macbook pro can be upgraded to 8gb of ram, AND so can the macbook

[matthew6]

People have used the excuse "it will not be futureproof" to avoid buying the MB and instead buy the MBP. One reason why they go with the MBP is because if ever needed, it is able to be upgraded to 8gb of ram. This may be necessary in the future.

According to Apple, the MB can only be upgraded to 4gb of ram, but other reports have said differently.

According to macworld.com and other sites, the macbook can support up to 8gb of ram perfectly fine.

The MacBook ships with 2GB, and Apple will double it to 4GB for an extra $100. Apple officially lists the maximum RAM at 4GB, but since it uses the same chipset and components as the 13-inch MacBook Pro, it does support up to 8GB as well. Of course, 4GB SO-DIMM RAM modules are still very expensive. OWC offers an 8GB upgrade kit for $476, for example, but as prices drop in the next year or two, having that 8GB ceiling as an upgrade option will be a good thing. (Apple doesn't offer an 8GB option for the MacBook, and currently charges $700 to upgrade the MacBook Pro from 2GB to 8GB.)

http://www.macworld.com/article/143511/2009/10/unibody_macbook_review.html

My point is is that the macbook offers the same specs as a low end macbook pro...but people still choose the pro because it will be good for the next couple years and have upgrades to 8gb if needed. apparently u can on the macbook too.

what do you think?

 

[Steve Jobs.]

ummm...i think most people buy MBPs just because the case is so badass if not anything else

 

[vant]

People don't buy the MBP13 over the MB because of the 8GB ram limit.

 

[old-wiz]

MBP also has firewire and SD card, illuminated keyboard, etc.
I can't picture choosing MBP over MB based on ram limits.

 

[Clete2]

Nothing is "futureproof." First off, it would be "future proof." Secondly, laptops depreciate.

Now, extrapolating what you mean from "futureproof," I'd say that people buy MacBooks because they are cheap and their users need minimal function out of it. I have friends who have MacBook G4s and they work fantastically for them.

 

[xlii]

Does anyone use a program on their macbook or 13" mbp where 8GBytes would make a big difference in performance over 4GBytes of memory?

 

[MikeSantor]

Does anyone use a program on their macbook or 13" mbp where 8GBytes would make a big difference in performance over 4GBytes of memory?

The only thing I can think of is running parallels. 2 weeks ago at work I put my MBP through a nice little test. I was working on my companies web page so I had Dreamweaver open, Photoshop open, Firefox, and then one of the IT guys was patching the servers and doing some upgrading so he asked If I could run a few tests on the server. I had 3 more big programs open running penetration tests on the server which are pretty RAM intensive. All while listening to ITunes. I watched my RAM usage closely and at the most I was using 3 of my 4 GB of RAM. Now if I needed to do all this AND run Win7 in parallels then maybe 8GB is justifiable.

 

[t0mat0]

Does anyone use a program on their macbook or 13" mbp where 8GBytes would make a big difference in performance over 4GBytes of memory?

If you run a VM. I'd much rather run OS X and Win 7 with 4GB each, rather than 2GB (bearing in mind Win7 is virtualised).


I can see going to 8GB as a first upgrade, then replacing SuperDrive with an SSD to increase the length of my MBP.

 

[maflynn]

Nothing is "futureproof." First off, it would be "future proof." Secondly, laptops depreciate.

I don't want to split hairs but you can buy a laptop that has perhaps better specs to stave off the need to repurchase another laptop later.

For instance, I opted for the 2.53Ghz MBP with the dual GPU for the explicit purpose of keeping that machine over 3 years. I could have purchased a lower end machine knowing that I'll be buying a new one in under 3 years.

Is that future proofing? Sounds to me like it is. There's no guarantee that I'll be able to keep this puppy for longer then three years but given the price is > 2,500 and I have two kids that need stuff, I'm going to try like anything to avoid buying a new computer in the next couple of years.