Can my 2006 Macbook take 4 Gb of RAM even if it's not supposed to?

macpokerstars said:

I have the white Macbook from late 2006 (2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo). In the specs it says "up to 2 Gb".

Since there are 2x2 Gb chips out there, do you know if it's possible to put 4 Gb of RAM in the Macbook?

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You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum RAM:

• By visiting EveryMac.com: Actual Maximum RAM
• By selecting your model on the Crucial Memory Advisor™ Tool to find RAM information
• By entering your serial number here to find specs for your model.
  (Be aware that some models can use more RAM than Apple shows. Check EveryMac to verify actual usable RAM.)

3-ish gb of RAM

Hi, after looking into the same thing, it will take 2x2 and use around 3gb according to several sites and a local Mac reseller I spoke to.

I was going to upgrade from 2gb to 4gb in my 2,1 Macbook, but decided the cost was not worth it (locally I have been quoted from $75-100 Can).

Lion runs ok on my machine and since I will be buying a new one this year or next it doesn't seem worth it.

macpokerstars said:

Hi,

I have the white Macbook from late 2006 (2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo). In the specs it says "up to 2 Gb".

Since there are 2x2 Gb chips out there, do you know if it's possible to put 4 Gb of RAM in the Macbook?

What would actually prevent this? Is this a software or a hardware barrier?

Any suggestion?

Thanks a lot

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You can put in 4 GB, 3.3GB is recognized. I did it a few months ago to upgrade from my original 1GB when things were really starting to get sluggish.

malman89 said:

You can put in 4 GB, 3.3GB is recognized. I did it a few months ago to upgrade from my original 1GB when things were really starting to get sluggish.

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I think that's due to the limitations of 32-bit cpus.

So unfortunately, you'll be paying for 4 GB and can only use 75% of it or so.

LiesForTheLiars said:

I think that's due to the limitations of 32-bit cpus.

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It's a chipset limitation.

MagicBoy said:

It's a chipset limitation.

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Thank you for translating, that's what I meant.

I have a black late 2006 Macbook and just installed 2x2GB G.Skill ram (upgrade from 2x1GB Samsung).

To my surprise, when I go to "About This Mac" it states that it is recognizing the full 4GB of ram. Going to system information further confirms this.

I have read that the late 2006 MacBooks only recognize 3.3GB, but do they display as 4GB or 3.3GB?

How can I test whether my computer is actually running with 4GB of ram or not?

EDIT: Used iStatPro to look at my memory stats and they added up to ~3.3GB.