Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

3GB of RAM in MacBook?

M

marekkurlmann

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 6, 2007
112
22
I'm going to be buying a MacBook in the next few weeks and wanted some advice about RAM for the MacBook.

First off, will MacBooks accept 3GB of RAM? Apple says 2GB max, but this site says it will accept 3GB: http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/Framework.cfm?page=/Tips/macbookcore23gb/macbookcore23gb.html

If the MacBook will indeed accept 3GB (correct me if I'm wrong), is it advisable to do so? It would have to be in a 2GB+1GB configuration, so it would not be a matched pair. Is 3GB of non-matched RAM a better alternative to 2GB of matched RAM? I plan on using the MacBook to run Adobe CS3 to do some of my design work on the road.

Here's the module I plan on buying. Any experience, advice, or precautions? http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/53IM2DDR3GBK/

Price-wise, 3GB of RAM from that store comes out to roughly the same amount as 2GB of RAM from Apple. My only concern is performance.

Thanks for the help!
 
The site is quite correct. It can address the memory with a slight graphics performance drop. It all depends on what you want to use the machine for as to whether it's the right thing to do. Do you really need the extra 1GB of RAM?
 
Maybe you can tell me - do I need the extra RAM? I'll be using the MacBook primarily for Adobe CS3 work and also for music recording using Reason and ProTools.

My only concern is performance; the prices for 3GB of RAM and 2GB of RAM are nearly the same.
 
marekkurlmann said:
Maybe you can tell me - do I need the extra RAM? I'll be using the MacBook primarily for Adobe CS3 work and also for music recording using Reason and ProTools.

My only concern is performance; the prices for 3GB of RAM and 2GB of RAM are nearly the same.
Click to expand...
OK. If CS3 is involved definitely go for the 3GB. Every MB counts with that suite :)
 
Can I chip in here. I've just installed Aperture on my MacBook, which already has 2gb ream an the top spec processor. Do you suggest that I get the extra RAM (which I didn't previously know was available), and what do you mean by a drop on graphics performance?

Cheers

EDIT: I meant to say that APerture was stuggling on my macbook, taking up sometimes over half my RAM, making the rest of my computer pretty useless!
 
Jebaloo said:
Can I chip in here. I've just installed Aperture on my MacBook, which already has 2gb ream an the top spec processor. Do you suggest that I get the extra RAM (which I didn't previously know was available), and what do you mean by a drop on graphics performance?

Cheers

EDIT: I meant to say that APerture was stuggling on my macbook, taking up sometimes over half my RAM, making the rest of my computer pretty useless!
Click to expand...

Well Aperture needs alot out of the graphics card so adding another GB of RAM in the form of a 2GB chip would slow down the performance of the program but keep more RAM free for use in other areas. If you look at the performace benchmarks at OWC you will see that when it comes to graphics card intensive application the 2GB actually outperforms the 3GB.
So if you just want to be able to use other programs more efficiently then the 3GB is the way to go as long as you don't mind a slight performace decrease with Aperture.
 
Oh, ok thanks. I think I'll just stick with the 2gb then, and i'll just have to lear to be more patient with my puter when it's working the aperture thang.
 
Any Intel chip with two cores will benefit from not only 2 GB, but matched pairs. While more memory is better, the gains you expect will not be as great as they should be, and, for the extra price tag for that extra gig, probably not wouldn't be worth it. Just my two cents.
 
When I bought my BlackBook (2.16) last weekend the guy said that the cannot take 3Gbs because if they are not a matched pair the graphics will "crash" as he said. I have a feeling he is wrong...
 
Zwhaler said:
When I bought my BlackBook (2.16) last weekend the guy said that the cannot take 3Gbs because if they are not a matched pair the graphics will "crash" as he said. I have a feeling he is wrong...
Click to expand...
Trust your gut, because he's absolutely wrong - there's quite a bit of the about MBs being installed with 3GB on various forums and I haven't seen a single person reporting this.

