro, I've noticed that absolutely no one sells a 1 GB upgrade kit (2 x 512) save Apple. Any ideas on why that is?

Edit: Correction, Crucial sells a 1 GB kit, but it's more expensive than Apple's. This is completely opposite of what I have ever known with Apple and RAM upgrades.

[Phrogman]

Originally Posted by TimmyDee51

In looking at a new Mac Pro, I've noticed that absolutely no one sells a 1 GB upgrade kit (2 x 512) save Apple. Any ideas on why that is?

Edit: Correction, Crucial sells a 1 GB kit, but it's more expensive than Apple's. This is completely opposite of what I have ever known with Apple and RAM upgrades.

I emailed Maxupgrades, and they said they would sell a 1 gb kit (2 x 512) for $249 if anyone is interested.

Email them...they are very quick to respond

[TimmyDee51]

Cool. That's good to know.

[justmetoo]

Originally Posted by TimmyDee51

...I've noticed that absolutely no one sells a 1 GB upgrade kit (2 x 512) save Apple. Any ideas on why that is?

Well, my guess is that there isn't a big call for them, because if you populate 4 of your riser slots (from a total of 8) with 4 x 512 sticks, you're severely reducing the potential maximum RAM you can put in later (that is, unless you're willing to throwout/TRY to sell the 512's later when you can afford bigger 1 or 2 GB sticks). Most people want as much RAM as they can afford, 4 x 512 seems like a poor stop-gap solution to me to the current high cost of the FB-DIMMs, and IMHO a bit of a waste of money in the long-run if you plan on hanging onto the unit [no unpleasantness is expressed here ].

[mduell]

Originally Posted by justmetoo

Well, my guess is that there isn't a big call for them, because if you populate 4 of your riser slots (from a total of 8) with 4 x 512 sticks, you're severely reducing the potential maximum RAM you can put in later (that is, unless you're willing to throwout/TRY to sell the 512's later when you can afford bigger 1 or 2 GB sticks). Most people want as much RAM as they can afford, 4 x 512 seems like a poor stop-gap solution to me to the current high cost of the FB-DIMMs, and IMHO a bit of a waste of money in the long-run if you plan on hanging onto the unit [no unpleasantness is expressed here ].

When you buy larger modules later, you could put the 512MB modules in the higher numbered slots to diminish the latency impact.

[EFFENDI]

Originally Posted by gcox18

Okay, just got the two 1GB FB-DIMMS from MaxUpgrades, with pre-attached MaxSinks (these things are massive!). They seem to be working great so far. I'll post my heat tests this weekend unless someone else does first.

So do you have a report for us?

[brokenjago]

Originally Posted by EFFENDI

So do you have a report for us?

Seconded. Inquiring minds want to know!

[aiongiant]

they have it up on thiere site now
only $239 now

[wkalite]

I got 5GB (4x1GB and 2X512MB) from Max Upgrades last week. I am now tricked out with 6 GB in Quad mode so the box screams. Geekbench went from 319.5 to 379.3. I ran them hard with Aperture, Handbrake, and Parallels all weekend. No errors of any kind!!!

The heat sinks from Max Upgrades are every bit as large as Apple's and seem to do a great job.

Overall the cost was $1040 ($660 better than Apple and $225 better than Crucial).

[brokenjago]

sweet!

[Oversoul]

Out of curiousity, has anyone ordered RAM from OWC recently? And if so, were your heatsinks red or black?

I'm planning on ordering another set soon, and I received black last time.

[Neo.cmg]

Originally Posted by Oversoul

Out of curiousity, has anyone ordered RAM from OWC recently? And if so, were your heatsinks red or black?

I'm planning on ordering another set soon, and I received black last time.

I placed an order with OWC yesterday. I am expecting to take delivery on or before Thursday. I'll let you know the color of the heat sinks when the do arrive. The one gigabyte of RAM shipped in these things is hardly adequate. I would imagine your machine would become much quieter after installing more RAM as an added bonus since you wouldn't have to hear the hard disk spin so often.

One other nice thing about OWC is that they will provide a discount to your order if you send them any old RAM modules you may have--effectively allowing you to trade-in your RAM.

[Oversoul]

Thanks Neo.

