# Macbook RAM upgrade?



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

I am debating upgrading my MB to 2gb ram. I saw this at futureshop and seems like a good deal. MBs need dual ram so could I buy two of these to make 2gb. Is buffalo a good make, they say they are compatible with macs. I want to upgrade but don't want to drop too much. Any suggestions or feedback would be cool. Thanks!

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10097703&logon=&langid=EN

OR

Would this be a better buy?

Corsair Apple 2048MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 x 1024MB) VSA2GSDSKIT667D2 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Cheers!


----------



## 8127972 (Sep 8, 2005)

My co-worker just picked up Kingston RAM from this place:

Jumbo Computers

Apparently it was about $60 per 2GB DIMM (he got the max of 4GB).


----------



## Macinguelph (Oct 27, 2007)

I highly recommend checking out one of the sponsors of this site Canada Ram - good prices and excellent service.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

i'd recommend getting 2gb chip if you have a core 2 duo macbook. there's some crazy deals on 2gb chips at the moment. 

check everymac.com to see if your macbook can take a 2gb chip (even though apple may not officially support it)


----------



## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

Macinguelph said:


> I highly recommend checking out one of the sponsors of this site Canada Ram - good prices and excellent service.


I'm glad they are sponsors of this site, but I wish they would upgrade their web site to use a shopping cart solution. Having to manually type in part numbers into a form is quite cumbersome. That said, their prices are quite good. Next time I need RAM, I'm going to try them out.


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

I dont know if my mb is santa rosa...is there anyway to tell?


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

Adrian. said:


> I dont know if my mb is santa rosa...is there anyway to tell?


Santa Rosa is only going to be the latest Macbooks (after Nov 07). Those macbooks will support up to 4GB of RAM.

BUT if you have a Core 2 Duo macbook, you can actually use 3GB of ram (altoygh apple only "officially" says they supports 2gb) Check this web page :

How do you upgrade the RAM in the MacBook? How much RAM of what type does it support? @ EveryMac.com

If you have one of the initial core duo macbooks they max out at 2gb.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


----------



## TinCan (Dec 29, 2007)

This is probably a better deal.


----------



## Dave113 (Oct 9, 2007)

i-rui said:


> Santa Rosa is only going to be the latest Macbooks (after Nov 07). Those macbooks will support up to 4GB of RAM.
> 
> BUT if you have a Core 2 Duo macbook, you can actually use 3GB of ram (altoygh apple only "officially" says they supports 2gb) Check this web page :
> 
> ...



What is the maximum amount of ram for Core Duo? This site says the max for the 2 duo is 3 GB but doesnt say if the Core Duo can do 3 gb.


----------



## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

The original CoreDuos top out at 2 Gb of RAM - 2 x 1 Gb SODIMMs.


----------



## g.money (Dec 15, 2006)

*Mushkin, eh?*



TinCan said:


> This is probably a better deal.


Is it me, or does that seem like an amazing deal? I don't know the name--reliable brand?


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

looks like a really good deal...i kinda feel like buying 3 or 4 sets


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

I picked this up today (the last one at the mississauga store). it seems like the best deal i've seen for a 2gb chip for a core 2 duo macbook :

Canada Computers - Memory > Notebook Memory > DDR2 667 PC2-5300 : Patriot 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Notebook Memory. (PSD22G6672S).

it matches the specs needed for macbooks, and others have said they've used patriot in macbooks before. i still haven't installed it i yet (maybe tomorrow).
The sale ends on monday, so if you're interested go and grab one.


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

would i get two of those mushkin rams then to form 2gb?


----------



## TinCan (Dec 29, 2007)

Adrian. said:


> would i get two of those mushkin rams then to form 2gb?


Yes it would. 2GB (2x1GB).


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

i-rui said:


> I picked this up today (the last one at the mississauga store). it seems like the best deal i've seen for a 2gb chip for a core 2 duo macbook :
> 
> Canada Computers - Memory > Notebook Memory > DDR2 667 PC2-5300 : Patriot 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Notebook Memory. (PSD22G6672S).
> 
> ...


update - i just got home and installed the module. Seems to work fine so far (10 mins). I'll run memtest on it soon and post if there's any problems.


----------



## gggfff (Dec 18, 2006)

i-rui said:


> update - i just got home and installed the module. Seems to work fine so far (10 mins). I'll run memtest on it soon and post if there's any problems.


Hi

Thx for the heads up .....

Which generation of macbooks are you running?

