Upgrading RAM in 2012 MacBook Pro...

[Ace2617]

Hey everyone,

Next week I'll be upgrading the RAM on a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I'll be taking it from the standard 4 GB up to 16 GB of DDR3 RAM.

Is there anything I should know before doing this? I've never done anything like this before lol but I've watched plenty of videos and it looks quite simple. I suppose my question is, is it really as simple as it looks? Is there any simple mistakes that I should look to avoid? Or is it as simple as moving the hinges on both sides of the modules, popping the existing RAM sticks out, and popping the new ones into place?

I'm excited to do this - and excited to have more memory in the MBP - just a little hesitant because I don't want to screw it up.

Thanks everyone

 

[T5BRICK]

It's very easy. Just don't force anything.

 

[Ace2617]

It's very easy. Just don't force anything.

Thanks for the tip. I'll remember that

 

[JTToft]

Remember to disconnect the battery before doing anything else.

 

[Ace2617]

Remember to disconnect the battery before doing anything else.

Thanks, will do.

 

[MBP_187]

Good Luck Ace2617

I've been thinking of doing the same. I have 4Gb RAM now (Late 2011) MBP. I'm saving up to put in 16 Gb. I also have DDR3 RAM. I'm not an expert, but make sure you have the same bus speed, ie. it should be t

What brand of RAM did you buy? I have access to Transend RAM here.

 

[Ace2617]

Good Luck Ace2617

I've been thinking of doing the same. I have 4Gb RAM now (Late 2011) MBP. I'm saving up to put in 16 Gb. I also have DDR3 RAM. I'm not an expert, but make sure you have the same bus speed, ie. it should be t

What brand of RAM did you buy? I have access to Transend RAM here.

Thanks! I went with Crucial - 16 GB (Two 8GB Sticks) of 1600 MHz DDR3, since that's the speed that it came with. It should arrive next week, so I'm excited to give it a try lol

 

[robvas]

It's very easy. Don't misplace any of the case screws they are very tiny. Also make sure you don't bend the bottom cover either taking it off, or while it's off. Leave it on a flat surface and don't drop it, step on it, or set anything on it.

 

[Ace2617]

It's very easy. Don't misplace any of the case screws they are very tiny. Also make sure you don't bend the bottom cover either taking it off, or while it's off. Leave it on a flat surface and don't drop it, step on it, or set anything on it.

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably just set the bottom cover off to the side somewhere on a table and leave it alone until it's ready to be reassembled.

 

[Ace2617]

Just wanted to provide an update:

The RAM arrived yesterday (Tuesday) but I realized I didn't have the necessary screw driver to open the MBP. So today I went out and got it, and I just did the upgrade about five minutes ago. The case came off easier than I expected it would, and the RAM Sticks popped up just like I had seen in videos. The upgrade, as you all told me, was very easy. The 16 GB of RAM is obviously a huge upgrade over 4 GB, and I'm hoping it adds a few years of life onto the MBP, which belongs to my mom.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Just wanted to provide an update:

The RAM arrived yesterday (Tuesday) but I realized I didn't have the necessary screw driver to open the MBP. So today I went out and got it, and I just did the upgrade about five minutes ago. The case came off easier than I expected it would, and the RAM Sticks popped up just like I had seen in videos. The upgrade, as you all told me, was very easy. The 16 GB of RAM is obviously a huge upgrade over 4 GB, and I'm hoping it adds a few years of life onto the MBP, which belongs to my mom.

Thanks everyone for your help.

To be honest you would have been better off with an SSD it transforms a MacBook, ram is only any use if you use.

 

[Ace2617]

To be honest you would have been better off with an SSD it transforms a MacBook, ram is only any use if you use.

Yeah, SSD is next on my list. Targeting the Samsung Evo series. I've seen people use 840 & 850. That should be a nice boost compared to the 5400 HDD

Edit: I probably should've mentioned in the title/first post that the RAM was the first of a few upgrades I'd be making. I used to be hesitant about upgrades but I've watched SSD videos and I feel comfortable that I could do it. So that will be the next step. Then I'll either use Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to copy the data over to the new SSD. That should, as @Samuelsan2001 said, should really transform the MBP to something more usable. If there's a noticeable speed difference after the SSD upgrade, I'd be thrilled.