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OWC announces a cheaper 128GB Mac Pro RAM kit compared to what others offer

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Though Transcend and Axiom have already announced 128GB Mac Pro RAM kits, OWC is attempting to one-up their efforts by announcing a 128GB RAM kit of its own which costs less than what the competing firms are offering, MacLife reports.

Transcend’s 128GB Mac Pro RAM kit costs roughly $2,500, while Axiom is also offering 128GB of Mac Pro memory for about the same; as much as $2,480. Meanwhile, 128GB of OWC RAM for the Mac Pro will serve up a significant bit of savings when compared with Transcend, carrying a price tag of “only” $2,130.

At first glance, there seems to be a tradeoff for using OWC’s RAM over the memory sticks that Apple ships with their systems. For instance, the RAM offered by OWC runs at 1066 MHz. Meanwhile, the sticks that ship with Apple’s rigs are clocked at 1866 MHz. However, OWC addresses this issue on their page, and essentially downplays what you’d lose by using their 128GB kit, which consists of four 32GB sticks.

“While current DRAM device technology limit 32GB modules to a 1066MHz memory clock in the Apple Mac Pro 2013,” OWC states on their page, “due to enhanced CAS Performance of OWC MaxRAM 32GB Modules, actual real-world performance is insignificant in low memory need scenarios while offering incredibly significant performance gains in all cases where application use benefits from greater than 64GB of total memory installed.”

For our money though, we’d rather splurge on more storage for the Mac Pro. Though the base model’s 256GB PCI-Express SSD is speedy, it’s also quite small, especially considering that the Mac Pro is aimed at creative types. Creative professionals, like photographers and video editors, typically work with large files.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

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Mike Epstein
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…
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