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Apple Offering 8 GB RAM Kits for 2.93 GHz and 2.66 GHz 15" MacBook Pros
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But why buy Apple's RAM?
Every purchase I've made at an Apple Retail store has always included a small conversation about RAM, either being started by the specialist or by me. They all end they same way: Get it cheaper some place else, and most of the specialists and genius types and even floor managers, have pointed me to a local tech store or to crucial.com for additional RAM.
I've known a few folks who have sprung for extra RAM during an initial purchase of an Apple product, though we can't seem to see much of a difference when comparing it to my RAM, purchased at crucial.com
Every purchase I've made at an Apple Retail store has always included a small conversation about RAM, either being started by the specialist or by me. They all end they same way: Get it cheaper some place else, and most of the specialists and genius types and even floor managers, have pointed me to a local tech store or to crucial.com for additional RAM.
I've known a few folks who have sprung for extra RAM during an initial purchase of an Apple product, though we can't seem to see much of a difference when comparing it to my RAM, purchased at crucial.com
*crosses fingers it works on the 2.4 GHz*
(Because I have a 2.4 GHz.)
Hehe, me too. I'm being poked and mocked by my girlfriend because she got the 2.66GHz model.
Sure, they're right. But the news here is that you can put 8GB in the 15" MBPs at all (MAYBE). The fact that Apple sells them for it would mean you're safe buying it from Crucial or whatever instead for cheaper and it would work.
Watch out for the SSD if you use the Adobe Creative Suite. There have been warnings from Adobe about using flash based drives for installing their apps onto and possibilities of issues running them.
Anyone have any real world knowledge or experience with this at all?
It scared me off enough to not even consider it.
You know what will shut her up long enough to make her realize what a b!tch she's being???? Swap the hard drives. I can almost guarantee she'll never notice the difference unless she has bastardized her case with flowers or some crap like that. And if she never realizes well then you just got yourself a MBP that can handle 8GB of RAM!!!!
But seriously.... she needs to be "taught a lesson".
Woah, this must cut a little too close to home, huh? Did you get emasculated by your girlfriend after she dumped you in front of everyone at your last dinner party for not having a processor that was fast enough?
This is false. Adobe badly-worded the system requirements - they meant on USB flash drives, not SSDs. They corrected the advice here.
This is what an Apple online representative told me about 5 minutes ago.
You are chatting with Brian D, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Brian D. Welcome to Apple!
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon
How may I help you today?
I read that Apple is now selling 8GB of RAM for the new MacBook Pro's.
Yes, that is correct.
I recently bought one about 2 months ago but it is a 2.53GHz model and I was wondering if the 8GB is compatible.
On the site it only lists the 2.4, 2.66 and 2.93 GHz models
It's not. Only the new 17" model is.
They just started selling it for the 15" model today.
That's not something I see online or heard about.
http://store.apple.com/us/memorymodel/ME_15_2_66_MBP This is the page for the 15" 2.66 GHz model
I was just wondering if it worked with the 2.53 GHz as well.
Interesting.
It might be a website error.
One moment while I research that for you.
Alright. Thanks.
You're welcome.
It is a website error. Don't get it.
Ok. Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
You are chatting with Brian D, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Brian D. Welcome to Apple!
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon
How may I help you today?
I read that Apple is now selling 8GB of RAM for the new MacBook Pro's.
Yes, that is correct.
I recently bought one about 2 months ago but it is a 2.53GHz model and I was wondering if the 8GB is compatible.
On the site it only lists the 2.4, 2.66 and 2.93 GHz models
It's not. Only the new 17" model is.
They just started selling it for the 15" model today.
That's not something I see online or heard about.
http://store.apple.com/us/memorymodel/ME_15_2_66_MBP This is the page for the 15" 2.66 GHz model
I was just wondering if it worked with the 2.53 GHz as well.
Interesting.
It might be a website error.
One moment while I research that for you.
Alright. Thanks.
You're welcome.
It is a website error. Don't get it.
Ok. Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
Excellent explanation.
Is there a hardware limitation to previous MBPs from using 8GB of RAM? Maybe just a software limitation in OS X?
With prices like this it's no wonder why this hasn't caught on yet (and that's just for one stick).
my MB Pro doesn't need more than 4gigs ram, it just needs to keep a wifi connection.
