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MP All Models help with what ram to buy
- Thread starter habado
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There are 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB sticks. Any of those will work. Stick with installing 3 sticks total in slots 1/2/3 since the 4,1/5,1 runs RAM in triple channel. I would recommend going with PC3-10600 sticks (1333 mhz) in case you decide to upgrade your CPU in the future (which can utilize the faster RAM). These will play nice with your current processor, and will down clock and report as 1066mhz until the CPU is upgraded.
How much RAM do you want to run? Here are a few auctions for 3 matched sticks:
6GB total (3 x 2GB):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micron-6GB...9kAAOSwGt9bYepn:sc:USPSFirstClass!19709!US!-1
12GB total (3 x 4GB):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12GB-kit-3...897666?hash=item3d8e35d502:g:HjYAAOSwrMlZeiN3
24GB total (3 x 8GB):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micron-6GB...9kAAOSwGt9bYepn:sc:USPSFirstClass!19709!US!-1
PS: I have no affiliation with any of these sellers, just did a quick search for USA location and best price.
How much RAM do you want to run? Here are a few auctions for 3 matched sticks:
6GB total (3 x 2GB):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micron-6GB...9kAAOSwGt9bYepn:sc:USPSFirstClass!19709!US!-1
12GB total (3 x 4GB):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12GB-kit-3...897666?hash=item3d8e35d502:g:HjYAAOSwrMlZeiN3
24GB total (3 x 8GB):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micron-6GB...9kAAOSwGt9bYepn:sc:USPSFirstClass!19709!US!-1
PS: I have no affiliation with any of these sellers, just did a quick search for USA location and best price.
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Practically any PC3L-10600R ram will work. I recently threw in 96gb (6x16gb) into my mac pro and it works perfectly. I picked them up cheap on ebay which is my best suggestion.
The exact model number I got was
MT36KSF2G72PZ but their are also small variants within that model number that are different revisions so what ever ram you buy, make sure all the numbers match that way they are compatible to one another.
The exact model number I got was
MT36KSF2G72PZ but their are also small variants within that model number that are different revisions so what ever ram you buy, make sure all the numbers match that way they are compatible to one another.
Three of these would be your best bet. 48GB is the sweet spot for your machine. Samsung also delivers the best performance for your vintage.
Every machine is different. I tried 3 of Samsung's 16GB sticks in my single CPU 4,1/5,1 and got lower scores in single-core/multi-core, and memory performance. Tested on the same day, and all other aspects of the machine were the same... just the RAM was swapped out for these tests.
Micron sticks (3 x 4GB):
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12031081
Samsung sticks (3 x 16GB):
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12031034
thanks,you guys are awesome for replying to a noob ? i know my machine is old but it still works great for a 2009.im planning on getting a ssd and new ram on this mac just to run logic with a slave pc with vienna ensemble pro and have things run a little bit better.i play midi keyboards through it and not looking on spending a ton of money on upgrades but ram seems pretty cheap for this,thank you so much
Another low-cost upgrade would be CPU. X5677 is a simple drop-in. Also, the X5677 would allow RAM to run at DDR3-1333.
X5677 3.46GHz quad core. Typically 3.6 turbo.
X5690 3.46GHz 6 core. Typically 3.6 turbo.
W3690 3.46GHz 6 core. Typically 3.6 turbo.
X5690 and W3690 are identical except that X5690 supports 2-way (dual CPU) and W3690 doesn’t. All three of these support DDR3-1333.
X5687 will not work.
X5677 3.46GHz quad core. Typically 3.6 turbo.
X5690 3.46GHz 6 core. Typically 3.6 turbo.
W3690 3.46GHz 6 core. Typically 3.6 turbo.
X5690 and W3690 are identical except that X5690 supports 2-way (dual CPU) and W3690 doesn’t. All three of these support DDR3-1333.
X5687 will not work.