4gigs of Ram

[rellik13]

i just installed 4gigs of ram in my macbook pro. i bought it from apple in jan 2007. i was told that my model can only support 3. however doing some research users stated you can use 2 - 2gig sticks and get a total of 3.5. my system does recognize the full 4 gigs. im not complaining at all. i was just wondering if apple did a system update to allow me to use the full 4gigs.

rellik13
macbook pro
2.16ghz
4gb ram
200gb 4200rpm

 

[jonbravo77]

No, I did the same thing to my 2.3ghz MBP, and yes it does "recognize" the 4gb but does not use the 4gb only like 3.3'ish if you add up all the numbers.

 

[theITGuy]

No, I did the same thing to my 2.3ghz MBP, and yes it does "recognize" the 4gb but does not use the 4gb only like 3.3'ish if you add up all the numbers.

32 bit OSes can only address this 3.3GB...a 64 bit OS like Vista 64 or Windows 64 or Snow Leopard can address a lot more RAM.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[wesrk]

for that model though, the limitation is 3.3 gigs of ram regardless of it running leopard, right?

 

[Patriks7]

32 bit OSes can only address this 3.3GB...a 64 bit OS like Vista 64 or Windows 64 or Snow Leopard can address a lot more RAM.

Cheers.

-J.-

Or even Leopard as it's 64 bit. As far as I'm aware, the first Intel Macs have a hardware limitation. (or maybe even firmware like the new ones seem to have with 8GB)

 

[MrZebra]

Or even Leopard as it's 64 bit. As far as I'm aware, the first Intel Macs have a hardware limitation. (or maybe even firmware like the new ones seem to have with 8GB)

I think it's the memory controller.

 

[timish]

32 bit OSes can only address this 3.3GB...a 64 bit OS like Vista 64 or Windows 64 or Snow Leopard can address a lot more RAM.

Cheers.

-J.-

This is NOT true, but what this has to do with the OP's post I have no idea.

A 32 bit OS is NOT limited to 3.3GB, it's a CHIPSET limitation.

If you are saying Leopard can't recognize greater than 3.3 (or 4GB) of RAM, please tell that to my 16GB Mac Pro.

 

[Patriks7]

This is NOT true, but what this has to do with the OP's post I have no idea.

A 32 bit OS is NOT limited to 3.3GB, it's a CHIPSET limitation.

If you are saying Leopard can't recognize greater than 3.3 (or 4GB) of RAM, please tell that to my 16GB Mac Pro.

Well I think your Mac Pro is crazy!
But I wonder why 32 bit XP will only recognize 3.3 GB on my MacBook and 4 GB in OS X? Maybe it's because Leopard is 64 bit who knows

 

[vm7118]

Well I think your Mac Pro is crazy!
But I wonder why 32 bit XP will only recognize 3.3 GB on my MacBook and 4 GB in OS X? Maybe it's because Leopard is 64 bit who knows

leopard recognizes it, but will never utilize it, so it's a bit misleading. XP recognizes what is usable.

 

[kastenbrust]

This is NOT true, but what this has to do with the OP's post I have no idea.

A 32 bit OS is NOT limited to 3.3GB, it's a CHIPSET limitation.

If you are saying Leopard can't recognize greater than 3.3 (or 4GB) of RAM, please tell that to my 16GB Mac Pro.

A 32 bit OS IS LIMITED to 3.3GB or RAM regognition, however in the case of Leopard, Apple modified it to recognise more than 3.3GB but it still cant utilise all of it at once properly like a 64bit OS.

 

[Phil A.]

Wirelessly posted (iPod touch 32GB: Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11a Safari/525.20)

leopard recognizes it, but will never utilize it, so it's a bit misleading. XP recognizes what is usable.

Completely wrong - Leopard will utilise all the memory in the machine

A 32 bit OS IS LIMITED to 3.3GB or RAM regognition, however in the case of Leopard, Apple modified it to recognise more than 3.3GB but it still cant utilise all of it at once properly like a 64bit OS.

A 32 bit OS may be limited to that memory, but Leopard is a 64bit operating system and can see and use a lot more than 3.3GB of memory - current mac pros support 32 gigs...

Have a look here for more information

 

[Patriks7]

leopard recognizes it, but will never utilize it, so it's a bit misleading. XP recognizes what is usable.

