[solar1]

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Hi,

I'd appreciate some mac-folks experience if possible.

I'm buying a new macbook pro 15" w/I 7 chip (2.66Ghz) and awaiting delivery from china :-)

also I'm contemplating buying an upgrade kit (from the stock 4GB unit to 8GB RAM) OtherworldComputing/macsales.com sell the upgrade kit for about $317.99 8.0GB (4.0GB + 4.0GB Kit) PC-8500 DDR3... (OWC8566DDR3S8GP) at OWC , this is the in-house owc brand. does this compare well to what's considered a good price out there now (I can wait a while if prices will go down), is that likely to happen anytime soon?

they have a rebate return of the unused ram (2/2GB units). possibly its around $30 if I'm reading that right. Is the rebate return the smartest move, or do people want to buy something like this that is new or slightly used ram for sale, say ala craigslist or eekbay? I'm not sure thats a good way but maybe it is. I see there are sellers of new RAM on ebay as well... just don't necessarily feel they are ok to deal with unless substantially cheaper and have good hardware.

your feed back and experience is much appreciated

thanks,

Nic

[a a i b]

I can't speak to the prices -- OWC is usually pretty competitive, though.

They're also real good about swapping out RAM if there's a problem.

As for the old sticks, I'd just keep 'em. If you have a problem with the Mac, it's possible Apple will fault your "third-party" RAM -- so you can pop the original sticks back in if it comes to that.

[Adam]

The cheapest I could find on newegg was $154 for one 4gb stick: Newegg.com - iRam 4GB DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Memory for Apple MacBook & iMac Model IR4GSO1066D3

So, it looks like you'd be getting a good deal.

BTW, have you considered just getting one 4Gb stick instead of two? The resulting 6Gb (if supported by your hardware) should be more than adequate for most applications.

[solar1]

I can't speak to the prices -- OWC is usually pretty competitive, though.

They're also real good about swapping out RAM if there's a problem.

As for the old sticks, I'd just keep 'em. If you have a problem with the Mac, it's possible Apple will fault your "third-party" RAM -- so you can pop the original sticks back in if it comes to that.

This is a very good point that never dawned on me... likely they will fault something like this... the first time that I upped the ram on the present 4 year old pre-intel chip ibook G4 with owc, it was for a few bucks more than the owc house brand... instead I bought what was oem in the computer...using the Samsung brand. I'm not seeing a choice for Samsung or whatever the brand thats OEM in the new macpro... I'll see when it is delivered what comes inside as stock.

thank you again.

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Last edited by solar1; 05-20-2010 at 12:04 AM.

[solar1]

The cheapest I could find on newegg was $154 for one 4gb stick: Newegg.com - iRam 4GB DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Memory for Apple MacBook & iMac Model IR4GSO1066D3

So, it looks like you'd be getting a good deal.

BTW, have you considered just getting one 4Gb stick instead of two? The resulting 6Gb (if supported by your hardware) should be more than adequate for most applications.

It looks good at first consideration pricewise, yes. I didn't think of Newegg and their shipping is very reasonable, I'll be sure to check them out. Although for California, the tax may up it to or more than OWC... we'll see. I'll have to check for coupons or discount deals for the next few weeks.

I never thought that 6GB would be too much. I keep reading or hearing... more RAM the better. Is 8BG really too much for say, the K7's largest RAW files or doing video? I even ordered the 7200 rpm HD in case of video files, etc.

Better to have a little more than too little?

Thank you Adam for the link, I'll look into it.

Plus I wanted to let you know how much you do such good work here on the Forums... I really appreciate it!

Nic

[reeftool]

It looks good at first consideration pricewise, yes. I didn't think of Newegg and their shipping is very reasonable, I'll be sure to check them out. Although for California, the tax may up it to or more than OWC... we'll see. I'll have to check for coupons or discount deals for the next few weeks.

Nic

I don't know how things are going in CA but here in NY, we get get charged sales tax on everything we buy from anywhere due to recent court decisions.

