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Can early 2008 (Rev. E) MBPs benefit from 4gb of ram?

S

Stephen157

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 19, 2010
5
0
(Or whatever generation was right before the unibody)
This isn't so much about whether I can install it, but a friend of mine said that the 2.4 GHz Core2Duo in the machine isn't capable of using 4 Gb of ram efficiently, even with a 64bit operating system, and that using that much ram with an operating system that attempts to use all of it would in fact slow the computer down more than if I'd stuck with 2Gb. Is there any basis for this, or does he have bad information?

Bonus point: If I can't efficiently use 4 Gb, how much CAN I use to no ill effect, and is there any particular setup (ie get a 4Gb upgrade but remain in 32bit) that will work best without slowing the system down?

Thanks for your time!
 
Haha, thanks. Do you have any idea of what he could've been talking about? He seems to think that below a certain processor speed, not just for the core 2s but even for bigger processors, the ram becomes a hindrance. Is there anything relevant he could've been thinking of?
 
Stephen157 said:
Haha, thanks. Do you have any idea of what he could've been talking about? He seems to think that below a certain processor speed, not just for the core 2s but even for bigger processors, the ram becomes a hindrance. Is there anything relevant he could've been thinking of?
Click to expand...

Ask him what he's been smoking. More RAM is a great way to improve performance on computers with slower processors. In fact, in many cases a slower processor with 4GB RAM can run circles around some faster processors with 2GB RAM, especially if you frequently multitask or work with large files. Again, your friend has NO idea what he's talking about.
 
and it works fine dual booting windows in 64 bit with boot camp? I'm sure it does, but I just wanted to clarify before I go out and buy a ram upgrade.
 
Yup, like others have said. In just about every situation I'd take more RAM over a processor upgrade any day. The win win for the consumer is memory is cheap and much easier to upgrade than a processor.... and on a laptop upgrading the processor isn't usually an option anyway. :) With the price of RAM as low as it is, I usually recommend to anyone to fill the box up with as much RAM as it'll hold.
 
Stephen157 said:
(Or whatever generation was right before the unibody)
This isn't so much about whether I can install it, but a friend of mine said that the 2.4 GHz Core2Duo in the machine isn't capable of using 4 Gb of ram efficiently, even with a 64bit operating system, and that using that much ram with an operating system that attempts to use all of it would in fact slow the computer down more than if I'd stuck with 2Gb. Is there any basis for this, or does he have bad information?

Bonus point: If I can't efficiently use 4 Gb, how much CAN I use to no ill effect, and is there any particular setup (ie get a 4Gb upgrade but remain in 32bit) that will work best without slowing the system down?

Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...

I have that exact model, works great.
 
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