Here is my story of upgrading the memory in my Mac Pro 2010 hexa-core system, to help others.
1. I bought a re-furbished Mac Pro 2010 hexa-core, to save some coin to use for the memory upgrade. It came with 3G RAM. I wanted to upgrade to 16G the listed memory maximum for future proofing (Although it is possible to upgrade to 32G, apparently not indicated by Apple, the cost is significantly more.)
2. I needed to find a memory vendor. I looked a OWC, but found that a local vendor here in Vancouver (NCIX) was competitive in price (they were a few dollars more, and they only dealt in Kingston products for Macs, but given that I could physically go to their store if there was problems, and it was a Canadian company and so I did not have to worry about an international order, I went with NCIX. Also, I checked, and checked and double-checked to make sure that I was ordering the correct memory - dealing with OWC would have eliminated this paranoia. It is amazing how difficult it is to find a web-site that gives some sort of confirming indication that I was ordering the correct memory. The Kingston site was not too helpful, but third party resellers had indications that I order the correct chips. I had to wait for the order to arrive.
3. Meanwhile, I got "Rember" for testing my new memory. I ran it against the existing 3G to see what it would produce. The existing 3G tested fine. At the same time I registered my Apple Care before upgrading. The logic behind this was to have Apple Care available to me before I started the upgrade. I read the Mac Pro manual, and watched the OWC video a few times on how to upgrade the memory.
4. The memory arrived 10 days after I ordered it.
5. On the day that I installed it I prepared my self. I wanted to ensure that I minimized the potential for static discharge. I used a wood desk. The floor was carpeted, so I put card board down. I was in bare feet.
6. I made sure I unplugged the computer and brought it to the table. Removing the old memory was easy. I compared the old with the new just to make sure that they looked the same - my last paranoia test. I then grounded myself by touching the computer frame. However, putting the new memory in was physically harder than the OWC video indicated. I pushed the memory in with some effort, trying to ground myself, and not touch the leads on the chips by pushing on the top corner. The memory chips did not seat properly initially, but when I pulled them out and pushed them in, they snapped in. I checked the levers after to make sure the were in the notches and all lined up.
7. After putting the processor tray back in a cabling it up it was time to power on. And the machine ... powered up! I got the little window indicating that the memory was installed properly. I checked what the operating system had to say, and 16G 1333Mhz were listed. I then ran Rember twice with no problems indicated. (And so I did not fry my machine by putting the wrong memory or rubbed a balloon on my hair and then touched the computer with the balloon.)
8. I am keeping the original memory. If I ever have to bring it in for servicing, I will put the original memeory back in.
Now on to installing the new 3T Hitachi hard drive, but that's a different story.
1. I bought a re-furbished Mac Pro 2010 hexa-core, to save some coin to use for the memory upgrade. It came with 3G RAM. I wanted to upgrade to 16G the listed memory maximum for future proofing (Although it is possible to upgrade to 32G, apparently not indicated by Apple, the cost is significantly more.)
2. I needed to find a memory vendor. I looked a OWC, but found that a local vendor here in Vancouver (NCIX) was competitive in price (they were a few dollars more, and they only dealt in Kingston products for Macs, but given that I could physically go to their store if there was problems, and it was a Canadian company and so I did not have to worry about an international order, I went with NCIX. Also, I checked, and checked and double-checked to make sure that I was ordering the correct memory - dealing with OWC would have eliminated this paranoia. It is amazing how difficult it is to find a web-site that gives some sort of confirming indication that I was ordering the correct memory. The Kingston site was not too helpful, but third party resellers had indications that I order the correct chips. I had to wait for the order to arrive.
3. Meanwhile, I got "Rember" for testing my new memory. I ran it against the existing 3G to see what it would produce. The existing 3G tested fine. At the same time I registered my Apple Care before upgrading. The logic behind this was to have Apple Care available to me before I started the upgrade. I read the Mac Pro manual, and watched the OWC video a few times on how to upgrade the memory.
4. The memory arrived 10 days after I ordered it.
5. On the day that I installed it I prepared my self. I wanted to ensure that I minimized the potential for static discharge. I used a wood desk. The floor was carpeted, so I put card board down. I was in bare feet.
6. I made sure I unplugged the computer and brought it to the table. Removing the old memory was easy. I compared the old with the new just to make sure that they looked the same - my last paranoia test. I then grounded myself by touching the computer frame. However, putting the new memory in was physically harder than the OWC video indicated. I pushed the memory in with some effort, trying to ground myself, and not touch the leads on the chips by pushing on the top corner. The memory chips did not seat properly initially, but when I pulled them out and pushed them in, they snapped in. I checked the levers after to make sure the were in the notches and all lined up.
7. After putting the processor tray back in a cabling it up it was time to power on. And the machine ... powered up! I got the little window indicating that the memory was installed properly. I checked what the operating system had to say, and 16G 1333Mhz were listed. I then ran Rember twice with no problems indicated. (And so I did not fry my machine by putting the wrong memory or rubbed a balloon on my hair and then touched the computer with the balloon.)
8. I am keeping the original memory. If I ever have to bring it in for servicing, I will put the original memeory back in.
Now on to installing the new 3T Hitachi hard drive, but that's a different story.
