Resolved MP5,1 RAM: Sizes, slots & etc.

[stevedusa]

Finally get to upgrade the RAM on my MP5,1. When I ordered it I wasn't expecting I'll be needing more than 8Gig of RAM since the photos and video I was editing didn't need that much. Now days it's essential to have large RAM to work with.

So I ordered a pair of Kingston ECC DDR3 8gig sticks with thermal sensor (total of 16) from Newegg. Got them today and I replaced 2 of 4 2-gig sticks on the memory slot, with the configuration of 8+8+2+2.

Booted it up, Memory Slot Utility says it's in proper configuration. However it no longer see slot 3 and 4. I thought oh I must did something wrong so I reseated the RAMs, still it won't see the two 2-gig sticks in slot 3 and 4.

I swapped the two 8-gig sticks to slot 3 & 4, while the two 2-gig sticks to slot 1&2. Booted up and the utility says it's in wrong configuration. It only sees one of the 2-gig sticks.

I reverted back to 8-8-2, left slot 4 empty, and this time it sees the slot 3 RAM with a total of 18G.

What am I doing wrong? As far as I know all the sticks are DDR3 ECC PC1333 specs. Kingston made the 8-gig sticks and Micron made the 2-gig sticks.

Any insights would be appreciated

 

[Command]

Finally get to upgrade the RAM on my MP5,1. When I ordered it I wasn't expecting I'll be needing more than 8Gig of RAM since the photos and video I was editing didn't need that much. Now days it's essential to have large RAM to work with.

So I ordered a pair of Kingston ECC DDR3 8gig sticks with thermal sensor (total of 16) from Newegg. Got them today and I replaced 2 of 4 2-gig sticks on the memory slot, with the configuration of 8+8+2+2.

Booted it up, Memory Slot Utility says it's in proper configuration. However it no longer see slot 3 and 4. I thought oh I must did something wrong so I reseated the RAMs, still it won't see the two 2-gig sticks in slot 3 and 4.

I swapped the two 8-gig sticks to slot 3 & 4, while the two 2-gig sticks to slot 1&2. Booted up and the utility says it's in wrong configuration. It only sees one of the 2-gig sticks.

I reverted back to 8-8-2, left slot 4 empty, and this time it sees the slot 3 RAM with a total of 18G.

What am I doing wrong? As far as I know all the sticks are DDR3 ECC PC1333 specs. Kingston made the 8-gig sticks and Micron made the 2-gig sticks.

Any insights would be appreciated

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4433
Might show something you can use. The slots are possibly staggered so you might go 8x4x8x4. You'll see it varies by year.

 

[wonderspark]

I have 4x8GB (32GB) sticks of RAM from OWC that I bought years ago. At the time, those sticks had to be matched. I've pulled out one 8GB stick to test the speed difference between triple channel and dual channel (which was slightly, slightly faster, but not worth anything) and it worked with only three sticks, but obviously four is better for 32GB total.

I'm not a fan of mixing RAM like you are doing. I've heard many complaints of RAM issues when it's mixed, but none when it's all matched, unless a RAM stick is physically bad. My vote goes to matching all your RAM.

 

[Command]

I have 4x8GB (32GB) sticks of RAM from OWC that I bought years ago. At the time, those sticks had to be matched. I've pulled out one 8GB stick to test the speed difference between triple channel and dual channel (which was slightly, slightly faster, but not worth anything) and it worked with only three sticks, but obviously four is better for 32GB total.

I'm not a fan of mixing RAM like you are doing. I've heard many complaints of RAM issues when it's mixed, but none when it's all matched, unless a RAM stick is physically bad. My vote goes to matching all your RAM.

I do agree, here. Although, as long as it's paired, I don't think completely matching it all is altogether required.

 

[stevedusa]

Alright thanks for all of your suggestions. I'm just going to run 8-8 for now.

So anybody want to buy 4 2gigers for cheap?