6GB in MacBook (Pro); Yes it works. - 8GB... well...

[m85476585]

It seems that this whole thread revolves around a firmware update that allows an unofficially supported increase in the amount of RAM these machines can take. is this not the case?

Ali

As far as I know the firmware update applies only for the Late 2008 MBP 5,1. I'd love to be wrong, though, because I have a MBP4,1 and 6gb simply isn't enough anymore. Stupid Firefox...

A link to an article about the firmware update for the MBP5,1, in case anyone doesn't want to look back a few pages:
http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb

 

[al85]

As far as I know the firmware update applies only for the Late 2008 MBP 5,1. I'd love to be wrong, though, because I have a MBP4,1 and 6gb simply isn't enough anymore. Stupid Firefox...

A link to an article about the firmware update for the MBP5,1, in case anyone doesn't want to look back a few pages:
http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb

Thans for the advice. That flow diagram at the botton, seems to show exactly what I needed to know.

Merry Christmas

Ali

 

[D A]

I saw how cheap more memory was, so I decided to get the Crucial 8GB kit (linked a few pages back) for my Late 2008 MacBook Pro. No problems so far. I haven't gotten the computer to page the to drive yet, which happened quite often with 4 GB RAM.

I'll skip the next upgrade of the MBP and instead wait for the next one after that. I will probably swap out my 250 GB drive in a few months when the prices go back down. Any quick and bigger drives I should look for?

 

[Steve.P.JobsFan]

I saw how cheap more memory was, so I decided to get the Crucial 8GB kit (linked a few pages back) for my Late 2008 MacBook Pro. No problems so far. I haven't gotten the computer to page the to drive yet, which happened quite often with 4 GB RAM.

I'll skip the next upgrade of the MBP and instead wait for the next one after that. I will probably swap out my 250 GB drive in a few months when the prices go back down. Any quick and bigger drives I should look for?

How is that Cruical stuff? I found an 8GB Kit (4GB x 2) for $46 on Crucial for the current late-2011 MBP last night! I have the 4GB RAM kit of Crucial in my 2007 iMac, so I know it's good stuff. How is the performance?

 

[D A]

How is that Cruical stuff? I found an 8GB Kit (4GB x 2) for $46 on Crucial for the current late-2011 MBP last night! I have the 4GB RAM kit of Crucial in my 2007 iMac, so I know it's good stuff. How is the performance?

I haven't done any benchmarks or anything that would put the memory to a performance test yet. I did buy 4 GB (2x2GB) of Crucial memory back in March of 2009 and I never had any problem with performance (expect the fact I ran out of memory available memory lately) or anything else. I'd say that Crucial is the way to go if you buy memory for a Mac.

 

[zacks]

Hey guys,

I have a mac book pro 3,1 (but it's the version before the unibody). I want to upgrade to the 8gb if I can, but I'm not sure whether it will work or not after reading the first post in this thread.
computer is has:
2.4ghz core 2 duo
2gb 667mhz ddr2

I appreciate the help guys, thanks.

 

[nicklad]

Hey guys,

I have a mac book pro 3,1 (but it's the version before the unibody). I want to upgrade to the 8gb if I can, but I'm not sure whether it will work or not after reading the first post in this thread.

I appreciate the help guys, thanks.

It's 6GB max in the 3,1 and 4,1 in lieu of an EFI update from Apple, which is very unlikely to happen unless it now works with the 64-bit kernel being used in Lion. The 15" 5,1 is the Unibody MBP that takes 8GB when the latest EFI is installed on it.

 

[zacks]

It's 6GB max in the 3,1 and 4,1 in lieu of an EFI update from Apple, which is very unlikely to happen. The 15" 5,1 is the Unibody MBP that takes 8GB when the latest EFI is installed on it.

Thanks for the help. If I get a 4gb stick and a 2gb stick, do I have to do any formatting? or is it just plug and play?

 

[ayeying]

Thanks for the help. If I get a 4gb stick and a 2gb stick, do I have to do any formatting? or is it just plug and play?

Plug and play...

 

[applehotdog]

so the OP indicated that the santa rosa mbp WILL support up to 8gb. does this mean I should bump it up to 8 instead of 6gb?

the OWC website doesn't mention anything about 8gb being supported by MBP 3,1

also, would it be better to order the 2gb + 4gb kit from OWC or should I just keep the 2gb crucial and get 1 4gb stick (assuming i upgrade to 6gb instead of 8gb)

thanks for the help and a very informative thread.

p.s. i'm running OS X 10.7.3

 

[nicklad]

so the OP indicated that the santa rosa mbp WILL support up to 8gb. does this mean I should bump it up to 8 instead of 6gb?

the OWC website doesn't mention anything about 8gb being supported by MBP 3,1

also, would it be better to order the 2gb + 4gb kit from OWC or should I just keep the 2gb crucial and get 1 4gb stick (assuming i upgrade to 6gb instead of 8gb)

thanks for the help and a very informative thread.

p.s. i'm running OS X 10.7.3

8GB certainly never used to work in the MacBookPro3,1 or MacBookPro4,1 (or 17" MacBookPro5,1) - however, with Lion, they finally use the 64-bit kernel. It would be interesting to see if it now works correctly. I certainly have not seen any information about it being tried...

