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I have Late 2008 Unibody MBP 2.4 ghz and i am using 8 GB RAM for last 2 months on SL 64bit mode and it is been stable so far even when i maxed out the 8GB RAM (Mostly running VM's on Fusion. I don't use Photoshop or any other editor). I bought the RAM from OWC and i think they are selling now below $200. Check it out folks.

Ben :apple:

Wow, that was a good news.
:D
 
i just bought 8gb of ram for like $120 off buy.com. Installed it in my macbook pro, selling my old 4gb for like $75, and that's an awesome upgrade for hardly nothing. Take a look at the deals on these 2x4gb options. I've noticed a difference running a number of items at once.
 
You have a serious problem with your Macbook (Pro). I'd suggest reinstalling Mac OS X. The computer should never use ram like that.

glad someone agrees! unfortunately this type of issue has persisted for over a year now, across 3 fresh-start reformats of snow leopard. i feel weird going back to regular leopard after so long, but i never had these issues prior to 10.6

anyway, i'm starting to think my machine has simply become too much of a diva to bother upgrading further. i'll just save up and hope for some good options on a new system next summer!

glad people have had luck with their late '08 machines and 8gb ram, though! i do love the system, minus these memory issues, of course!
 
well, it's been a solid 7 days since i've had 8gb installed. i've abused it as many ways as i could (ie: virtual machines, maxin' out programs, etc). besides the ONE instance of kernel panic from the 1st day, i haven't seen it since :D

in addition, i was able to load up the memory wayy past 6gb really quickly using CaveMan's piggy app.

speaking of caveman...he gave me the green light to share the app. i've packaged the app along with his own instructions so if anyone needs a quick way to load up their memory, i've included the download link below:

http://rapidshare.com/files/431137304/Piggy_by_CaveMan.zip

i hope this helps others! and thanks again to cave man! a simple, yet effective app :)
 
well, it's been a solid 7 days since i've had 8gb installed. i've abused it as many ways as i could (ie: virtual machines, maxin' out programs, etc). besides the ONE instance of kernel panic from the 1st day, i haven't seen it since :D

in addition, i was able to load up the memory wayy past 6gb really quickly using CaveMan's piggy app.

speaking of caveman...he gave me the green light to share the app. i've packaged the app along with his own instructions so if anyone needs a quick way to load up their memory, i've included the download link below:

http://rapidshare.com/files/431137304/Piggy_by_CaveMan.zip

i hope this helps others! and thanks again to cave man! a simple, yet effective app :)

Wait, you had a kernel panic immediately after installing new RAM and you consider it OK??

Post the kernel panic backtrace!
 
Wait, you had a kernel panic immediately after installing new RAM and you consider it OK??

Post the kernel panic backtrace!

not exactly.

after installation, the system came up normally. i loaded the memory up by opening a bunch of VMs and whatnot, resulting in about 7gb of memory addressed/reserved. after about 2-3hrs of actual use, i loaded a facebook flash video and bam. kernel panic.

i showed the log to a few people and we couldn't find anything useful from it. right now, it's hard to trace back as its been 7days (let me know if there is an easier solution than using the Console).

since then, i've retested with rember and piggy and with actual use. no hiccups for the last 7 days.

any suggestions welcome, but i'm quiet comfortable as it is.
 
not exactly.

after installation, the system came up normally. i loaded the memory up by opening a bunch of VMs and whatnot, resulting in about 7gb of memory addressed/reserved. after about 2-3hrs of actual use, i loaded a facebook flash video and bam. kernel panic.

i showed the log to a few people and we couldn't find anything useful from it. right now, it's hard to trace back as its been 7days (let me know if there is an easier solution than using the Console).

since then, i've retested with rember and piggy and with actual use. no hiccups for the last 7 days.

any suggestions welcome, but i'm quiet comfortable as it is.

Inside Console, open the Log List and find the panic logs. I cannot remember off the top of my head where they are (this computer has never had a kernel panic) but probably in /Library/Logs or /private/var/log
 
[Update] Late 2008, Unibody MacBook Pro 15" 2.53GHz or Higher and Mid 2009, All Unibody MacBook Pro 15" can use 8GB

does this mean i can put 8Gb of ram in my:

15" Macbook Pro, 2.53 Ghz, dual Graphic card, Mbp? // Rev F

Boot-ROM-Version: MBP51.007E.B05
Modell-Identification: MacBookPro5,1

edit: 64-Bit-Kernel and -Addons: Disabled
-> any problem with this if i want to upgrade to 8 GB Ram?


Thx for info.
 
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Inside Console, open the Log List and find the panic logs. I cannot remember off the top of my head where they are (this computer has never had a kernel panic) but probably in /Library/Logs or /private/var/log

Open the console app and look under System Diagnostic Reports:

I had one recently and was wigging out that it might be due to ram. I had been loading and unloading a USB device into Parallels however and I think that was probably it.
 

