Macbook 2008, white. Upgrades?

[darkal1en]

I have the above Macbook which I use regularly have had it for a couple of years after purchasing it off eBay and its in mmeculate condition as the previous owner had the keyboard and bwzwl replaced by Apple so there are no cracks anywhere. It has 2 GB of RAM (800mhz ) and 160gb hard drive. It can be a little slow.

I would like to undertake 2 upgrades and need advice about what to get and how effective will the upgrades be.

- increase RAM to 4 GB, which memory is compatible with my Macbook?
- Is it possible to put in a SSD and if so which ones would be compatible?

Thanks

 

[Weaselboy]

This 4GB kit will fit your Macbook. Also, the Samsung EVO or Crucial MX100 are about the best bang for your buck SSDs right now and will work fine in your machine. Get whichever you can find cheapest in the size you want.

 

[MCAsan]

- increase RAM to 4 GB, which memory is compatible with my Macbook?

Moving to 4 or 8 GB will greatly reduce the times when the CPU runs out of memory and starts using disk space as a substitute for memory. When I update 2010 white MacBooks I put in 8GB. The effort is the same and the cost is not double going from 4GB to 8GB.

- Is it possible to put in a SSD and if so which ones would be compatible?

If that Macbook uses standard SATA 2 (3GBs) interface and is a 2.5" size, any 2.5" SSD should fit and work. Be aware that older MacBooks use SATA 2 and not the newer SATA 3 (6GBs) speed. In the 2010 MacBooks I have upgraded, the read/write speeds for the original HDs was in the 50MBs range. Putting in a Samsung EVO 840 SSD, the read/write speeds were in the 200+MBs range.

Note that memory is not all that expensive. But an SSD can be $200-$300 depending on brand and size. Bigger costs more.

So you need to decide how much you want to invest in a machine that will soon not be able to install the latest OS releases. Personally the 2010 white MacBooks are as old as I will go. Your milage may very.


BTW, check the battery condition in the system report. If the charge/discharge cycle count is over 400 or the condition is not "normal" you might want to change out the battery. You can usually get batteries for $30-60 on Amazon or eBay. You can find all sorts of videos on Yourtube for how to swap batteries, HDs, and memory in MacBooks. Another info source is https://www.ifixit.com

 

[Intell]

That model Macbook can take up to 6GB of ram. It also has a SATA I bus, but still greatly benefits from a SSD.

 

[MCAsan]

If you go for the upgrade, the memory cost is basically lost money....but not a lot of it. The same goes for the battery.

The SSD can later be put into another Mac (Macbook iMac, Mini) that does 2.5" drives and SATA interfaces. The SSD can also be put into an external USB3 enclosure that does USAP. The combo of USB3 with USAP can get the read/write speeds into the 400MBs range. I use the Inateck FEU3NS-1E enclosure which is around $18 on Amazon.

 

[darkal1en]

Thanks to you all for your great advice, much appreciated. I know that some of the upgrades on a Macbook this old can be seen as wasted money but I have a real affinity for this piece of machinery so think its worthwhile, especially as some upgrades are transferable to a 2010 Mac Book. Cheers.