Currently, the only real debate is how 3 gig would affect performance.

This discussion might been intersting to people:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8300945231/m/719000469731/p/1
 
would it be beneficial to install 4 gbs? even though the processor can only address 3 gbs, am i correct in thinking that you would still get a boost over the 2+1 configuration because they are matched pairs?
 
Umm... the MacBook only takes 2GB of RAM maximum. The MacBook PRO is the one that can have up to 3GB.

How did it take this long in the thread for someone to point this out? :eek:
 
sonictonic said:
Umm... the MacBook only takes 2GB of RAM maximum. The MacBook PRO is the one that can have up to 3GB.

How did it take this long in the thread for someone to point this out? :eek:
Click to expand...
The Macbook C2D can use 3GB RAM, but Apple sells it with a maximum of 2GB...
macbook3gbhead.jpg
 
SpaceMagic said:
I'm waiting for CanadaRAM's input :p

I'd like to know this too.
Click to expand...

:)

Yes. We tested it in a BlackBook this week and 3 Gb is recognized no problem.

Caveats: It must be a Core2Duo. I can't tell you whether every RAM chipset will work. I don't know the decrease in video performance from non-matched RAM (I have heard 6 - 8 %) nor can I tell how much your particular applications might improve.
 
sonictonic said:
Umm... the MacBook only takes 2GB of RAM maximum. The MacBook PRO is the one that can have up to 3GB.

How did it take this long in the thread for someone to point this out? :eek:
Click to expand...

You do realize that the original poster did provide a link to OWC's site right? :rolleyes:
 
CanadaRAM said:
To be fair: Apple and every vendor EXCEPT OWC consistently says 2 Gb max. Part of the question of the original post is whether OWC's claim is verifiable...
Click to expand...

Exactly. Thanks. IMHO I wouldn't take OWC's word over Apple's. I see the specs on Apple's site and that is what I'm gonna trust since it's their laptop! This is total news to me that a 3rd party vendor is who you should go to, over the OEM for info on a product. To me that's just plain weird. So this is news to me you can squeeze 3GB in a MacBook (apparently C2D only though. I KNOW my MacBook won't take 3GB, lol).
 
damn that 3GB setup is cheap! I remember when the MBP first came out, that 2GB module was a fortune.

Of course, if you upgrade to a macbook pro, you wont have to worry about graphics performance...
 
sonictonic said:
Exactly. Thanks. IMHO I wouldn't take OWC's word over Apple's. I see the specs on Apple's site and that is what I'm gonna trust since it's their laptop! This is total news to me that a 3rd party vendor is who you should go to, over the OEM for info on a product. To me that's just plain weird. So this is news to me you can squeeze 3GB in a MacBook (apparently C2D only though. I KNOW my MacBook won't take 3GB, lol).
Click to expand...

Apple has consistently underquoted the ram capabilities of their machines in the past, based on what the "normal consumer" could afford. It's been pointed out right and left on various powerbooks, etc.

You can trust whoever you'd like, but don't so readily assume that everyone else is a lost cause ;)
 
Igantius said:
Accelerate Your Mac has some new reporting on this subject:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/index.html#S22830

It includes some new info from OWC, which is about to update its benchmarks for machine with 3GB.
Click to expand...

Have you seen any further info on this? I've been checking that OWC link, but so far I haven't seen any updated info. I'd really like to see these benchmarks before I order 3GB of ram for my macbook (which I haven't received yet).
 
Haven't seen anything further yet - but in that article, OWC said that there was a decent performance boost when it tested MBs running CS3 and Parallels.

If/when I see anything else, I'll post....
 
Igantius said:
Haven't seen anything further yet - but in that article, OWC said that there was a decent performance boost when it tested MBs running CS3 and Parallels.

If/when I see anything else, I'll post....
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah, I read through that pretty carefully. I'll keep an eye out for updates though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back