A1260…

[dosdude1]

I believe, I've already shown you this…and the lane width is what it should be.

View attachment 792803

The only way to know for sure if you have a revised 8600M GT GPU or not is to physically look at the chip. I explain what to look for in my video here.

 

[Project Alice]

Do you have a picture of the machine running? Must be quite cool-looking.

Here's a couple

 

[AL1630]

Well, there's another good reason to get a BlackBook! That looks awesome.

 

[AphoticD]

Here's a couple

I have a MacBook5,1 (Al-unibody) with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, but I didn't realize the 5,2 could handle 8GB of DDR2.

Everymac and Mactracker both state the 6GB ceiling as per the 4,1 and earlier. Maybe it was an "undocumented" benefit of moving to the NVidia MCP?

I'll have to bite the bullet and drop $$$ on some 4GB DDR2 DIMMs to test out my 5,1's with 8GB like yours.

 

[LightBulbFun]

I have a MacBook5,1 (Al-unibody) with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, but I didn't realize the 5,2 could handle 8GB of DDR2.

Everymac and Mactracker both state the 6GB ceiling as per the 4,1 and earlier. Maybe it was an "undocumented" benefit of moving to the NVidia MCP?

I'll have to bite the bullet and drop $$$ on some 4GB DDR2 DIMMs to test out my 5,1's with 8GB like yours.

the 6GB limit on the MBP/MB3,1/4,1 and iM7,1/8,1 is down to a Memory map issue with the i965PM/965GM chipset/EFI Firmware

you CAN install 8GB of RAM in those systems however they will either fail to boot OS X properly, or while they may boot, if you use more then 6GB of RAM the system falls over

MCP79 macs dont have this bug, and as such, 8GB works fine in those systems (poking around in the firmware of the MB5,2 shows an actual theoretical limit of 32GB, but good luck getting there on DDR2 SODIMMs )

what people dont realise with the MB5,2, is that motherboard architecture wise the MacBook5,2 is completely different to past Plastic MacBooks, and the MB5,2 shares MUCH more in common with UniBody MacBooks then it does with any Pre unibody otherwise (the MB5,2 is very much a wolf in sheeps clothing)

 

[AphoticD]

the 6GB limit on the MBP/MB3,1/4,1 and iM7,1/8,1 is down to a Memory map issue with the i965PM/965GM chipset/EFI Firmware

you CAN install 8GB of RAM in those systems however they will either fail to boot OS X properly, or while they may boot, if you use more then 6GB of RAM the system falls over

MCP79 macs dont have this bug, and as such, 8GB works fine in those systems (poking around in the firmware of the MB5,2 shows an actual theoretical limit of 32GB, but good luck getting there on DDR2 SODIMMs )

what people dont realise with the MB5,2, is that motherboard architecture wise the MacBook5,2 is completely different to past Plastic MacBooks, and the MB5,2 shares MUCH more in common with UniBody MacBooks then it does with any Pre unibody otherwise (the MB5,2 is very much a wolf in sheeps clothing)

Thanks @LightBulbFun ! I knew I could count on a reply from you to fill in the blanks.

@Project Alice , is that Black casing from a 4,1 / Early 2008? Does the logic board drop in or does the bottom case require modification?

 

[dosdude1]

Thanks @LightBulbFun ! I knew I could count on a reply from you to fill in the blanks.

@Project Alice , is that Black casing from a 4,1 / Early 2008? Does the logic board drop in or does the bottom case require modification?

The 3,1/4,1 bottom case requires a very small modification to fit a 5,2 board, and that is removing one single standoff. Once that's done, a 5,2 board will fit no problem.

 

[Project Alice]

Thanks @LightBulbFun ! I knew I could count on a reply from you to fill in the blanks.

@Project Alice , is that Black casing from a 4,1 / Early 2008? Does the logic board drop in or does the bottom case require modification?

Yep, MCP79 chipset is the savior in these things.

As dosdude pointed out; you remove the one standoff. You'll know which standoff it is when you try to line up the board. Then screw a standoff directly to the heatsink on the motherboard in the spot it would be for the 5,2 case.

I used a 2008 4,1 case. I also put the old 4,1 board into the 5,2s original white case. Just cause I didn't know what else to do with those. But the black MacBook is the best looking one they've made in my opinion. Reminds me of the old PBG3s.

 

[bunnspecial]

MCP79:

The chipset that simultaneously makes me love the MB 5,2 and scream in terror when I'm shopping for upgrade parts for pretty much any other system so equipped.

(for those who have never had the pleasure: DDR3 MCP79 systems DO NOT reliably downclock RAM, and often times won't boot unless you have PC3-8500 installed. Also, not all SSDs will run at SATA II speeds-recent experience on a MacBook 5,1 shows that Sandisk drives are okay, and I've had good luck Samsungs in the past. I'm planning on putting an Evo 860 in my MBP 5,1, and hopefully it will be okay-I'm not sure if anyone has tested these yet).

 

[bobesch]

FWIW, I've pretty much conceded to the 4gb RAM+SSD configuration rather than trying to go over 4gb.
It's WAY too expensive on these machines, and an SSD can take up a lot of the slack for a lack of RAM.
I've only owned one that had more than 4gb of RAM. It came to me that way(4gb+2gb). I had a friend who needed a computer and I gave it away since I hadn't used it in a while, then remembered a few weeks later. Oh well-the last I heard he's still using it like crazy, which is more than could probably be said if I still had it.
Incidentally, that's the same one that I wrote my master's thesis on.

Could have been me ... - I do absolutely like to work with my A1260 and the matte screen!
A 4GB-RAM brick is really expensive, but essential for VM-Fusion/Win7, which holds a full backup of my office-software and databases (with VM, Safari and iTunes about 5GB RAM is in use)
I've also also got a PC-Card for USB-3.0 - also pricy but great for fast CCC-backups.
Too sad: USB 3.0 was first introduced for the 2012-line of MBPs and my current 1TB SSD might be upgraded with ease to a 2TB if necessary and that is no longer possible with all the rMBPs after 2012 ...

 

[Amethyst1]

Too sad: USB 3.0 was first introduced for the 2012-line of MBPs and my current 1TB SSD might be upgraded with ease to a 2TB if necessary and that is no longer possible with all the rMBPs after 2012 ...

The 2012 non-retina MBP is definitely a keeper

 

[bunnspecial]

The 2012 non-retina MBP is definitely a keeper

Yep-going strong on mine, and for the forseeable future.

Mine is "only" 2.3ghz, but I have 16gb of RAM, a 1tb SSD as the boot drive, and a 2tb spinner for lots of files. I also have the hi-res matte screen...the retina screens are higher resolution, but I don't want to give up my matte screen.