The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Best Macbook RAM Upgrade?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Mfrey89, Jun 30, 2008.

  1. Mfrey89

    Mfrey89 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    51
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I am upgrading my 2GB RAM to 4 Gig and I was wondering where I can get the most bang for my buck RAM on a website. I found this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231154 and was wondering if it would be ok in my new Mac? If anyone knows anything better for even a little more it would help greatly. Thanks.
     
  2. shinji23

    shinji23 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
  3. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    That's the same set I got for my MBP. They run extremely well. They are also priced very well, I paid something like $115 when I ordered them a few months ago.

    shinji23, Apple uses the same memory standards as PC's use. So those sticks work just fine on the MB/MBP.
     
  4. cashmonee

    cashmonee Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    787
    Messages:
    2,859
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Mac compatible is no longer necessary.

    I have had Mushkin in my MBP for about a year now and have been very pleased. There are several here who have used G.Skill with excellent results as well.
     
  5. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    just on the same topic as this post..

    would upgrading from 2gb to 4gb on a macbook have a major difference on performance wise with the GMA950 display card?
     
  6. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    You would see a boost if you run memory intensive apps like games and graphics apps or load a bunch of applications at the same time.
     
  7. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
  8. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I don't see any difference between the two except that one is $5 cheaper than the other and has nice packaging. Go with the $89 one.
     
  9. Khris

    Khris Yes I am better than you!

    Reputations:
    655
    Messages:
    2,608
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I'm using Muskin ram in my MB as well without any problems. One 2gb stick is "rated" for a Mac while the other stick isn't......both work fine.
     
  10. fgari36

    fgari36 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    the one without the packaging seems to have a lifetime warranty and the other does not.
     
  11. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    that's odd.... no packaging with lifetime warranty haha
     
  12. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I think they both have lifetime warranties. It must be a glitch on NewEgg's site, or they haven't updated all the part numbers to reflect the new price. Wouldn't hurt to send an email asking about it.
     
  13. stealthsniper96

    stealthsniper96 What Was I Thinkin'?

    Reputations:
    207
    Messages:
    1,398
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    If I remember, I don't think there was ever a Santa Rosa chipset with the GMA 950, so you wouldn't be able to use 4 gigs.
     
  14. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Having 4 GB of memory will help you out in that department. You could give 2 GB memory for the virtual OS, and the other 2 GB to Mac OSX.
     
  15. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I bought my macbook Dec 2006 so I'm not sure if it's santa rosa or not.... if not... i cannot take advantage of the 4gb ram? is there a 3gb limit or something?
     
  16. stealthsniper96

    stealthsniper96 What Was I Thinkin'?

    Reputations:
    207
    Messages:
    1,398
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    06 it won't have SR. I think the limit on that would be around 3 gigs. So you could just run 1 1gig stick and 1 2gig stick.
     
  17. fgari36

    fgari36 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Could you clarify something for me please...so if i were to go buy a macbook right now and installed 4gbs of ram it would only identify 3? I know the older models couldnt but does that count for the newest models as well?
     
  18. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    If i go for 1 stick of 1gb and 1 stick of 2gb... then i would lose the dual channel performance... is it worth it going for 3gb without the dual channel feature than 2gb with dual channel?
     
  19. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    The newest models now can support 4GB of memory.
     
  20. fgari36

    fgari36 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    thanks dbam987!
     
  21. stealthsniper96

    stealthsniper96 What Was I Thinkin'?

    Reputations:
    207
    Messages:
    1,398
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    dbam got it first, but yea they can use 4.

    It depends on what you are using the laptop for.
     
  22. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Gaming? Word processing? I do pretty much everything :)
     
  23. Fant

    Fant Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    9
    Messages:
    399
    Likes Received:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Do most of you load your apps as you use them and never quit just let them continue running in the background? Or do you try to quit the apps you know you do not need in the short term? OSX seems to be designed to leave apps running in the background as you open them by default. If so, wouldnt more memory help keep the system smooth after you have 10 or so apps all running?
     
  24. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Yep, having more memory allows you to have more applications running at the same time without slowing down your computer much. It's only when you are running CPU-intensive applications that the computer can become sluggish. Fortunately to resolve that, multi-core processors are hitting the main-stream (dual-core's are dominant now, but that will change with AMD and Intel's triple and quad core processors).

    I tend to have upwards of 7 or 8 different applications loaded at any one time during my day at work. You end up reducing the pressure on your hard-drive as a side-bonus when you have lots of available memory to put applications in.
     
  25. dragon529

    dragon529 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    i want to get a stick of 2gb ram with my '06 macbook (not santa rosa), can anyone recommend me some from newegg that will work for sure? A lot of reviews seem to be for the santa rosa chip so I'm having doubts..