Has anyone tried 2x8GB (16GB) 2133 MHZ DDR3 204-pin RAM in their 2011 MBP 17-inch?
And if so, any issues?
I was doing Geekbench benchmarks and found this profile: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1046173
Notice the 2133 MHZ RAM installed on that unit. Clearly, he's able to boot and run his Mac and run all Geekbench 4 tests.
I'm tempted to test it out myself to see if there are any overall system performance increased (boot time, app launch, etc..) but I can't find where to buy that 2133 MHZ 204-pin RAM. Any suggestions?
Solution 1:
Just in case you weren't aware, while Apple only officially supports 8GB RAM in your model MacBook Pro, it is in fact capable of running 16GB RAM and many users have done just that. So, if you currently have 8GB or less, you can certainly see some real benefits by upgrading to 16GB RAM (depending on your usage).
As for using 2133 MHz DDR3 modules, it seems they're working okay for rburkat based on his Geekbench results. In reality, the original 1333MHz spec used by Apple is a minimum speed. However, how much your MBP can take advantage of faster memory will depend on the logic board and processor.
In terms of purchasing compatible memory at various speeds for your MBP, you can refer to:
- MacSales.com - US and others
- Flexx - UK
- RAM City - Australia
- Mac Fixit - Australia
- Simply Mac - South East Asia
Solution 2:
I have 16GB of HyperX Impact 2133 MHz DDR3 RAM installed in my 17-inch Macbook Pro Late 2011 2.4 GHz running El Capitan (MacOS 10.11.6). I purchased the RAM on Amazon: Here Geekbench 4.0 shows an overall 5% increase in performance over the previously installed 16GB of 1600 MHz RAM. Some of the benchmarks improved by over 10%. Multi-core memory bandwidth increased over 27%!
However, there does appears to be some stability issues that have occurred since the install. I have been logged out in the middle of work (twice). PowerPoint has crashed (once). I had one crash using dual monitors. Also, GeekBench 4.0 has become unstable. My computer was running very stable prior to the install. I've had the 2133 MHz RAM in my rig for about a week and am still using it. I'll update this post if anything changes. I'm sticking with it a little longer mainly because I already have the RAM. I'm not sure the minor improvement in performance is worth the expense and reduction in stability. One more crash and I'm pulling the memory.
Another important thing to note is that Geekbench shows dramatic reductions in CPU performance when other applications are running (even when they are idle). So, if you're addicted to speed (like I am), you can achieve a much more significant performance boost by closing unused applications. This can give you an overall performance boost of over 20%.
I've attached a GeekBench comparison between my old 1600 MHz DDR3 and new 2133 MHz DDR3 RAM:
