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MacBook (Current 2010 Unibody) 5GB RAM (4GB+1GB) and/or 8GB RAM maximum supported?!

b13o0r12e3

b13o0r12e3

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2008
75
612
London, United Kingdom
as the recently proud owner of a refurbished MacBook Unibody (£525 for a current model!) the default 2GB RAM (1GB+1GB) is installed. However, some demanding programs (particularly Aperture) are a total bitch to run.
2 quick questions,
would it be wise to replace 1 RAM slot with 4GB of memory for a total of 5GB RAM, and would the unequal memory sizes (if working) affect performance in any way? (just that i will use this Mac for many years to come and envisage that at some point 4GB RAM will not be enough and i want little wasted RAM as possible)
and although not mentioned on Mac Guides (not uptodate) i have noticed on OWC and another Apple reseller showing that 8GB RAM is supported. is this true?

thanks!
b13o0r12e3
 
uberamd

uberamd

macrumors 68030
May 26, 2009
2,785
2
Minnesota
5GB will perform better than 2 likely, however I would go for 8GB. The dual-channel memory support is nice. Try to go for 8GB or 2x2GB. And yes your model seems to support 8GB.
 
b13o0r12e3

b13o0r12e3

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2008
75
612
London, United Kingdom
thanks uberamd,
i would go for 8GB RAM as soon as possible, but UK prices are ridiculous (£205!) and 2GB+2GB kits arent that much better either, and the RAM upgrade is quite needed at present, so ill hold out and most likely replace them onebyone then (2GB->5GB->8GB).
nice to know it is supported though, although ive read in Mac Guides that with previous other Mac models, using 4GB+4GB modules has caused instability. will this be a problem with the MacBook?

thanks!
b13o0r12e3
 
blackburn

blackburn

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2010
974
0
Where Judas lost it's boots.
Mine is the late 2009 and has 8gb@1066MHz no problems:D It's a very worth update just make sure you buy 1066MHz DDR3 not 1333MHz DDR3 or else your machine will likely overheat like mine did.
 
A

Angra-mainju

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2009
142
11
UK
Guys, I have some sort of dillema. I want to boost my mid 2009 13" MBP from 2GB (1+1) to 4gigs of RAM. On macsales.com, I have couple of options: buy 2x2gb chips for 68 USD or one 4GB chip for 60. Then I could put it to get 5GB (1+4).

Why is one chip less expensive than 2x2. Where the performance is better? Will 5(4+1) be better than 4(2+2)? And what is this dual channel support?

I have the baseline model unibody MBP 13" mid 2009
 
Nago

Nago

macrumors member
Feb 25, 2010
39
0
Madrid, Spain
Angra-mainju said:
Guys, I have some sort of dillema. I want to boost my mid 2009 13" MBP from 2GB (1+1) to 4gigs of RAM. On macsales.com, I have couple of options: buy 2x2gb chips for 68 USD or one 4GB chip for 60. Then I could put it to get 5GB (1+4).

Why is one chip less expensive than 2x2. Where the performance is better? Will 5(4+1) be better than 4(2+2)? And what is this dual channel support?

I have the baseline model unibody MBP 13" mid 2009
Click to expand...


Dual channel support just means your computer will be able to access BOTH memory sticks at the same time, instead of alternating between both (twice as long to access your data!)
For dual-channeling to work, both RAM sticks have to be the same size and brand.

That is why 2x2GB is better than 1x4GB, unless you're planning to add another 4GB so as to achieve 2x4GB in the future!
 
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