I'm thinking about upgrading my 2009 MacBook Pro. It currently has 2GB of DDR3-1066 RAM inside. Since 1333 RAM is cheaper than 1066 models, I'm wondering if I can replace one existing 1GB 1033MHz stick with a 1333MHz 4GB one? Will there be any compatibility issues?
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Does DDR3-1333 RAM work with 2009 MacBook Pro?
- Thread starter queba
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The 09 MBP uses DDR3 RAM. The OP didn't even mention DDR2 RAM either.
To answer your question, OP, the 1333 would work. Of course, the MBP would just underclock the RAM to 1066, and there HAVE been issues reported with using 1333. Chances are, it'll act just like 1066 DDR3 RAM though, but YMMV.
Thanks for your answer. To be on the safe side, I think I should choose 1066
I think that would be the safe way to go.
Does anyone know if OS X even has support for 1333 as of yet?
Yes go with the 1066. Just head over to Newegg and look at the reviews with people putting the 1033 chips in their Macbook Pros. There are some people that say it works fine, but there is a significant amount of people that say that applications start to randomly crash after a while.
OS X supports 1333 on a software level. The Mac Pros and iMacs use 1333 RAM. Sandy Bridge should bring 1333 or possibly even 1600 to the notebooks; and the desktops will likely be bumped to 1600. In all honesty though, few applications will show noticeable difference with the faster RAM..
This is the correct answer.
9/10 you can always step up in memory speed but it really doesn't have an impact unless your system's bus can handle the bandwidth.
If 1333 works, what would be the rationale of getting 1066? If you ever get a sandy bridge you could put the 1333 you bought in it. To me it would be smarter to get 1333.