First macbook aluminum body questions

[g0d5hand]

So I have a first gen aluminum macbook, this is the info in the 'about this mac' and more info:

Mac version 10.6.8
Processor: 2 GHz intel core 2 duo
Memory 2GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MB51.007D.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.32f8
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

My computer in the last 6 or so months has started to really slow down speed wise. If I am browsing chrome or fire fox and I open more than 10 tabs or so all of a sudden my whole computer will freeze up when I try to switch tabs or programs and might freeze up to 20 seconds. Completely non responsive, cant switch tabs or open a finder window or anything, just locks up. Also some times when streaming or watching movies my computer will just make a grating beep sound for a few seconds (on top of what ever is playing audio wise) and it will happen several time a day lately.

Are these two issues related? does this sound like a ram or hard drive issue? would upgrading my ram and getting an ssd hard drive help? And if so how hard is it to replace on this model of macbook?

Didn't know where to start and was reading about MBA rumors looking for a new computer when I thought maybe I could fix these computer issues and prolong the life of my laptop.

Anyways thanks for the reading and any help posted.

 

[g0d5hand]

So yeah did a bit more reading and think I found the answers.

Question on the ram though. On this very helpful link, https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12403893/, it says 204-pin 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM is what comes with my computer.
When buying replacement ram for my macbook is the only important factor the 204-pin part? The link gave some links to newegg but i wanna pick some up at a local place and just wanna know what to look for. I found this link http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX41648 and am just wondering if this would work? And if not is there something other than the 204 pin size to look for to be compatible with my mac?

 

[BeeJee]

So yeah did a bit more reading and think I found the answers.

Question on the ram though. On this very helpful link, https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12403893/, it says 204-pin 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM is what comes with my computer.
When buying replacement ram for my macbook is the only important factor the 204-pin part? The link gave some links to newegg but i wanna pick some up at a local place and just wanna know what to look for. I found this link http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX41648 and am just wondering if this would work? And if not is there something other than the 204 pin size to look for to be compatible with my mac?

Pretty much any 204 pin laptop RAM will work. Apple doesn't use a special type or anything. It's better to get two sticks of 4 rather than one stick of 8 so you'll still benefit from the dual channel. Upgrading to 8 gigs and an SSD would make it a new machine.

 

[Dadioh]

So yeah did a bit more reading and think I found the answers.

Question on the ram though. On this very helpful link, https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12403893/, it says 204-pin 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM is what comes with my computer.
When buying replacement ram for my macbook is the only important factor the 204-pin part? The link gave some links to newegg but i wanna pick some up at a local place and just wanna know what to look for. I found this link http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX41648 and am just wondering if this would work? And if not is there something other than the 204 pin size to look for to be compatible with my mac?

I have found the 2008/2009 Macbooks (Pros) with the Nvidia chipset to be hit and miss using 1333MHz RAM. I would stick to PC3-8500 1066MHz RAM. Any major brand... Crucial. Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston should be fine. Just need to make sure it is PC3-8500 SODIMM. Use that as a search term and you should be fine. Feel free to post a link back here after you find some to make sure.

 

[g0d5hand]

Just picked up this SSD tonight:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX38918
Took out my other hard drive and don't have the tool to take of the mounting screws on the side so I haven't installed it yet, hope it will work!
I looked in memory express and they don't seem to have the 2*4gb 204 pin or in store physically of the PC3-8500 SODIMM. Don't know of another store to pick this up from in town so I found a newegg link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Think this will work?

And thanks for the help. Never played with computer parts ever so this is all pretty alien to me.

 

[g0d5hand]

Connected the ssd and tried to boot the os from my flash drive and nothing. Hrmm.
*edit*
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12483448/
is this what I need to do for the new hard drive? is there anything I need to do for a new hard before installing os?

 

[Dadioh]

Just picked up this SSD tonight:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX38918
Took out my other hard drive and don't have the tool to take of the mounting screws on the side so I haven't installed it yet, hope it will work!
I looked in memory express and they don't seem to have the 2*4gb 204 pin or in store physically of the PC3-8500 SODIMM. Don't know of another store to pick this up from in town so I found a newegg link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Think this will work?

And thanks for the help. Never played with computer parts ever so this is all pretty alien to me.

That memory should work. I believe that the 2008 MacBook only officially supported 6gb but I seem to remember that if you use apple software update and make sure your EFI is updated to latest version then it can do 8gb. Might want to look that up.

The SSD that you chose is a great ssd (I have two of them in iMac 27" i5 i7 machines). But your MacBook has the nvidia MCP79 chipset and it does not play nice with the sandforce Sata 3 drives. Unfortunately that ssd that you picked is a sandforce drive. What you will discover is that it will only run at SATA 1 speeds due to the Sata speed being incorrectly negotiated. The only manufacturer of sandforce ssd that bothered to fix the issue was OCZ. The rest, including intel, decided not to bother fixing it. This was the case last year anyway. You might search macrmors for threads that discuss this issue to see if anything has changed.

