13in alminum macbook: upgrading memory inquiry

[Aven SkyGazer]

Hello there, Mahyar here writing from Armed Forces Europe,

Just had a question about upgrading my late 2008 aluminum unibody macbook's ram. It currently houses 2GB of memory (1 GB in each slot) and I was wondering about upgrading to 4GB total, or even 8.

My question concerns what apple's support page entails. To quote it directly, apple mentions that:

Depending on the configuration of the MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) you purchased, both memory slots may already be full. The maximum amount of memory you can install in your MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) is 4 GB (using 2 GB DIMMs in both memory slots).

this is taken from the support page, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1651 They go on to mention what specs of ram the memory slots can accept.

Although apple mentions that my specific macbook may only hold 4GB total, I have heard of other users upgrading to 8. Why is this?

If anyone has sucessfully upgraded their unibody 13in MB to 4GB, I'd sincerely appreciate any helpful thoughts and which vendor you chose to deal with!

Thanks a ton

Best

 

[BlueRevolution]

On certain computer models, Apple advertises less memory capacity than the logic board can actually handle. I don't know why that is, possibly to encourage people to buy more expensive computers with more upgradability. Most computers are limited to the advertised capacity, so if you want to play it safe, stick with 4 GB.

Some good memory brands are Crucial, Corsair, Patriot, and G.SKILL. I don't know much about European computer vendors so I can't help you there. However, newegg.com is a good place to read reviews before you buy.

 

[flatfoot]

MacTracker is a nice free utility that gives you the specs of every single Mac model.

Yours supports 6GB (2GB+4GB). Don't ask me why that is, but that's also what I've heard from others.

 

[Aven SkyGazer]

thanks for the input.
2GB + 4GB does indeed sound odd. Although it can be done, I think the best bet is to stick with the same #'s on each side

Yes, I think newegg is the way to go. I have found the ram sticks that match my models specs here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148191

The only thing unmentioned in the details of these sticks are the actual size. On the mac support page, it mentions a requirement of 30mm. I assume the ram I have been looking at above is 30mm if every other spec matches up, right? What do you guys think?