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So, can I put 4GB of ram in my MacBook Pro or not?

M

macgeek2005

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 31, 2006
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I've been hearing alot about 2GB DIMM's that fit in the iMac/MacBook Pro, but i've never seen/heard of someone actually doing it, and putting them in. Does it work? Does this ram actually exist?

If it doesn't work, then I'm waiting until they support 4GB, before I buy one.
 
i know the 2GB sticks exist but they cost nearly $1800....so I would wait to install this ram until next year when it costs only about $700....and to be honest I'm not even sure if they work with the MB/Pro.
 
I remember hearing about someone on these forums that popped 2 sticks he got to test out from either his friend or employer (i forget which) and they worked great, though this is to be taken with a grain of salt.
 
Nar1117 said:
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.asp?imodule=CT25664AC667&prs=USPRICEGRABBER

Yes you can.

The thing with ram is that it doesnt need software updates or drivers, you just plug it in a hope that it works. There is no reason why 2 x 2gb SO-DIMMs wont work. A 32-bit processor will max out at 4gb of ram though, it wont be able to access any more then that.
Click to expand...

So by the end of this year, when the MBP's have Merom, how much ram will they support? And how much will apple let you configure on their website? And how much will it cost?
 
Yes you can.

The thing with ram is that it doesnt need software updates or drivers,
Click to expand...
Yeah, all it needs is
1) a hardware memory controller that recognizes the density of the RAM module and
2) modules that conform to both the physical requirements of the machine and the logical organization of the rows and columns of memory on the module.

Both of which at this point are almost complete unknowns.

(Almost, because other implementations of this intel chipset in a different operating environment may support 4 Gb -- which is suggestive but by no means certain that Apple's motherboard will too.)
 
Until those 2GB DIMMS come down to earth in price, you're not going to see them advertised by Apple or "officially" supported.

They work, but for the $1800 + 25% Apple markup, they wouldn't make enough back on the cost of buying 2GB DIMMS at wholesale.

What I never understood was why they didn't put 4 RAM slots in the PB's or MBP's, especially during the 5+ years we were shackled with the G4 where anything extra would have helped. I know I would have put 4 1GB DIMMS in my PB.

macgeek2005 said:
So by the end of this year, when the MBP's have Merom, how much ram will they support? And how much will apple let you configure on their website? And how much will it cost?
Click to expand...
 
macgeek2005 said:
So by the end of this year, when the MBP's have Merom, how much ram will they support? And how much will apple let you configure on their website? And how much will it cost?
Click to expand...

64-bit logically supports 17,179,869,184 gigabyes of RAM. That's 16 exabytes. :)
 
CanadaRAM said:
Yeah, all it needs is
1) a hardware memory controller that recognizes the density of the RAM module and
2) modules that conform to both the physical requirements of the machine and the logical organization of the rows and columns of memory on the module.

Both of which at this point are almost complete unknowns.

(Almost, because other implementations of this intel chipset in a different operating environment may support 4 Gb -- which is suggestive but by no means certain that Apple's motherboard will too.)
Click to expand...

Well #1 is probably covered, im 80% sure apple's memory controller will detect 2gb in a single slot.

And #2 - The crucial ram that i linked is a single DDR2 SO-DIMM with 200 pins. This is exactly what will fit into the Macbooks and Macbook pros, the voltage matches too (1.8 v). The configuration is 256mb x 64, and for a 1gb module it is 128mb x 64, and you bring up an interesting point with the logical configuration, but remember Apple is smart, they probably thought of this.
 
Nar1117 said:
Well #1 is probably covered, im 80% sure apple's memory controller will detect 2gb in a single slot.

And #2 - The crucial ram that i linked is a single DDR2 SO-DIMM with 200 pins. This is exactly what will fit into the Macbooks and Macbook pros, the voltage matches too (1.8 v). The configuration is 256mb x 64, and for a 1gb module it is 128mb x 64, and you bring up an interesting point with the logical configuration, but remember Apple is smart, they probably thought of this.
Click to expand...

If I had to guess, I would say that unofficially the MBP will support 4GB of memory, assuming that 2GB DIMMS don't have different specs than the current 1GB DIMMS....but I doubt we'll see Apple officially support it on current models.
 
From Crucial.com
Start by determining how many megabytes (MB) your computer can hold.
The Crucial Memory Advisor tool has already done this step for you! The maximum memory your Apple MacBook Pro 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo (15.4-inch) can support is 2048MB.
 
WorldIRC123 said:
From Crucial.com
Start by determining how many megabytes (MB) your computer can hold.
The Crucial Memory Advisor tool has already done this step for you! The maximum memory your Apple MacBook Pro 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo (15.4-inch) can support is 2048MB.
Click to expand...
I am sure they are just taking manufacturers specs....

that means very little
 
the OS memory management also control how much RAM can be supported, e.g. if you insert 4GB of ram into XP PRO workstation, XP will register approx 3.5GB RAM only, need to check how much RAM are supported by OSX...
 
I know a guy that has 4 gigs of ram in his powerbook 1.5ghz, he says as long as it has the same specs as the 1 gig sticks you would put in it it will work just the same. put in the 2 gig sticks . have fun.its expensive though
 
JackSYi said:
Yeah you're right. Thats why the Power Mac G5s maxed out at 8GB.
Click to expand...

When have you last gone to www.apple.com? 1: All new PowerMac G5's are 64-bit. 2: They are maxed out at 16 GB, due to "only" 8 RAM slots. 3: The G5's motherboard supports up to 4 terabytes of RAM (4000 GB):D
 
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