----------

Connected the ssd and tried to boot the os from my flash drive and nothing. Hrmm.
*edit*
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12483448/
is this what I need to do for the new hard drive? is there anything I need to do for a new hard before installing os?

How are you installing OS X? From a DVD? Then you boot from the DVD by holding the C key and then use disk util to format the ssd as per the instructions you linked. Then install.

 

[g0d5hand]

Um my disk/dvd drive is dead. Stopped working a year ago and now just makes angry sounds when I turn my computer on. I have mac os X on a usb drive that I have used in the past to reinstall the operating system. Tried holding down the option button on start up but nothing.
Is the reason nothing comes up on the screen or loads with this new SSD drive because the drive wont work or is it because I need to format the drive first before the OSX on the usb can/will actually load?

So question about the ssd that I bought and in general for this MacBook:
This SSD will not work on my Macbook?
If not can this memory work in an average PC?
Which type of ssd drive would be good for my mac?
I noticed you said sandforce is that a type of SSD or are all SSD sandforce?

I live like five minutes from memory express so if there is a SSD drive on their website that would work I would grab it.

I got so excited to have a non slow computer I already open the packaging so I guess I have a 170 dollar hard drive to sell on kijiji.

Thank you Dadioh btw.

 

[BeeJee]

Um my disk/dvd drive is dead. Stopped working a year ago and now just makes angry sounds when I turn my computer on. I have mac os X on a usb drive that I have used in the past to reinstall the operating system. Tried holding down the option button on start up but nothing.
Is the reason nothing comes up on the screen or loads with this new SSD drive because the drive wont work or is it because I need to format the drive first before the OSX on the usb can/will actually load?

So question about the ssd that I bought and in general for this MacBook:
This SSD will not work on my Macbook?
If not can this memory work in an average PC?
Which type of ssd drive would be good for my mac?
I noticed you said sandforce is that a type of SSD or are all SSD sandforce?

I live like five minutes from memory express so if there is a SSD drive on their website that would work I would grab it.

I got so excited to have a non slow computer I already open the packaging so I guess I have a 170 dollar hard drive to sell on kijiji.

Thank you Dadioh btw.

That's actually a really good SSD that you have purchased. SandForce is the controller of the SSD which is what Samsung and Crucial use as well if I'm not mistaken. Companies like OCZ use Indilinx controllers but I may be wrong on that. Did you format the drive to extended journaled? You need to have a formatted drive before installing the OS

 

[g0d5hand]

So I got a case that lets me use the intel SSD as usb. went to disk utility and went to erase and selected the drive and clicked 'Mac OS extended (journaled) then formated/erased. hooked the intel SSD to the computer and the usb with OSX and held option and it does nothing, just goes to a gray screen and never loads.

Took ages times but it is working now.
Also got corsair 8GB 2*204- pin SODIMMDDR3 1066mhz
Forgot the screw set again.
Tomorrows night project installing the ram

Thanks again BeeJee

 

[g0d5hand]

any tests to run on the new hard drive to see how the speeds are? I cannot seem to find the link on how to install a new hard drive and the test to see the write speed. Just wanna see if that slow issue with the sand SSD is happening.

 

[seveej]

This thread is somewhat confused and it would be nice if posters would allow a clear record to be shown of things.

Firstly. Whether the the SSD works or not has no impact on whether a flash drive will be able to boot. According to specs MBAlu's can boot from USB, but I've encountered situations when this has not worked (some dongles and HDD docks seem to be able to create problems). Try booting from the HDD and put the SSD in the USB casing (or inside the machine if you can boot the HDD over USB) and runs some diagnostics if you're not sure whether the SSD's a lemon or not. (Speed testing naturally necessitates that the SSD be inside the mac).

Secondly, If you are content with the OS installation you've had on your old disk, the most painless way to switch to a new hard drive is cloning.
What you need is to be able to connect both drives to the computer so that the old disk is bootable. Boot up, verify/fix permissions, install Superduper (my preference) or Carbon Copy Cloner. Clone old drive to new drive (*). Done

Thirdly, If your OS installation has been troubled, get a copy of Lion or Snow Leopard from apple. Especially SL sells (on installation DVD) for some tens of euros/dollars and is a worthwhile investment if SL is your weapon of choice.

Fourthly, As you're already deep inside your machine, this might be the time to do something about the superdrive. Either fix it (if you need optical) or replace it with a HDD in a caddy. Remember, ifixit.com is your friend.

The MBAlu is a splendid machine, and unless you really need more "oomph", it will serve you well. Take good care of it.

* As you're moving from HDD to SSD, there might be a hangup: Cloning necessitates that the amount of data to be cloned will fit on the target drive (as HDD's are commonly bigger than SSD. Cloning thus necessitates that you have some way of storing the excess data before cloning...

I've done these operations on several MBAlu's (3 or 4) and you can drop me a line if you need advice...