Would anybody with a 3,1 or a 4,1 MBP like to bite and give it a go?

The issue used to be, and may well still be, that the final 1 GB was not addressable and access to it would just cause swapping and heavy performance degradation.

Regards,

Nick

 

[ayeying]

The support for MacBook Pro 3,1 was listed at EveryMac. Only 4,1 or above I know personally will support 6GB ram.

 

[doogle11]

The info on this thread has been amazingly useful.

8GB certainly never used to work in the MacBookPro3,1 or MacBookPro4,1 (or 17" MacBookPro5,1) - however, with Lion, they finally use the 64-bit kernel. It would be interesting to see if it now works correctly. I certainly have not seen any information about it being tried...

Would anybody with a 3,1 or a 4,1 MBP like to bite and give it a go?

The issue used to be, and may well still be, that the final 1 GB was not addressable and access to it would just cause swapping and heavy performance degradation.

Regards,

Nick

Does anyone have an update of 3,1 running Lion? I recently inherited a 3,1 but I'm not on Lion yet. Looking to pick up the 6gb setup, but if there's a way for Lion to address 8gb, that would be an even better step up.




Reading the first post, this caught my eye:

If I add 1x4GB and 1x2GB, totaling 6GB; or just using 1x4GB; do I lose dual channel?
- Yes, you do lose dual channel.

Is losing Dual Channel a huge performance hit?
- Not really. It all depends on what you use it for. If you're doing a lot of modeling/rendering, dual channel might be a great help. For an average user or someone who runs memory hungry apps such as Virtual Machines, it is not much of an hit.

This is interesting since I will be doing some modeling/rendering. I'm not sure how RAM handles different tasks, but is there any speed related circumstances that I should go for 4gb dual-channel instead of a 6gb setup?

If I'm going with 6gb, it doesn't matter if I have matching speed specs/brand on each stick of RAM does it? Since it won't benefit from dual channel usages.

Speed-wise I'm a bit confuse. Is this telling me that the 3,1 can support up to 800MHz of RAM? : http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...k-pro-core-2-duo-2.2-15-santa-rosa-specs.html

 

[JuliB]

Help...Still Confused after reading all 41 pages of this thread!

Ok SO I am thoroughly confused after literally sitting here and reading all 41 pages in this thread.

I have a mid 2010 13" MacBook Pro with 4GB installed. I'm running Lion and plan to upgrade to Mountain Lion when available.

My question is....I've been debating purchasing new RAM and going with the max of 8GB installed but it seems like people in this thread are saying that it is a waste of money because the computer won't really be able to use it properly or effectively.

Can someone please confirm if I am wasting money buying more RAM or not? Will the computer be actually able to fully use 8GB of RAM?

Thanks

 

[dukebound85]

Ok SO I am thoroughly confused after literally sitting here and reading all 41 pages in this thread.

I have a mid 2010 13" MacBook Pro with 4GB installed. I'm running Lion and plan to upgrade to Mountain Lion when available.

My question is....I've been debating purchasing new RAM and going with the max of 8GB installed but it seems like people in this thread are saying that it is a waste of money because the computer won't really be able to use it properly or effectively.

Can someone please confirm if I am wasting money buying more RAM or not? Will the computer be actually able to fully use 8GB of RAM?

Thanks

yes, you can for sure use 8 gig.

I had a late 09 white macbook with 8 gigs

 

[macbook pro i5]

'baby don't hurt me...don't hurt me...no more.'

What?
We are talking about computers not sex.

 

[Badrottie]

Anyone able to install 6GB on mid 2007 MBP? Any issues?

 

[tirzah]

Anyone able to install 6GB on mid 2007 MBP? Any issues?

Yes with no issues.

 

[mactechy]

Anyone able to install 6GB on mid 2007 MBP? Any issues?

Have done this with my MPB 4,1 early 2008. Works very well.

 

[Jurwin]

Any body tried installing 8gb of ram in macbook pro 4,1 early 2008 running lion?

 

[darksnake]

has someone tried 16GB in the macbook 5,1 late 2008 unibody?

 

[Ploki]

has someone tried 16GB in the macbook 5,1 late 2008 unibody?

Chipset doesn't support it, purely from a technical perspective, so no.

 

[alphaod]

has someone tried 16GB in the macbook 5,1 late 2008 unibody?

Only 2011 and later models support 16GB or more.

 

[lukarak]

Only 2011 and later models support 16GB or more.

MacBook Pro 13'' 7,1 also supports it

 

[BuiltforSin]

Sorry to bump this thread, but I'm still not sure what I can or cannot upgrade to. I bought my 13" MBP in August of 2009. Can I use the (2x 4GB) to get 8GB? Or does the system only allow (2x 2GB) for 4GB? I'll be upgrading to Snow Leopard this week. Thanks and sorry if I overlooked the answer.