Im pretty sure im posting in the right section. I bought my first macbook a 13" white 1.83 ghz core 2 duo with 1gb ram and 60gb hard drive. Im trying to get myself over to the mac world so I bought this to see if I like it or not so far im loving it. My question is Will I see significant improvement in performance by upgraded the ram and hard drive?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Purchased my First macbook question about upgrades
- Thread starter gmurph1818
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It really depends on what you are doing with the computer. If you are just listening to music and surfing the web, you may see a small increase. If you are doing anything more intensive than that or heavy multitasking you will see more of an increase. 2 gigs of ram might not be a bad idea, and if you want to get a hard drive you could get a faster one to see a little difference.
I have the exact same MacBook model and the 250GB hard drive upgrade gave it a whole lot more "snappiness". Newer drives with higher capacity and thus higher data density are faster than these "old" 60GB ones.
As for the RAM, a bit over 3GB is the maximum addressable (though System Profiler reports 4GB if you put in 2x2GB), but by putting in one 1GB and one 2GB module, you lose the dual-channel mode. The speed loss, though is only marginal and so I went for the maximum RAM. Hm, thinking about it, I believe by putting in two 2GB modules you would retain dual-channel mode and really max out the RAM to the three point something possible... and looking at the prices.
I'd say, putting in two 2GB modules isn't really expensive and thus worth it. As for the HD, put in as large an HD you can afford and you'll be happy. 🙂
As for the RAM, a bit over 3GB is the maximum addressable (though System Profiler reports 4GB if you put in 2x2GB), but by putting in one 1GB and one 2GB module, you lose the dual-channel mode. The speed loss, though is only marginal and so I went for the maximum RAM. Hm, thinking about it, I believe by putting in two 2GB modules you would retain dual-channel mode and really max out the RAM to the three point something possible... and looking at the prices.
I'd say, putting in two 2GB modules isn't really expensive and thus worth it. As for the HD, put in as large an HD you can afford and you'll be happy. 🙂
Thanks for the reply I appreciate it. Im going to purchase the upgrades right now is there any specific thing I have to look for as in thickness or anything for a hd. Also is it possible to upgrade to a super drive?
GfulDedFan
macrumors 65816
RAM needs to be PC5300 DDR2 667MHz DIMM. Make sure your MacBook is a Core 2 Duo and not a Core Duo. If you have a Core Duo (May '06) your RAM limit is 2GB. If it's Core 2 Duo (Late '06) than you can install a 4GB Kit and realize ~3.3GB of it.
HDD needs to be SATA 2.5" and no taller than 9.5mm (most all available are but check). The 7200rpm drives have faster access than the 5400rpm.
Not sure about the SuperDrive. You might inquire at a sight like MacSales.com.
-GDF
GfulDedFan
macrumors 65816
The jury's still out on this matter but there is a shared video factor to consider as well when using a matched pair.. Needless to say, you currently have 2 x 512MB chips. If you were to purchase 1 x 2GB and replace one of your 512MB with it to give you 2.5GB, it would be better than 2 x 1GB that gives you 2GB.