New MacBook RAM upgrade - Aftermarket or Apple?

strangely (maybe i the UK), apple might be catching on..

to get an extra 2gb RAM (to make it 4gB) on the 2.4ghz macbook its only £99..
if you were to buy the ram from crucial it costs £95... not much difference..

1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM

e.g. http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=F5A5E837A5CA7304

I did a search on Crucial, and those were supposedly compatible with the new Aluminium MacBook. If you're unsure, just go to http://www.crucial.com and go through their drop down lists, the new MacBooks are in it (albeit not very clearly). Even if you don't buy from them, you can still get an idea of what to get from other places.

Higher750 said:

There are only two slots for RAM and the macbooks come with 2 1gb ram sticks. So going from 2 to 4gb actually requires you to buy 2 2gb ram sticks.

Though, what are the specifics for these RAM sticks if I did want to buy 2 2gb 3rd party RAM sticks?

Click to expand...

When I checked at Crucial, I was quoted $140. So I just purchased the upgrade through Apple when I ordered today. I just received an email that it had shipped -- less than four hours after ordering. Woohoo! Can't wait to get it. 2.4 GHz with 4 GB of RAM. Should be a sweet machine. Here's hoping it doesn't burn my lap when I'm using it. (I may have to throttle back the speed to up the battery life and reduce the heat.)

Prices at OWC and Crucial should drop soon. If you know you need the max RAM right away for video editing, etc. then I would say order from Apple. If you can wait a few months (like I plan to do) you can probably get an upgrade kit for under $100.

I have to say that Apple's RAM upgrade price is actually quite reasonable, you might be able to save yourself $10 by going aftermarket, but by buying through Apple your RAM will be covered by their Warranty, and that's worth $10 right there. After years of being ripped off on RAM from Apple it looks like they've finally come to their senses.

it's cheapest to buy aftermarket. why?

if you add the ram upgrade from apple, tax will be higher.

you can pick up a 4b ram kit (2x2gb) from ebay for ~$150. subtract 30% from that value using live cashback and your end cost will be ~$100

I just bought from OWC. 139.99 no tax plus you get $7.50 a piece rebate for turning in the original RAM. Shipping is 3.95 plus 0.50 insurance.

I also bought the Hitachi 320GB 5400RPM drive because it has a $20 rebate right now plus you get $25 back in rebate for turning in your original 160GB HDD.

Those two things from OWC cost me 179.93 after rebates. Pricey RAM but o well if you need it now you don't have a choice.

There are lots of posts on this, but the consensus is: don't buy apple ram. Ram prices will drop within the next few months.

DDR2 4GB = £45.81
DDR3 4GB = £95.16

Crucial.......

Err definitely buy from Apple if the difference is minimal.

Why? Because the RAM will be covered by AppleCare, the best warranty in the world.

dalvin200 said:

strangely (maybe i the UK), apple might be catching on..

to get an extra 2gb RAM (to make it 4gB) on the 2.4ghz macbook its only £99..
if you were to buy the ram from crucial it costs £95... not much difference..

Click to expand...

yeah it's getting closer, but bear in mind you've already paid for 2Gb if you get it from Apple!

At least if you buy from Crucial you can flog your 2Gb and get some cash back to lessen the hit.

Crucial always seem to have some discount codes floating around, also don't forget cash back sites like quidco.