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Open the console app and look under System Diagnostic Reports:

I had one recently and was wigging out that it might be due to ram. I had been loading and unloading a USB device into Parallels however and I think that was probably it.

There at least used to be another place it kept kernel panics. I think the folder name was panic reporter or something. Either that has changed, or you also have that folder.


Yep, looks like a parallels driver issue, probably nothing to worry about.
 
5,1 Mbp here
late 2008 / 2.53 Ghz / dual graphic card with expres card slot :)
tried stressing the ram as much as i could:

against what everybody said and every site claims;

8gb seem to work well...

bildschirmfoto2010-11-exfh.png
 
I'm convinced that the Late 08's now support 8gb of ram (at least under Snow Leopard).
 
After some research I've discovered my September, 2009 MBP 5,4 can handle 8GB or ram.

Now would I benefit from it? Here's a screenshot of the ram activity. Since there is inactive ram I'm fine, right? This is how I operate 75% of the time with a bunch of apps open. Sometime Safari lags but I don't really notice a performance issue with anything else.

I wouldn't have to worry about the 8GB of ram, the OS will handle it and all my apps will work fine, right? I don't want to have to deal with errors or the kernal panics i read about people having.

Thanks for the help in advance!

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I'm convinced that the Late 08's now support 8gb of ram (at least under Snow Leopard).

damnit, i swore i wasn't going to dump any more money into this machine... but so tempting.

also its funny you mentioned the kernel panic. i had one the day after i installed 6gb, but it also seemed to be triggered by plugging/unplugging a usb key. thankfully haven't had one since.
 
damnit, i swore i wasn't going to dump any more money into this machine... but so tempting.

also its funny you mentioned the kernel panic. i had one the day after i installed 6gb, but it also seemed to be triggered by plugging/unplugging a usb key. thankfully haven't had one since.

Hey - it's only $120 to join the 8gb club now!

I would have been happy to pull the trigger on the 6gb kit from OWC but the prices for 8gb from the discount vendors went so low the temptation to try it was too great.
 
Just to be sure... this is from the OP
[Update] Late 2008, Unibody MacBook Pro 15" 2.53GHz or Higher and Mid 2009, All Unibody MacBook Pro 15" can use 8GB

and this is from macsales.com
OWC said:
OWC tested to support Maximum Memory of 6.0GB:
MacBook Pro 15" 2.53GHz model w/ExpressCard Slot (Late 2008)

Does it just mean that they haven't tested with 8gb at OWC? Will it still work 100%? Thanks!
 
Just to be sure... this is from the OP


and this is from macsales.com


Does it just mean that they haven't tested with 8gb at OWC? Will it still work 100%? Thanks!

I have 8GB on my Late 2008 Unibody MBP 2.4Ghz 5,1 and i bought this RAM from OWC and it is been stable and i never had any kernel panic or OS crash.

Note: i am using SL in 64bit mode. I have never used or tested 8GB on 32bit SL. All my applications are 64bit compatible. I don't use any photoshop or similar memory hungry app, but i use Vmware fusion a lot for testing and i have maxed out 8GB many times and its been stable

-Ben
 
Okay so I've read the MBP 3,1 will and will not work with 8GB ram... anybody know FOR SURE?

I know it will only USE 6GB ram, but 2x4GB sticks is cheaper than 4GB/2GB and I think I'd still get paired dual channel yes?

Any help would be appreciated, gonna purchase tomorrow.
 
I have 8GB on my Late 2008 Unibody MBP 2.4Ghz 5,1 and i bought this RAM from OWC and it is been stable and i never had any kernel panic or OS crash.

Note: i am using SL in 64bit mode. I have never used or tested 8GB on 32bit SL. All my applications are 64bit compatible. I don't use any photoshop or similar memory hungry app, but i use Vmware fusion a lot for testing and i have maxed out 8GB many times and its been stable

-Ben

that's really great news !!! I also have the same mbp as yours. i'm going to place an order on Monday, but since i'm in Jakarta I won't be buying memory from OWC, instead i will try to find RAM with hynix chip on it. will report back to this thread if it works great or not :apple:
 
Hmmmm can some one advice me....

Hi All,

First of all this is a great discussion thread!!

I was looking for some advice on what RAM i can upgrade to and what would be safe......

I have a early 2008 macbook (white) 2.1ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with Snow leopard.

I have put a Momentus XT 500Gb hybrid SSD drive in it (which i highly recommend if you don't want/cant afford a large SSD) it hugely improves the boot up time and shut down time...

The main issue that i have is i use Serato scratch live with the video SL plugin for Dj'ing and it sometimes lags when switching tracks,

What im wondering is:
1. is it possible
2. is it worth doing
3. is it going to fry my motherboard (just something someone said & im not to knowledgeable on this stuff)
4. will it help with video rendering and loading?

Any help would be hugely appreciated

Thanks
 
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