[solar1]

Just found this article on the upgrade... like Adam said, try the 6GB kit first and see if it does the work required.

Macintosh Performance Guide: OWC 6GB/8GB Memory Kit for MacBook Pro

[solar1]

with 8% bing cashback and 2% off coupon from ebates.com would be eventually $139.99 including shipping from FL.

4GB RAM MEMORY FOR MACBOOK PRO INTEL CORE I7 2.66 GHZ - eBay (item 180505429101 end time Jun-08-10 10:58:37 PDT)

They seem legit, anybody know them (compsupply)?

[boriscleto]

Install a matched pair if you want the maximum performance. The Macbook Pro uses a dual-channel memory interface. If the memory is installed in matched pairs both banks can be addressed at the same time which increases memory throughput.

[Adam]

If it's dual-channel, then indeed you'll want to have a matching pair (different sizes might not even be supported). In that case, go with the 8.

I know that as far as out webserver goes, the more ram the better- but I guess we're looking at a slightly different application here

[solar1]

Always good to ask about these things. thanks!

Install a matched pair if you want the maximum performance. The Macbook Pro uses a dual-channel memory interface. If the memory is installed in matched pairs both banks can be addressed at the same time which increases memory throughput.

[BadVlad]

I would have to disagree here. Matched pairs will give you really small increase in performance, do not bother with this. And I don't see how this applies here.
My suggestion is go with 2+4GB config (it is supported), it will be enough for most applications. 8GB is overkill - Photoshop can, for example, access 4GB max (CS5 can access everything though, but I am pretty sure it won't be used).
As for the RAM that you take out from the computer - I always keep it and I put it back when I resell my computer, thus keeping the larger modules.

[solar1]

Sounds like competing ideas on what is what. Why so much disagreement?... I'm ok with knowing both sides, I just don't know if anyone really 'knows'. But I'm glad to know BV's side of the story as well. Just who is most correct.. ?

Edit: No harm in trying out one 4GB chip + 2GB original chip... I'll start with that, thank you for everybody's input.

I would have to disagree here. Matched pairs will give you really small increase in performance, do not bother with this. And I don't see how this applies here.
My suggestion is go with 2+4GB config (it is supported), it will be enough for most applications. 8GB is overkill - Photoshop can, for example, access 4GB max (CS5 can access everything though, but I am pretty sure it won't be used).
As for the RAM that you take out from the computer - I always keep it and I put it back when I resell my computer, thus keeping the larger modules.

[BadVlad]

Sounds like competing ideas on what is what. Why so much disagreement?

I didn't meant to be rude or something I am just trying to help.
It's just that your computer will ship with 2x2GB. So you have the choice to put 2GB+4GB or 4GB+4GB. You can't put 2x3GB, so basically matched pairs are a non-issue for you. The more RAM, the better - that is all.

Here are some very interesting and informative articles about the matched pair RAM that explain the issue:
Matched RAM on Intel Macs - Mac Guides
mini - Why Apple recommends matched pair memory - Mac-Forums.com
Understanding Intel Mac RAM - Mac Guides

PS. If the rebate is really 30$ for 2x2GB, don't use it. You are losing money, and then you will loose more on the 4GB that you bought when you resell the computer (in case you decide to resell it in the future).

[solar1]

Thanks for the info and help :- )

no rudities implied ;- )

I didn't meant to be rude or something I am just trying to help.
It's just that your computer will ship with 2x2GB. So you have the choice to put 2GB+4GB or 4GB+4GB. You can't put 2x3GB, so basically matched pairs are a non-issue for you. The more RAM, the better - that is all.

Here are some very interesting and informative articles about the matched pair RAM that explain the issue:
Matched RAM on Intel Macs - Mac Guides
mini - Why Apple recommends matched pair memory - Mac-Forums.com
Understanding Intel Mac RAM - Mac Guides

PS. If the rebate is really 30$ for 2x2GB, don't use it. You are losing money, and then you will loose more on the 4GB that you bought when you resell the computer (in case you decide to resell it in the future).