Re-Purpose Imac Memory

There is no such thing as a 2009 MBPr, as the retina model was first released in 2012. You can't add or replace RAM in the MBPr at all, as it's soldered in. You may be able, however, to use RAM from an iMac in a MBPc.

You can find specs on all Apple products:

• By visiting EveryMac.com
• By using Mactracker
• By entering your serial number here to find specs for your model.

 

MBP means "MacBook Pro". Your 2009 MBP uses 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500). Your 2012 iMac uses 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM (PC3-12800). I'm not certain they're fully compatible. I prefer to use only the exact spec that was originally installed.

 

The chances of it working are between slim and none. And slim was last seen on his horse heading out of town.

Memory is designed to work at certain speeds and trying to use them outside that design tends to not work well, presuming the MBP even sees it as valid memory.

 

PC3-12800 should be backwards compatible with PC3-8500, at least according to DDR3 specification. It does not mean that it will 100% work in your MBP though, as voltage might be a problem (1.5V for standard DDR3, 1.35V for low-voltage). I am not sure whether your MBP will correctly detect and apply the appropriate voltage to the RAM.