What RAM for macbook pro? [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

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t5Nitro

21st of October 2009 (Wed), 17:34

I have the new style that came out last October.

It's 2.4ghz intel core 2 duo.
2gb of 1066mhz DDR3 SDRAM.

Any DDR3 ram card for laptops at 1066mhz would work or what do I need? The local mac store has a 2gb DDR3 card for $80. I'd assume newegg is cheaper for whatever I need.

On a side note, I was also interested in buying a large monitor and use it for dual monitors. Are there any monitors that are going to be better than others? I like the cinema displays, but you can nearly just buy the new iMac for the price of a monitor.

Thanks.

MaxxuM

21st of October 2009 (Wed), 18:15

Apple doesn't use anything special. Any DDR3, 1066MHz SO-DIMM's will work. Here's an example at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-CT2KIT25664BC1067-204-PIN-PC3-8500-SODIMM/dp/B001KUL012).

t5Nitro

21st of October 2009 (Wed), 19:09

Does it (stock) have 2 x 1gb cards? Otherwise all I would need is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145228

If it is 2 1gb single cards I guess the 2x2gb pack makes more sense.

MaxxuM

21st of October 2009 (Wed), 19:21

Yep, almost always has two banks filled, but you can always check yourself.

cory1848

21st of October 2009 (Wed), 19:43

Just make sure you get the good stuff. Crucial or something similar...

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/Pro/Core2/

t5Nitro

21st of October 2009 (Wed), 23:33

I was looking at the corsair. Is crucial better?

BeritOlam

22nd of October 2009 (Thu), 03:29

I was looking at the corsair. Is crucial better?

No real difference of consequence, in my experience. I've used both in PC custom builds for friends as well as Mac upgrades....and I've never heard of any of them dying. Both are considered good RAM.

Usually I just buy from Newegg whatever is 'on sale' among the Lifetime-warranty RAM options.

t5Nitro

22nd of October 2009 (Thu), 20:47

Tony-S

22nd of October 2009 (Thu), 21:01

t5Nitro

22nd of October 2009 (Thu), 21:24

Ah, maybe better just to pay the 80$ per card at happy mac.

Tony-S

22nd of October 2009 (Thu), 21:40

If you're in the US, you should try Other World Computing or DataMem Systems. Good prices and reliable support.

Analog6

22nd of October 2009 (Thu), 21:52

Where are you? In Oz, I've had good generic brand RAm for my 24" imac from ePowermac http://www.epowermac.com.au/shop/pc/MacBook-Pro-Memory-c513.htm

BeritOlam

23rd of October 2009 (Fri), 08:03

The Macs can be sensitive to slight differences in timing. My advice to you is to buy chips that specify they're for a MacBook or MacBook Pro. The chips you listed - did you see the reviews? One person reported problems with their MacBook.

The one good thing about Newegg....the sometimes lengthy (and nerdy!) reviews.

You could go the 'safe' route by buying your Mem from the Mac section, per Tony's suggestion. The last time I bought mem (about 6 months ago), the RAM was more expensive this way.

The other option is to find RAM that has 100+ reviews, do a browser window search of "Macbook", then scroll through the reviews of people using a Macbook. As long as you have a lot of reviews to read, you can usually find enough Macbook users buying that RAM to get a sense of whether it will work.

I found my Corsair memory for my 4th-gen Macbook that way -- no problems in 18 months. Same thing with Kingston memory in my wife's Macbookk -- no problems in 15 months.

MaxxuM

23rd of October 2009 (Fri), 13:10

Ok, so right now if I went the corsair route I'd have to buy two of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145228

and pay shipping.

The crucial for 4gb 2x2gb pack is $75 and free shipping. So this is probably the one to go with? I just don't want to pull out a good brand of RAM the computer may have in it and put a cheaper one in. Or is this not the case here.

Lightroom is just slow when it comes to the stock MBP.

The Macs can be sensitive to slight differences in timing. My advice to you is to buy chips that specify they're for a MacBook or MacBook Pro. The chips you listed - did you see the reviews? One person reported problems with their MacBook.

Just an FYI, but the memory I mentioned above (Amazon Link (http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-CT2KIT25664BC1067-204-PIN-PC3-8500-SODIMM/dp/B001KUL012)) is well used by Apple users and is certified as Crucial's official Mac memory (Crucial Link (http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=05217C5FA5CA7304)). If you want official and affordable, it just doesn't get any better especially if you have a Prime account. If you're not in the states, then it's probably going to cost more from somewhere else :(

Paul_A

27th of October 2009 (Tue), 08:59

I just upgraded my late-08 MBP with 6 gb (4+2) of ram from Other World Computing. Good price, fast shipping, and they even have online instructions on how to do the upgrades. They also have a program where they'll offer you some money for trading in your old ram. It was my first time dealing with them, but I was very satisfied.

canybo

29th of October 2009 (Thu), 07:31

Don't pay the ridiculous amounts Apple charges for RAM.
Mac's can be picky about RAM though, but I've never had a single problem with Kingston ram.
They make them specifically for macs and have a good ram-chooser on their website.

I have bought ram before (cheaper stuff) which didn't work in my apple-machine, even though the specs were the same. But this was +5 years ago though.