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    Mbp 17"

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by satrycon, Jan 24, 2009.

  1. satrycon

    satrycon Notebook Enthusiast

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    hi all.


    the new MBP 17" has an 8gb ram option..my question is ..does leopard actually access the entire 8gb ? or is there a 6gb limit ??
     
    satrycon, Jan 24, 2009
    #1
  2. hugo525

    hugo525 Notebook Guru

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    snow leopard definitely does support 8gb.
     
    hugo525, Jan 24, 2009
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  3. satrycon

    satrycon Notebook Enthusiast

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    but not leopard ?
     
    satrycon, Jan 24, 2009
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  4. wahgnube

    wahgnube Notebook Enthusiast

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    Leopard can see the entire 8 GB.
     
    wahgnube, Jan 24, 2009
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  5. satrycon

    satrycon Notebook Enthusiast

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    sweeeeet :)
     
    satrycon, Jan 24, 2009
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  6. mmoy

    mmoy Notebook Deity

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    The Mac Pro supports 32 GB of RAM so 8 GB shouldn't be a problem.
     
    mmoy, Jan 24, 2009
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  7. jjahshik32

    jjahshik32 Notebook Deity

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    The 17" unibody mbp can support up to 8gb of RAM with the current leopard or future snow leopard.

    But the 15" unibody mbp can only support up to 6GB of RAM, it will see the 8gb but only be able to address 6gb though. Its already been tested.
     
    jjahshik32, Jan 24, 2009
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  8. sulkorp

    sulkorp Notebook Deity

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    But just to be clear, the 17" supports 8gb of ram. We dont know if this will apply to the 15" or the macbooks yet.

    As of right now, no apple laptop can use 8gb of ram properly without frezzing up. So either theres a hardware change in the new 17" which allows you to use more, or there will be a new build of leopard which lets it work, with hopefully all macbooks.
     
    sulkorp, Jan 24, 2009
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  9. circa86

    circa86 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    It is more likely a problem with the DDR3 Ram that is currently available and not a 15" MBP issue, it is possible they use a different chipset, but I would be surprised.
     
    circa86, Jan 24, 2009
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  10. sulkorp

    sulkorp Notebook Deity

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    the exact same issues have been happening for years now with the previous generation mbps. Santa Rosa, penryn and the new unibodies all have issues with more then 6gb of ram.
     
    sulkorp, Jan 24, 2009
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  11. jjahshik32

    jjahshik32 Notebook Deity

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    Thats one of the reason I might end up selling my 15" unibody for the 17" unibody after a 5-6 months later for the ability for 8gb of RAM and especially when RAM costs comes down by the end of this year.
     
    jjahshik32, Jan 24, 2009
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  12. satrycon

    satrycon Notebook Enthusiast

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    but is it possible to change RAM yourself on the new 17" ? i heard it wasnt possible thats why im ordering with 8gb, instead of 4gb and upgrading myself
     
    satrycon, Jan 25, 2009
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  13. mindinversion

    mindinversion Notebook Evangelist

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    If it's built the same way the 13" and 15" macbooks are, and I wouldn't see why it WOULDN'T be, it's easy as can be.

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1651

    I'd especially recommend this, since they want $1200 to upgrade from 4 to 8 gig o_O Best bet would be order it with 4 gig and wait 6 months for the price to come down.
     
    mindinversion, Jan 25, 2009
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  14. sulkorp

    sulkorp Notebook Deity

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    The bottom is one piece, so i doubt the ram is user replaceable. Sure you can probably do it yourself, though I got no idea what thatd do to the warranty. We wont know until it comes out. If anything, you could buy the ram once you get the laptop, and then get apple or certified people to install it for you, for a price. Warranty should be intact then.
     
    sulkorp, Jan 25, 2009
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  15. jjahshik32

    jjahshik32 Notebook Deity

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    The bottom can be opened by unscrewing it and it should be very easy to upgrade RAM.

    I wouldnt pay $1000 for 8gb just right now because in 4-5 months later you will kick yourself when its priced around $300, especially when its performance isnt that much better than 4gb of RAM.

    I would MUCH rather spend the extra $900 on the 256gb SSD and get the world of difference in overall speed that the computing world has been lacking in the bottlenecking of the hdd's for the past decade.
     
    jjahshik32, Jan 25, 2009
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  16. slash X

    slash X Notebook Geek

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    I assume that 8 gig's are supported by Apple due to the fact that Apple "States" that the unit support 8 gig's in it's advertising.

    Two things I do wonder at this time though ???????

    1. "IS" the ram user replaceable and warranty stays valid

    2. "IS" the HD user replaceable and warranty stays valid
     
    slash X, Jan 25, 2009
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  17. satrycon

    satrycon Notebook Enthusiast

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    im gonna be running shake and nuke on it so 8gb and the 2.93 wud be good
     
    satrycon, Jan 25, 2009
    #17
  18. Luke1708

    Luke1708 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    i hope it's just a firmware update which is needed for us 15 inchers. i would hate to have to stare at 17 inchers and say 'wow!these beast can support up to 8 gigs'
     
    Luke1708, Jan 26, 2009
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  19. circa86

    circa86 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    Years? Uh Huh, because 4GB sticks of RAM have been available for such a long time.
     
    circa86, Jan 26, 2009
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  20. satrycon

    satrycon Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok so basically i just go with 4gb, wait a few months once the price is down and get my own RAM and pay apple 50-100 bucks to replace..cool..so i save a few hundred at least
     
    satrycon, Jan 27, 2009
    #20