Strongly considering dropping one of these in my first generation core 2 duo


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

gggfff said:


> Hi
> 
> Thx for the heads up .....
> 
> ...


i'm running a 2.16ghz white macbook. so far so good, although i still haven't ran memtset on it.


----------



## TinCan (Dec 29, 2007)

i-rui said:


> i'm running a 2.6ghz white macbook. so far so good, although i still haven't ran memtset on it.


Please keep updating.. Did you do 4gb or 3gb?


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

i did the max, which is 3gb for that model.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

update - finally ran memtest on the Patriot 2gb chip and it passed.


----------



## matriculated (Jan 2, 2008)

So let me get this straight: I can put 4GB in my 2.16MHz Macbook but I can only access 3GB of it but it'll still get the speed benefits of being paired up? If I put in 3GB it'll be slower than 4GB?


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

It is because the computer only has the capability (or has been programmed to only have the capabilities) to use like 3.2 (.4?) gb of ram. By putting 4gb you will not be using .7 gb of the 4gb. However, if you put 3 you will need to put 1 X 1gb and 1x2gb. Which is not even, or not paired. So putting 3 will be cheaper but it will not be paired and thus not be as efficient. Putting 4 will be more expensive and you will not be able to use 4gb but it will be paired and more efficient than 3 gb.


This is how I have understood it. Please correct if I am flaw at all.


----------



## matriculated (Jan 2, 2008)

Accoring to this link, a system using 4GB allows up to 3.4 available. It seems me, if you really want to maximize performance, go with the 4GB. While you lose .6GB in ram, you gain in video performance over using 3GB. It's because with 3GB you're not paired so the video performance suffers.

It's interesting to note the other PC manufacturers using the Core 2 Duo also suffer from the same 3GB/4GB "problem" but they oversell saying that 4GB is supported.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

hmmm, i didn't realize it would recognize 3.4GB. I'm at 3GB right now and it seems to be great. I doubt i'll go up to 2X2Gb for the extra .4GB.

Here's the OWC link regarding matched pairs and the extra performance in macbooks core 2 duos :

MacBook Memory Performance Testing - 512MB to 2.0GB, Pairs vs. non-Pairs atOtherWorldComputing.com

"NOTE: A 4.0GB (2GB x 2 Pair) configuration was also tested by 'popular demand'. Although the Core 2 Duo Macs are limited to 3.0GB addressed, the 4GB Set (2GB x 2 Pair) does appear enable 128 Bit addressing. While there does seem to be a small performance benefit gained with the 4.0GB vs. 3.0GB config, we'd recommend sticking with 3.0GBs max (in Core 2 Duos) unless you absolutely are seeking every last trickle of performance boost possible."


----------



## Gizmo (Nov 18, 2003)

g.money said:


> Is it me, or does that seem like an amazing deal? I don't know the name--reliable brand?


Decided to buy a couple of these Mushkin PC2-5300 from NCIX. The price WAS right. $53 for 2gigs shipped to Ottawa.

Unfortunately NEITHER of them worked in my Macbook even though the webiste said it was compatible. Its cost me $14 to send it back through an RMA with NCIX.
Not happy. Price is NOT right anymore.

Perhaps they were faulty, perhaps incompatible....don't know, but I'd be inclined to avoid this if you have a 13inch Macbook dualcore.


----------



## ifade (Oct 19, 2007)

*Should I upgrade my MacBook memory?*



i-rui said:


> Here's the OWC link regarding matched pairs and the extra performance in macbooks core 2 duos :
> 
> MacBook Memory Performance Testing - 512MB to 2.0GB, Pairs vs. non-Pairs atOtherWorldComputing.com


As I check the above test result, I am not sure I need to upgrade my MacBook's memory.
The model of the MacBook is 2.16GHz 2*512M=1GMem, with XBench, It got 164.24 (for 2x512 1024MB) and 165.20 (for 2x1024 2048MB) , 165.59 (for 2x2048 4096 MB). There is no significant change for the upgrading.

For general usage I don't think I need to upgrade memory, but I most likely use my mac with Vmware Fusion for linux, is that need extra memory for the virtual machine, what is your opinion?

Thanks.


----------



## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

IMO RAM is so cheap right now that it makes sense to at least bump up to 2GBs. Supposedly ram will be cheap until the end of the first quarter (from what i read in december)


----------



## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

If you're doing any kind of emulation (like running Winblows) then OF COURSE more RAM is going to be VERY helpful there. It's a no-brainer, particularly with prices this good.

Learn from Gizmo, above, and avoid the "el cheapo" RAM dealers. Macs are very picky about RAM quality. Go with a dealer who knows Macs, like CanadaRAM.


----------