Why would Leopard not utilize it? It's 64-bit. I highly doubt Apple would be selling Mac Pros with 32 GB if it can't be used, or even the 17" MacBook Pros with 8 GB.

 

[kastenbrust]

A 32 bit OS may be limited to that memory, but Leopard is a 64bit operating system and can see and use a lot more than 3.3GB of memory

Why would Leopard not utilize it? It's 64-bit

Your both wrong, Leopard is a 32 bit Operating System if it was a 64bit operating system it wouldnt run on Power PC Processors like G4 and G5's, and it wouldnt run on Core Duo processors like the ones in the original Powerbooks and Tibooks, as they dont support 64 bit OS's. Only Core 2 Duo and Quad Core processors support 64 bit operating systems and X64 technology. Sorry Guys

Heres a simple guide to 64bit capable processors for people who dont understand the technology:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2830

I'm not denying that Leopard can run more than 3.3GB of RAM, of course it can, my Mac Pro has 16GB, but it cant utilise it all, and it is only a 32bit Operating System with some modifications Apple made to recognise more than 3.3GB of RAM

Im sure someone who knows what theyre talking about like Tallest can back me up here.

 

[dukebound85]

Your both wrong, Leopard is a 32 bit Operating System if it was a 64bit operating system it wouldnt run on Power PC Processors like G4 and G5's, and it wouldnt run on Core Duo processors like the ones in the original Powerbooks and Tibooks, as they dont support 64 bit OS's. Only Core 2 Duo and Quad Core processors support 64 bit operating systems and X64 technology. Sorry Guys

Heres a simple guide to 64bit capable processors for people who dont understand the technology:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2830

I'm not denying that Leopard can run more than 3.3GB of RAM, of course it can, my Mac Pro has 16GB, but it cant utilise it all, and it is only a 32bit Operating System with some modifications Apple made to recognise more than 3.3GB.

leopard is 64 bit.....
http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/64bit.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_v10.5

the kernel is a true 64/32 bit hybrid and will load the correct one depending on the system

 

[kastenbrust]

leopard is 64 bit.....
http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/64bit.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_v10.5

Neither of those links prove its a 64bit OS. They just say its a normal OS with support for 64bit Applications. Which is what it is...

"Native support by many libraries and frameworks for 64-bit applications" (but not all, so its not 64 bit)

It CANT be 64bit or it wouldnt run on Power PC's and Core Duo Processors, check Wikipedia and Google, only Quad Core, and Core 2 Duo Processors can support 64bit Operating Systems.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

You are ALL wrong. Leopard is 64-bit, but with a 32-bit kernel. It can use more than 3.3GB of memory. My MacBook used 3.7GB once. The reason why the OP's MBP can't use all 4GB of memory is because his processor is 32-bit. The reason it has a 32-bit kernel is to allow compatibility with PPC processors and 32-bit applications. 64-bit processors, namely the Intel Core 2 Duo series and above, are capable of running true (64-bit kernel) 64-bit OSes as well as "hybrid" OSes that use a 32-bit kernel.

I remember SJ demonstrating Leopard running a 64-bit application that processed a huge image taken at the Library of Congress. Leopard uses the 32-bit kernel so it can run both 64-bit and 32-bit applications at once. That is why I call it a "hybrid".

 

[dukebound85]

Neither of those links prove its a 64bit OS. They just say its a normal OS with support for 64bit Applications. Which is what it is...

"Native support by many libraries and frameworks for 64-bit applications" (but not all, so its not 64 bit)

It CANT be 64bit or it wouldnt run on Power PC's and Core Duo Processors, check Wikipedia and Google, only Quad Core, and Core 2 Duo Processors can support 64bit Operating Systems.

it is 64 bit with support for 32 bit processors. the kernel can be run in 64 or 32 bit mode depending onthe system

 

[Cave Man]

i just installed 4gigs of ram in my macbook pro. i bought it from apple in jan 2007. i was told that my model can only support 3. however doing some research users stated you can use 2 - 2gig sticks and get a total of 3.5. my system does recognize the full 4 gigs.

What makes you think your MBP uses all 4 gb? If it is Calistoga-based (and the date suggests it is), then you can only access about 3.3 gb.