2008 unibody MacBook upgrades

[pillow1313]

Hey everyone I hope that your holidays have been awesome!

I currently have the unibody aluminium macbook from 2008. It is a first generation and I love it. Current specs are Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4 GHz), 2 GB of ram (2x1 GB modules), 250 GB HD, and the 9400m (256 MB VRAM). I play FPS games with my macbook (I have a second partition for windows) and I am going to upgrade to the latest OS X. I want to install 8 GB (2x4 GB modules) of ram as well as install a larger hard drive. I have been doing a lot of reading on the macrumors forums and it seems I need 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) ram and a 2.5 inch SATA hard drive that is less than 9.5mm in height. Since I am upgrading to the latest OS X I shouldn't have a problem with installing and utilizing the full 8 GB of ram and I also understand that there is an updated BOOT ROM version incase I run into any hiccups.

I am currently looking at Kingston Technology 8GB Kit (2x4 GB Modules) 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM and Samsung SpinPoint SATA 5400rpm 8 MB Cache 1 TB 2.5-Inch Hard Drive. Will increasing the ram to 8 GB increase my GPU's VRAM? I am unsure about this particular hard drive. I would like to keep the RPM low so as to not cause heating issues. Does anyone have any recommendations for a speedy, larger capacity HD?

Edit: MacBook5,1

 

[pillow1313]

430+ views and no replies? Now i remember why I stopped coming to this site...

 

[gdourado]

Hello,
How are you?
I have the same model Macbook.
I just got it on Friday in exchange for a Unibody white Macbook.
Tomorrow I will install memory and hard-drive.

For memory, I ordered a Corsair 2x4gb DDR3 - 1066 PC8500 CL7 SO-DIMM kit.
It will take the macbook to the maximum of 8gb that model supports.

As for hard-drive, I ordered the Seagate Momentus XT 750gb Hybrid Drive.
It is a 7200 rpm HDD with an 8gb SSD cache for frequent used files.

I will receive the goods from DHL tomorrow and install them. I will also do a clean install of ML and them migrate my files.

I will let you know how the upgrades turn out.

Cheers!

 

[spyguy10709]

Hey everyone I hope that your holidays have been awesome!

I currently have the unibody aluminium macbook from 2008. It is a first generation and I love it. Current specs are Intel Core 2 Duo (2.4 GHz), 2 GB of ram (2x1 GB modules), 250 GB HD, and the 9400m (256 MB VRAM). I play FPS games with my macbook (I have a second partition for windows) and I am going to upgrade to the latest OS X. I want to install 8 GB (2x4 GB modules) of ram as well as install a larger hard drive. I have been doing a lot of reading on the macrumors forums and it seems I need 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) ram and a 2.5 inch SATA hard drive that is less than 9.5mm in height. Since I am upgrading to the latest OS X I shouldn't have a problem with installing and utilizing the full 8 GB of ram and I also understand that there is an updated BOOT ROM version incase I run into any hiccups.

I am currently looking at Kingston Technology 8GB Kit (2x4 GB Modules) 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM and Samsung SpinPoint SATA 5400rpm 8 MB Cache 1 TB 2.5-Inch Hard Drive. Will increasing the ram to 8 GB increase my GPU's VRAM? I am unsure about this particular hard drive. I would like to keep the RPM low so as to not cause heating issues. Does anyone have any recommendations for a speedy, larger capacity HD?

Edit: MacBook5,1

The aluminum macbooks do not have heating issues. Go to microcenter.com, and pick out any sata HDD you want. Same with the RAM. Just get the cheapest with good specs. Any "Mac Compatibility" is BS as the hardware of a Mac and a PC is exactly the same (That goes to you, OWC... )

The RAM will not increase your VRAM.

 

[callmerui]

You should take a look in SSD instead of HDD. I also own a macbook alu '08 with 4GB and the bottleneck is currently my hdd (250GB 5400RPM ). Once i have the budget I am going to upgrade my macbook with new battery and SSD.

 

[gdourado]

I installed a seagate momentus XT hybrid drive and I am very happy.
It was a good price, has capacity for all my media and significantly speeds boot time and app launch time.

Cheers

 

[brop52]

I installed a seagate momentus XT hybrid drive and I am very happy.
It was a good price, has capacity for all my media and significantly speeds boot time and app launch time.

Cheers

I went with the XT as well and I got a great deal on it. I upgraded from 5400 RPM 320GB to the 500GB XT. I have the same machine though with 2GHz instead of 2.4GHz. I also installed 8GB two months ago.