I ordered a 4x1GB set from OWC a few weeks ago and they came with black heatsinks. I know UnixMac's set came with red heatsinks. It's purely cosmetic, but I'd just like to know what I should expect when I order more OWC RAM.

[tomrock]

Originally Posted by Oversoul

Out of curiousity, has anyone ordered RAM from OWC recently? And if so, were your heatsinks red or black?

I ordered from OWC a couple of weeks ago and my heatsinks are black. Not a big deal but it was odd opening the box when I was expecting red.

[asodamiac]

Sorry if this has been answered in the previous posts, but I skimmed through the first 2 pages and it was too much information for me to handle

So basically from the beginning of this thread, RAM prices from Crucial were fairly well priced. Now they seem outrageous. Should we expect to see some drastic price reductions from Crucial or any other vendor?

[brokenjago]

I imagine prices will come down as the market rights itself.

[garyton]

I see two opinions here regarding OWC. One states they are hard to deal with if you have any problems with your ram and the other seems to state they are ok but the Pro ram is not exactly identical if we also include color as a criteria for matching stock oem ram. I am waiting to hear if the OWC Pro ram works from the person who received it.
I am waiting to order my Pro as I can't decide if it is worth the risk to save a little money to buy the OWC ram but then possibly have problems.
Hard drives I can see buying aftermarket, ram I am not sure of based on what I have read in this thread.
gary

[chefpastry]

Originally Posted by Oversoul

Out of curiousity, has anyone ordered RAM from OWC recently? And if so, were your heatsinks red or black?

I'm planning on ordering another set soon, and I received black last time.

My pair of 2GB sticks came with red heatsinks. I've been using them for about a month now and they've been flawless.

[Oversoul]

garyton, I ordered a 4x1GB set of OWC RAM weeks ago and they've been working fine. I haven't had any problems with them. I am, however, thinking about picking up another set of 4x1GB OWC RAM to bump my machine to 8GB. Just out of curiousity, I wanted to know if other people's OWC RAM came with red or black heatsinks. Mine came with black heatsinks, and, because I'm somewhat obsessive, I'd just like to have the heatsink colors match.

[brokenjago]

I'd e-mail OWC and ask them specifically for black heatsinks. I'm sure they'd be glad to comply

[garyton]

I recemtly e-mailed OWC reegarding adding 8GB in 4 2GB modules and they said they had them in stock and would offer me a deal for them. I voiced a concern over if there might be any problem with them what was their policy and they said they would exchange them no problem.
I can sure save a lot of money by going with them and ordering my new machine with 1GB of ram and then adding the 8GB.

[himself]

Has anyone here looked at dealram? I'm not sure how reliable the ram is (anyone want to be the guinea pig?), but for those concerned about price, what they find is priced much better than what I've seen in this thread so far...

[Neo.cmg]

Just an update...

I received my RAM modules ordered from OWC earlier in the week, and the heat sinks surrounding them are black.

As an aside, my MacPro did do something strange just last night that I haven't seen it do before. I left it running, but when I came back to the machine several hours later moving the mouse or hitting a key on the keyboard didn't turn on the display. Like an idiot, I kept hitting a key and moving the mouse for some time expecting something to happen, but nothing ever did; thus forcing me to force restart the machine by holding down the power button. Upon returning to the desktop a few seconds later I was greeted by a message saying that Mac OS X had unexpectedly quit and provided me with an option to send a report to Apple which I did.

Anyone have any ideas as to what may be the culprit? Again, this is the first time this has happened and I have yet to experience something like this again. The new RAM I installed is recognized by the system and seems to pass Apple's Hardware Test. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[NeverTriedApple]

anyone can share an experience on crucial ram? the 1gb deal is not a deal at all here in the uk (£183 ex delivery against £200 apple delivered), but the 2gb kit seems attractive (£305 ex delivery against £470 from apple). what will you say on hardware compatibility here?

[all2ofme]

I got 2x2GB from Crucial for my Mac Pro and it's been brilliant. Not too bad a price, either - I talked them out of 5% having decided that that would make the difference for me.

[nextadvantage]

Will this crucial work from newegg.com?

Crucial Technology 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM Server System Memory - Retail at Newegg.com

[TimmyDee51]

Doesn't look like it. Those look like heat spreaders, not heat sinks.

