Bill W Posted September 4, 2014 Share #1 Posted September 4, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) A few months back I bought a new Mac Pro desktop. It is a quad-core 3.2ghz and from the factory comes with 6gb of memory. I want to upgrade this but thought I would ask what others consider as adequate. I run Photoshop CS5. I am thinking about 16gb or 32. Your advice is welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 4, 2014 Posted September 4, 2014 Hi Bill W, Take a look here Mac Pro Additional Memory. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
DigitalHeMan Posted September 4, 2014 Share #2 Posted September 4, 2014 With memory, more is always better. 32 would be great, but I think you would also get by with just 16. I do.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted September 4, 2014 Thanks Simon, That was my thinking but I thought I would get some advice before ordering. The difference is $200 to go from 16 to 32. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted September 4, 2014 Share #4 Posted September 4, 2014 Thanks Simon, That was my thinking but I thought I would get some advice before ordering. The difference is $200 to go from 16 to 32. Hi Bill, I think the extra $200 will make your system more future proof. That's only important if you keep your system for a very long time as I typically do keep mine. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted September 4, 2014 Hi Bill, I think the extra $200 will make your system more future proof. That's only important if you keep your system for a very long time as I typically do keep mine. I will probably keep this system for a while. The one it replaced was about 6 years old. I will consider the 32gb upgrade. It is $370 vs $170 for the 16gb. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted September 5, 2014 Share #6 Posted September 5, 2014 If it's only $200 more - and with the proviso that you can afford it - for 32 gig, it seems a bit like a no brainer to pay the extra and get the 32 gig. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
semi-ambivalent Posted September 5, 2014 Share #7 Posted September 5, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) This is unlikely, but do some research on your machine's model number and make sure it will support, and see, 32GB. Coming with an odd amount of memory (6GB) it might be old enough to have 16GB ceiling on what it will support. s-a Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted September 5, 2014 If it's only $200 more - and with the proviso that you can afford it - for 32 gig, it seems a bit like a no brainer to pay the extra and get the 32 gig. That is exactly what I am doing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted September 5, 2014 This is unlikely, but do some research on your machine's model number and make sure it will support, and see, 32GB. Coming with an odd amount of memory (6GB) it might be old enough to have 16GB ceiling on what it will support. s-a My Mac is only 6 months old. It came with 6 gb in three slots. It has a total of 4 and will support up to 32gb based on my model according to Mac support. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted September 5, 2014 Share #10 Posted September 5, 2014 Hi Bill, Which model Mac Pro do you have? Is it the late 2013 Mac Pro that has Thunderbolt? Or is it an earlier model? TIA. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted September 5, 2014 Hi Bill, Which model Mac Pro do you have? Is it the late 2013 Mac Pro that has Thunderbolt? Or is it an earlier model? TIA. It is a 5.1 if that helps and is a 3.2gig quad processor. Apple's designations are kind of goofy. I bought it just before the current ones shipped. I think it was the last one my Apple store had in stock. I wanted one with internal drives as I was moving mine over from my older unit. I use 4 drives for a total of 2.5tb. If I recall mine does not have Thunderbolt. I had to hunt for the monitor because they had changed them for the new Macs that look like little cylinders. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted September 5, 2014 Share #12 Posted September 5, 2014 A nice machine Mac Pro "Quad Core" 3.2 (2012/Nehalem) Specs (Mid-2012, MD770LL/A, MacPro5,1, A1289, 2629) @ EveryMac.com Good luck and many years of trouble free use with it! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 8, 2014 Share #13 Posted September 8, 2014 This is unlikely, but do some research on your machine's model number and make sure it will support, and see, 32GB. Coming with an odd amount of memory (6GB) it might be old enough to have 16GB ceiling on what it will support. s-a Despite the original factory spec, even older MacPros can take 4x8. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted September 8, 2014 I ordered 32gb and it should be here later this week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted September 8, 2014 Share #15 Posted September 8, 2014 I have up graded to 16 on previous Macs. My desktop pro came with 6. To be honest, I really see little difference even with 36 MB D800 files. if and when I upgrade, I will again purchase from "Other World Computing" in Woodstock, illinois. I believe the biggest issue to a slow computer is having the HD too full. I use 50% max. Off load old info to another drive. Mine has 4 drives, original, a partitioned second with a clone of original after all programs loaded including OS (5%) & time machine (95%), file storage, secondary file storage. I used Super Duper to clone OS + programs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
topoxforddoc Posted September 8, 2014 Share #16 Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) I have 32GB in my Mac Pro 3.2 Quad Nehalem 2013 model like yours. For my DMR and M9 files, perfect. It's fine until I start using files from my new S 006 in LR5. Then it slows down again! Grrr! Edit - after increasing the Cache size to 5.0GB in Preferences in LR5, it's much faster with the S 006 files Edited September 8, 2014 by topoxforddoc Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted September 8, 2014 Share #17 Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) For Bill's new computer Apple recommends up to 32 GB of RAM. Some folks have successfully used 48 GB. That's a risk I wouldn't take. I highly recommend booting any Mac from an SSD if it doesn't already come with flash storage. That, together with sufficient RAM, will cut down excessive wear and tear by avoiding too much heat. My 2 cents. Edited September 8, 2014 by k-hawinkler 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share #18 Posted September 8, 2014 I have 32GB in my Mac Pro 3.2 Quad Nehalem 2013 model like yours. For my DMR and M9 files, perfect. It's fine until I start using files from my new S 006 in LR5. Then it slows down again! Grrr! Edit - after increasing the Cache size to 5.0GB in Preferences in LR5, it's much faster with the S 006 files As much as I would love an S, that will not be a problem in my house. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted September 8, 2014 Share #19 Posted September 8, 2014 As much as I would love an S, that will not be a problem in my house. But the letter after R is S, no? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share #20 Posted September 8, 2014 It is but that is a very expensive S after the R..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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