[randomrules]

Does anybody happen to know if "heat spreaders" are the same thing as heat sinks?

I am referring to this stick by Kingston:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134084

[DMBand0026]

If it's not the same thing, the principle is the same. All a heat sync does is move heat away from the original source through conduction and give it an easier way to be disbursed.

[pearle]

Head spreaders are usually just a thin piece of metal without the raised columns or spikes that heat sinks have.

If you look at the closer shots of the apple memory you can see the heat sinks are much beefier than the spreaders you normally see on regular memory.

[macleod]

I ordered the Mac Pro with 2GB of RAM from apple and the 7300 video card and I was wondering how much RAM should I have so that I don't have a bottleneck or whatever it is? I will be using applications like Quark, Aperture, maybe FCP, and other standard applications. Thanks in advance for the help!

[daran]

Originally Posted by macleod I ordered the Mac Pro with 2GB of RAM from apple and the 7300 video card and I was wondering how much RAM should I have so that I don't have a bottleneck or whatever it is? I will be using applications like Quark, Aperture, maybe FCP, and other standard applications. Thanks in advance for the help!

With 2GB you'll probably fine. Plus it implies you have 4 matched sticks which means maximum speed.

In order to see whether you need more memory, use the free MenuMeters tool and enable the memory indicators (there are multiple, for this test you want "Show paging activity" from the memory section). This will occasionally come on. Should it frequently go on or even stay on while you work (app gets stuck), you need more memory. Otherwise you dont.

[RobM]

I was concerned about the size of the heatsinks on some of the aftermarket ram but -
http://www.barefeats.com/image06/owc_heat.jpg - showing ram from owc alongside Apple's ram.

Looks good in red !

[Engine Joe]

Originally Posted by RobM I was concerned about the size of the heatsinks on some of the aftermarket ram but - http://www.barefeats.com/image06/owc_heat.jpg - showing ram from owc alongside Apple's ram. Looks good in red !

Some of the OWC configs are actually more expensive than Apple's. And most are not really significantly cheaper. I'd take a wait-and-see approach to RAM for the Mac Pro as more vendors enter the market. A few days ago Crucial had a config for Mac Pros -- which has now been pulled (currently, it says they don't sell RAM for the Mac Pro... late last week they listed a couple of options).

[RobM]

Yeah - I wasn't pushing owc over anyone else's brand.
I was interested in what the difference was between a heat spreader and heat sink and what it meant in size. The barefeats pic shows how big the spreaders are.

newegg are still listing crucial ram which conforms to spec - as well as Kingston.
Where did you see that Crucial have pulled out ?

[Engine Joe]

Originally Posted by RobM Where did you see that Crucial have pulled out ?

They may actually manufacture conforming RAM, but last week the website "Memory Advisor Tool" yielded results for the Mac Pro... but this week you get a message that reads:

No products are currently available for the system you selected. Your system may require proprietary or non-standard parts.

Not sure why they did that, especially if they are in fact making RAM that conforms to spec.

[beardedmacuser]

Originally Posted by Engine Joe Not sure why they did that, especially if they are in fact making RAM that conforms to spec.

Crucial's comments on Mac Pro RAM (why listings were pulled, future plans)

[RobM]

aha - thanks guys.
The plot sickens - I think I'll take your advice, Engine Joe, and wait a little.

Keep your eye on barefeats, I'm sure Rob will test some of the aftermarket Ram for heat, fan noise and performance.

cheers

[Kusakun]

A friend of mine is going to buy a Mac Pro. Is there any problem if he adds 2 x 1gb to the 2 x 512 that the machine includes? Because he doesnt have more money to buy more ram than 2 extra modules...

[brutox]

Does anyone know if this will work with the mac pro?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211012

Originally Posted by brutox Does anyone know if this will work with the mac pro? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211012

I don't think it will.

From what I could gather at the manufactures web site the RAM in question is unbuffered.

[halo1982]

No, but this will.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134084
You need a FB-DIMM. Not a regular 240 pin DIMM, but a super expensive FB-DIMM. Look for server memory, because thats generally what it's called.