[miknurb]

anyone purchased ram from MacSolutions?
- Mac Pro Quad Xeon Memory DDR2 667MHz Fully Buffered 240 Pin DIMM PC5300 Upgrades

[discotronic]

Originally Posted by miknurb 

anyone purchased ram from MacSolutions?
- Mac Pro Quad Xeon Memory DDR2 667MHz Fully Buffered 240 Pin DIMM PC5300 Upgrades

I ordered something from them a few months ago but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I do remember it was a quick and easy transaction. Great price on the 1GB kit.

[Phrogman]

MacSolutions and MemorySolutions are the same company. The 1gb kit from MemorySolutions it cheaper ($204 vs $216). They appear to be the same kit with the same heatsinks.

Check it out here. http://www.memorysolutions.com/4gbkit2x2gbk1.html

[discotronic]

Originally Posted by Phrogman 

MacSolutions and MemorySolutions are the same company. The 1gb kit from MemorySolutions it cheaper ($204 vs $216). They appear to be the same kit with the same heatsinks.

Check it out here. 1GB KIT 2 X 512MB 667MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM (FB-DIMM)

Great deal. I think I will place my order in the next few days.

[wei]

anyone using FB-DIMM with normal heat spreader instead of apple stock type heatsink?
i've found someone using it:
Mac Pro RAM - a photoset on Flickr

any comment?

[rotuts]

wei:

have you seen this?

Hardmac.com : Le "Macbidouille" in English

and your ref above does not seem to explain the change from 533hz to 633 hz

did I miss that?

my link is for completeness. I fairly sure the massive heat sinks are for keeping fan noise down re G4's and G5's

my kingston 2gb's have the avereage heat sink and ive had no problems or rise in temp with temp monitor. nor any more noise

that not the same as having 2gb x 8!!

cheers

[wei]

rotuts:
thanks for the link & reply! I'm waiting for my Micron FB-DIMM 2x 512MB module. Found it dirt cheap, and the part number are identical with the stock module.

[Rolling Musubi]

MemorySolutions recently dropped their Mac Pro memory prices across the board: $194 for the 1GB kit, $367 for the 2GB kit, $711 for the 4 x 1GB kit, $758 for the 2 x 2GB kit.

For my machine, I bought the Transintl memory via the Accelerate Your Mac link for $398 a few weeks ago. Been buying most of my memory from them since the 90's without any problems.

[wei]

Yay, got my RAM and it's working fine!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23...cpro_ram03.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23...cpro_ram01.jpg

[dantewaters]

Originally Posted by idyll 

Just wanted to report that I got the Kingston sticks from Newegg with regular heatsinks and my Mac Pro has been running fine for about two weeks now (I never shut it off, only put it to sleep occasionally).. Not too hot, no fan problems

Which kingston brand did you buy,
and also what's your system config?

[Phrogman]

Has anyone bought from MacSolutions (aka Memory Solutions) yet? If so, do they ship with the large heatsinks depicted on their website??

Thanks

[MacHeadChef]

I was looking for some new memory for my new Mac Pro, but Crucial price is expensive for 2GB.

I went to Newegg and found these Crucial 2GB memory Crucial Technology 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail at Newegg.com only $259 and are these the same one Crucial.com are selling for $499?

[powerbook867]

That's a great price on the Newegg ram MacHeadChef, but I don't see any reference to ECC or the heat sinks that it looks like we need, so I think it's a no go...

[Hydra]

Originally Posted by MacHeadChef 

I was looking for some new memory for my new Mac Pro, but Crucial price is expensive for 2GB.

I went to Newegg and found these Crucial 2GB memory Crucial Technology 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail at Newegg.com only $259 and are these the same one Crucial.com are selling for $499?

Those look to be standard DDR2 SDRAM DIMMs, the MP needs FB-DIMMs so they won't work at all. I Ordered the $360 MemorySolutions 2x1GB kit which has heat-sinks identical to Crucial, except for the blue color, and just finished a punishing stress test for about 20 hours total w/o any errors.

-Jerry C.

[Daniel Bayer]

What is faster?

2x2GB, 4x1GB or 8x1/2GB?