 

[Commy1]

Sounds like you need some more RAM there, I recommend Corsair.
We have the same laptop and I can verify that it will handle up to 8GB of memory and it is a very very big improvement.

Newegg carries 4GB 1067mhz sticks for about 30$ each before shipping.
If you're a technically comfortable person and have some bucks to spend then I recommend you take it all the way and get an Opti-caddy off ebay and an SSD.
Fresh install OSX on the SSD in the primary HD slot, remove the DVD drive, replace with caddy and old (or new HDD), replace and format.
Even at 2GHZ these Macbooks handle everything so well, giving it that extra boost makes it a great little machine for a few more years.

Edit:
Sandforce is the firmware controlling the SSD's performance, most manufacturers use this. It is however SATA III, where as your Macbook handles up to SATA II, so whatever stats it says on the box aren't what you'll get, regardless it will be an improvement.

I recommend you visit iFixit and watch some Youtube video's to get this to work.
Make a USB boot disk and fresh install on the SSD in the primary bay from the stick at start up.
Kinda seems like you just took the dive before doing any research.

 

[Dadioh]

any tests to run on the new hard drive to see how the speeds are? I cannot seem to find the link on how to install a new hard drive and the test to see the write speed. Just wanna see if that slow issue with the sand SSD is happening.

Apple -> About this Mac -> More Info -> System Report

Then select Serial ATA in the list on the left. Select the Channel that has your SSD on it and you will see...

Link Speed: 3 Gigabit
Negotiated Speed: this will be 1.5 Gigabit if incorrectly detected as SATA 1. It will be 3 Gigabit if properly detected as SATA 2.

The SSD will work fine at SATA 1 speeds. Just not getting the full advantage of the SSD since it is really bottlenecked by SATA 1.

Good Luck

 

[peterson12]

That memory should work. I believe that the 2008 MacBook only officially supported 6gb but I seem to remember that if you use apple software update and make sure your EFI is updated to latest version then it can do 8gb. Might want to look that up.

The SSD that you chose is a great ssd (I have two of them in iMac 27" i5 i7 machines). But your MacBook has the nvidia MCP79 chipset and it does not play nice with the sandforce Sata 3 drives. Unfortunately that ssd that you picked is a sandforce drive. What you will discover is that it will only run at SATA 1 speeds due to the Sata speed being incorrectly negotiated. The only manufacturer of sandforce ssd that bothered to fix the issue was OCZ. The rest, including intel, decided not to bother fixing it. This was the case last year anyway. You might search macrmors for threads that discuss this issue to see if anything has changed.

----------



How are you installing OS X? From a DVD? Then you boot from the DVD by holding the C key and then use disk util to format the ssd as per the instructions you linked. Then install.

I think the SATA speed variation could be only because of SF controllers. OCZ SSDs work at SATA 3 speeds using SF controllers. If this can work, I beleive the issue is with the SSD manufacturer firmware which must be buggy and this needs to be fixed by the respective SSD manufacturers.

 

[Dadioh]

I think the SATA speed variation could be only because of SF controllers. OCZ SSDs work at SATA 3 speeds using SF controllers. If this can work, I beleive the issue is with the SSD manufacturer firmware which must be buggy and this needs to be fixed by the respective SSD manufacturers.

Correct. It can be fixed in firmware but as far as I know OCZ is the only manufacturer that chose to fix it. Intel said, flat out, they would not fix it. I guess they figure it affects a small number of users so they would rather spend their resources elsewhere. Not sure I agree but it is their choice.

 

[thei0009]

Correct. It can be fixed in firmware but as far as I know OCZ is the only manufacturer that chose to fix it. Intel said, flat out, they would not fix it. I guess they figure it affects a small number of users so they would rather spend their resources elsewhere. Not sure I agree but it is their choice.

i know this is kinda off topic but how good does the macbook aluminum 2.4ghz 4gb of ram plat games like call of duty etc.

 

[B...]

i know this is kinda off topic but how good does the macbook aluminum 2.4ghz 4gb of ram plat games like call of duty etc.

What graphics card does it have? If it has a nVidia about 650M---then great.But an HD 3000---not so good.

 

[thei0009]

What graphics card does it have? If it has a nVidia about 650M---then great.But an HD 3000---not so good.

It has the nvidia 9400m

 

[jav6454]

i know this is kinda off topic but how good does the macbook aluminum 2.4ghz 4gb of ram plat games like call of duty etc.

Very good. If you run an SSD even better. Plenty of RAM is nice so having either 4GB or 8GB does wonders.

What graphics card does it have? If it has a nVidia about 650M---then great.But an HD 3000---not so good.

These MacBooks are the 2008 models... obviously none of the GFX options you names are even out by then.

 

[seveej]

i know this is kinda off topic but how good does the macbook aluminum 2.4ghz 4gb of ram plat games like call of duty etc.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9400M-G.11949.0.html

RGDS,