MacBook Pro 17" (Core i7-620M + GT330M) and RAM speed?

So I've finally got my MacBook Pro 17" specced with Glossy screen, Core i7-620M and GeForce GT330M fully up and running!

I've been replacing the 5400RPM 500GB hard drive with a Intel X25-M 80GB Gen2, along with replaced the 2x 2GB 1066MHz RAM with a pair of nice Kingston 1600MHz @ CL7 2x 2GB ones.


Funny thing though, is the fact that Windows7 computer rating tells me that my RAM is the slowest hardware in my machine? So I was checking it's settings, and the MacBook Pro keeps them at 1066MHz @ CL8?

Which is insane considering the potential of these Kingston memory modules!
Is there no way (as there obviously is no BIOS to deal with on Mac hardware) to somehow improve the memory settings?

 

Nope not without overclocking software and even that can be pesky from my experiences

 

Which Kingston modules did you purchase? Hopefully the SPD modules and not the XMP variant.

 

The i7-620M only supports up to 1066. So anything above that is a waste.


Intel® Core? i7-620M Processor (4M Cache, 2.66 GHz) with SPEC Code(s) SLBPD, SLBPE ---> "Memory Types DDR3-800/1066"

 

So does my desktop Core i7-920, still my Corsair Dominator GT runs at 1600MHz CL7 regardless of what Intel has specified on the 920.

 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but ...

4GB RAM @ 1066 to 4GB RAM @ 1600 ... Not an upgrade, you will not notice any increase in performance. Upgrade your HDD instead.

Also, Window Experience Index ... Not a benchmark tool to be taken seriously.

 

Firstly, the actual speed of the RAM makes VERY little difference, even in artificial benchmarking that's designed to make the most of every bit of power in there.

Secondly, you might have bought the XMP variant of the RAM. In which case, you bought the wrong variant. Very few laptops support XMP; the MacBook (Pro) line is not one of them.

Lastly...Are you honestly using the Windows Experience Index as a benchmark? It is quite possibly the worst thing you could use to gauge a computer's performance.

 

The one hopeful thing about high bandwidth memory with decent speeds is hopefully their lower bandwidth SPD profiles have much better memory timings.

And being isolated to 1066, you would be better off getting:

Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model KHX1066C5S3K2/4G

Which is the only SPD profiled @ CL5 1066 memory available.

And Evil is right. In the realm of benchmarking and to eeek every subtle nuance out of measurements, you don't want to use the WEI.

 

$150 for 2x2GB of ram is highway robbery in 2010. you can get a single 4GB stick for that price.

 

First of all, I don't take the Windows7 Performance Index seriously, or as a reference at all.

I just ran in order to enable Windowa Aero, and I noticed that my score was limited by the RAM specifications, no big deal really but considering I was using 2x Kingston sticks rated to 1600MHz @ 7-7-7-21 I was a bit surprised so I decided to check out what speeds my RAM was running at.


So I figured they were running on the stock 1066MHz @ CL8.
It seems like these Kingston sticks are indeed XMP, so that might explain it, but still the SPD rating is set to 1333MHz @ CL9 and still it's running at 1066MHz?


I know it wont notice any real difference between 1066MHz @ CL8 and 1600MHz @ CL7, but when already owning a pair of Kingston 1600MHz @ CL7 I would love to see those speeds kick in!

 

Well, the Mac EFI could be forcing specific frequency settings (1333) and as a result the sticks are defaulting to their SPD timings which are then manipulated by XMP aware BIOS/EFI or OS specific software utilities; or the sticks are just defaulting to 1333 @ CL9 even though the 620M's memory pathway will top out at 1066 so the 1333 is effectively overkill and anything over 1066 is wasted.

Your best bet is to get a pair of the sticks I pointed to for optimal bandwidth pairing and SPD timings.

@Ajreynol: 2x2 > 4x1 since 2x2 runs in dual channel memory mode and you end up with the same total memory. Downside is you will need to yank both to go 2x4 or to go async at 1x2, 1x4 for 6gb.

 

Whatever makes you sleep better at night I guess.

That being said, Intel doesn't make up specifications for fun, if they say that chip is limited to 1066 MHz memory, then it is limited to 1066 MHz memory.

The RAM will downclock itself to match the specified speed ... The only way I can think of forcing the RAM to run faster would be to mess with the bclk multiplier of your processor (as memory is referenced from it). That's with processors with fixed multipliers though ... i7's have turboboost and as such can change their multipliers on the fly.

 

reading the topic I thought graphics were switchable between 330m and some epic 620m

 

oh wow, I never knew that! I just assumed a 4GB stick was better because it saved a memory slot.

 

nope on dual channel RAM, a pair of matched is better than a single for performance. tri channel you want 3

 

Yeah, the laptop i-core CPUs (All of them, including the quad core and extremes) use a pared down dual channel system which matches the i5 (LGA1156) desktops. The big boy desktop i7 LGA1366 socket CPUs use a tri-channel config including the desktop in a laptop monster that is the NP9280 which uses triple channel SODIMM DDR3 modules....


.....what a wonderful world.....ohhhhh yeah........