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4GB memory purchase... I have the low 15 MBP before unibody

R

roadstarsoul

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 21, 2008
14
0
Hi everyone,

I tried searching but couldn't find anything besides the new unibody info. Can someone help me purchase 4gb memory for my MBP? My current memory shows 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Am I supposed to purchase a "set" of 2 2GB sticks? Or can I just purchase 2 single 2GB sticks? I'm not sure if that makes sense but I've seen some memory that comes with both in one package.

If anyone has a link to any good deals, I'd really appreciate it.

Also what is my MBP referred to as? I think it might help me search better on the forums. I have the LOW 15 inch MBP that came out right before the unibodies.

Thanks for any help!!!
 
roadstarsoul said:
Hi everyone,

I tried searching but couldn't find anything besides the new unibody info. Can someone help me purchase 4gb memory for my MBP? My current memory shows 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Am I supposed to purchase a "set" of 2 2GB sticks? Or can I just purchase 2 single 2GB sticks? I'm not sure if that makes sense but I've seen some memory that comes with both in one package.

If anyone has a link to any good deals, I'd really appreciate it.

Also what is my MBP referred to as? I think it might help me search better on the forums. I have the LOW 15 inch MBP that came out right before the unibodies.

Thanks for any help!!!
Click to expand...

It's probably better to get the memory as a 4gb pair, rather than buy individual sticks, and it wouldn't cost more that way as a rule.

Here is a link to some offerings at Newegg.com. I bought the Kingston 4gb (2 x 2 gig) at 44.99 because the ratings were 97% excellent and 3% good - far better than most products out there. There are more choices, but I stuck to product sold as Mac certified. That way you don't have to swap out your newer memory and re-install the old memory if you need to take your laptop in for warranty or Applecare work.

Good luck.
 
I recommend purchasing a set from a reputable reseller, such as newegg, zipzoomfly, tigerdirect, and others. A matched set is preferable, since running unmatched sticks may cause issues. It's not guaranteed to, but then again, a matched set is guaranteed not to. I personally used a 4GB low-latency DDR2 kit from Corsair in my previous MacBook Pro, and was very happy with it. It's currently working just as well in my iMac.
 
Be careful with 3rd party ram on these Macbook Pro's. I recently purchased a 4 gig kit of Kingston ram from Newegg and it continually froze my machine. I eventually went with (overpriced) Apple ram.

It's a common problem.
 
I've been using Crucial Value Select in my MBP for a few months now.
haven't had any issues at all.

I just ordered some OWC RAM from MacSales for my other machine, I've read good stuff about it.
 
roadstarsoul said:
Hi everyone,

I tried searching but couldn't find anything besides the new unibody info. Can someone help me purchase 4gb memory for my MBP? My current memory shows 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Am I supposed to purchase a "set" of 2 2GB sticks? Or can I just purchase 2 single 2GB sticks? I'm not sure if that makes sense but I've seen some memory that comes with both in one package.

If anyone has a link to any good deals, I'd really appreciate it.

Also what is my MBP referred to as? I think it might help me search better on the forums. I have the LOW 15 inch MBP that came out right before the unibodies.

Thanks for any help!!!
Click to expand...

You do not need to buy a set (e.g. 2 x 2GB) however if you do wish to have more compatibility (hence stability) and have dual channel activated (which of course you want,) you will have to buy both sticks identical and the only way to guarantee this, is by buying a whole set (in the older days buying 2 sticks of the same model but that were built in different factories or different day was enough for some instability, I do not know if it stills applies today but play safe and buy a set.)

I recently bought this one for a system similar to yours (mid 2008 Mac Book Pro @ 2.4Ghz (if you go to the apple menu, then about this mac, then more info then hardware, under model identifier it should say well... that the model identifier, in my case is MacBookPro4,1):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134605
that ram is very cheap (less then $40) and is very good (good brand and low latency) also have great reviews.
recently I found this one other which have even lower latency which should account for a bit of better performance, I do not own this one but it should be better that the one I do own.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134661
I had crucial ram installed, and the system was a complete mess, it would freeze for ~5secs every few hours and show you the beach ball ramdomly while browsing the internet, furthermore it did not showed significant performance increase over the standard 2GB (these kingston did, not a lot but just what you would expect from doubling the ram)
 
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