(it's so frustrating. much worse side by side than pc's on the same network)
(it's so frustrating. much worse side by side than pc's on the same network)
It will work with the 2.4 model, don't worry. The only determining factor is the chipset used, which they are all share. The only way they could block you out is by some evil firmware lockout, and there'd be an uproar over that.
Well, the earlier 2.4's probably won't work right, since the 2.53s don't work?
I guess you mean the new 2.4's. Maybe those work. But what is the cutoff date (or serial number) then?
I'm referring only to montevina, late 2008, unibody models. Everything before that is not included.
No, I understand that.
I'm saying that if the 2.53 Unibodies do not support 8GB (that has been tested by different people), then it seems unlikely to me that 2.4 unibodies sold at the same time would support 8GB.
On the other hand, now that we know that 2.93 unibodies do support 8GB, and presumably 2.66 does also, then I guess it is possible that the newer 2.4s might also. Like if Apple just updated some firmware with the speed bump. And if they updated that in the 2.4 model as well.
But then the question is where is the cutoff?
I can't imagine it being anything other than firmware. It wouldn't make sense for there to be chipset differences because apple could foresee it would have all the processors it does now. It costs money to have different hardware (motherboard) to account for these differences. The most profitable option is to use the same motherboard and make the CPU a drop in. Additionally, why not sell a 1000 dollar 8GB kit to anyone who wants it?
Yeah, i'm thinking it's firmware also. Now the question is if/when Apple offers an update for the older boards.
Now, on the other hand, there is one other possibility. It's at least possible that there was something actually wrong with the early boards that prevents 8GB. And that they fixed it in time for the 17s. And then they are now using the new "fixed" rev board on the 15s as well.
That's at least possible.
This is so interesting... we need an official answer from Apple somewhere... I don't expect anyone to buy it and let us know, that's $1200. We already know that they don't work on the 2.4 and 2.53 according to other threads. Has anyone tried to put 8 GB on the new Rev B Unibodies?
If my 2.4ghz Mac Book Aluminum which I had Apple upgrade to 4 gigs of ram does not take 8 gigs of ram as the MBPs because of a FIRMWARE issue then I am demanding a refund from Apple.
If Apple knows about the Flash Player problem that beachballs every Mac I have -- new intels and old G5 PPCs alike -- and does nothing about it as it renders old machines obsolete and handicaps new ones -- I am thinking about a petition or lawsuit.
These two issues are related, because I bought the Unibody Mac Book in order to overcome the constant beachballing of my older, last revision PPC Macs.
Perhaps Snow Leopard will attend to these issues, but I smell an intentional obselisance problem. Retarding Macs with firmware or lack of a patch or hack to Flash means bigger sales.
The answer could be when Snow Leopard comes out that Apple will say -- hey, we just could not support older macs with the flash problem any longer -- it's been three years since the switch to Intel.
But that does not answer the question now. Flash cripples Macs. Adding more memory helps the Flash issue a little. But how come it exists in the first place? And how come there is no patch for Flash? How come my friend's 2008 iMac with 3 gigs of ram is beachballing? How come my MacBook with four gigs of ram beachballs?
There is something i don't like going on here...
If Apple knows about the Flash Player problem that beachballs every Mac I have -- new intels and old G5 PPCs alike -- and does nothing about it as it renders old machines obsolete and handicaps new ones -- I am thinking about a petition or lawsuit.
These two issues are related, because I bought the Unibody Mac Book in order to overcome the constant beachballing of my older, last revision PPC Macs.
Perhaps Snow Leopard will attend to these issues, but I smell an intentional obselisance problem. Retarding Macs with firmware or lack of a patch or hack to Flash means bigger sales.
The answer could be when Snow Leopard comes out that Apple will say -- hey, we just could not support older macs with the flash problem any longer -- it's been three years since the switch to Intel.
But that does not answer the question now. Flash cripples Macs. Adding more memory helps the Flash issue a little. But how come it exists in the first place? And how come there is no patch for Flash? How come my friend's 2008 iMac with 3 gigs of ram is beachballing? How come my MacBook with four gigs of ram beachballs?
There is something i don't like going on here...