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Macbook Pro Mid 2010 17 Inch

R

Roosterfosho

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2009
59
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Hey guys I just found a great deal on a MBP mid 2010 17 inch. Picked it up for $300. Only issue I have is the ram is at 4 gb and I'd like to upgrade it to 8 gb. I know everyone has their own ram preferences, but I have seen horror stories with MBP's in 2010 and whether or not they take to the ram.

Anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks.
 
Roosterfosho said:
Hey guys I just found a great deal on a MBP mid 2010 17 inch. Picked it up for $300. Only issue I have is the ram is at 4 gb and I'd like to upgrade it to 8 gb. I know everyone has their own ram preferences, but I have seen horror stories with MBP's in 2010 and whether or not they take to the ram.

Anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Download the scanner from crucial.com, run it and the it will show you exactly how much it can take and what type. I did that when I got my 2011 MBP (upgraded from 4GB to 16GB) and haven't had any probs. RAM was pretty cheap.
 
Roosterfosho said:
Hey guys I just found a great deal on a MBP mid 2010 17 inch. Picked it up for $300. Only issue I have is the ram is at 4 gb and I'd like to upgrade it to 8 gb. I know everyone has their own ram preferences, but I have seen horror stories with MBP's in 2010 and whether or not they take to the ram.

Anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I have 2 X 4GB in my 17" 2010
I tried the 1600mHz and it did not work, so stick with 1333mHz

This is the Samsung RAM now installed.
http://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-10600-SODIMM-LAPTOP-MEMORY/dp/B0067GGPXC
Price: $33.49 + $5.49 shipping
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Yeah I was looking into an SSD to replace the optical drive. Haven't looked too much into it. Any specific SSD you'd recommend? I know those are extra finicky.
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simon lefisch said:
Download the scanner from crucial.com, run it and the it will show you exactly how much it can take and what type. I did that when I got my 2011 MBP (upgraded from 4GB to 16GB) and haven't had any probs. RAM was pretty cheap.
Click to expand...
My 2011 MBP maxes out at 8 GB. How'd you get it to 16?
 
Roosterfosho said:
My 2011 MBP maxes out at 8 GB. How'd you get it to 16?
Click to expand...
8GB is what Apple quotes as the max. The scanner from crucial.com shows it can handle 16GB. I called someone at Crucial and verified. Bought the RAM and have never been happier. Your Mac can handle 16GB.

I also upgraded the HD to a Samsung 850 EVO SSD. Running without any probs. Boot time was cut in half (from 45+ seconds to 20 seconds).
 
Roosterfosho said:
Yeah I was looking into an SSD to replace the optical drive. Haven't looked too much into it. Any specific SSD you'd recommend? I know those are extra finicky.
[doublepost=1455853495][/doublepost]
My 2011 MBP maxes out at 8 GB. How'd you get it to 16?
Click to expand...
I use Samsung 850 EVO's in all my machines and they've been flawless.

I cant confirm the max RAM size, but Simon has confirmed you're good to 16GB - I would stick with the 1333MHZ
 
If you download the scanner from crucial it will give you all the details needed for the proper RAM chips (i.e. type/frequency).
 
I never really was a huge fan of the Crucial scanner. In some cases it cheats you with respect to the frequency of modules. It shows only 1333MHz for all 2011 MacBook Pros, even though they are thoroughly documented to support 1600MHz perfectly.

The 17" 2010 MacBook Pro will take a maximum of 8 GB 1066MHz.
 
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simon lefisch said:
8GB is what Apple quotes as the max. The scanner from crucial.com shows it can handle 16GB. I called someone at Crucial and verified. Bought the RAM and have never been happier. Your Mac can handle 16GB.

I also upgraded the HD to a Samsung 850 EVO SSD. Running without any probs. Boot time was cut in half (from 45+ seconds to 20 seconds).
Click to expand...


In my Macbook Pro 15' 2011, I added the Samsung 840 1TB, with 16GB of 1600mhz ram, it works great!
 
JTToft said:
I never really was a huge fan of the Crucial scanner. In some cases it cheats you with respect to the frequency of modules. It shows only 1333MHz for all 2011 MacBook Pros, even though they are thoroughly documented to support 1600MHz perfectly.
Click to expand...
Can you point me to said documentation? I've looked everywhere and only found 1333MHz.
 
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JTToft said:
- Sure. Here's an OWC post about it:
http://blog.macsales.com/14262-boost-2011-mbp-performance-with-1600mhz-ram

And here are Intel specifications for the particular i7 in my 2011 machine:
http://ark.intel.com/products/50067/Intel-Core-i7-2720QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks for that.

While the 2720QM can handle 1600MHz RAM, the 2675QM (which is the processor in my MBP) can only handle 1066/1333MHz.

http://ark.intel.com/products/53470/Intel-Core-i7-2675QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

So it looks like the RAM frequency is dependent on the processor type. My MBP is the base model (2.2GHz). Since yours is the higher end with the better processor, it can utilize the 1600MHz RAM.
 
It made a recommendation for me of 1067 mhz ram. I've never upgraded to anything below 1333, but that's in my MBP from 2011. I'm assuming the 2010 cannot handle higher ram? I know it maxes out at 8, but I'm not sure how much of a difference there will be between 1067 and 1333.

Any insight on the issue is great, thanks guys!
 
Roosterfosho said:
It made a recommendation for me of 1067 mhz ram. I've never upgraded to anything below 1333, but that's in my MBP from 2011. I'm assuming the 2010 cannot handle higher ram? I know it maxes out at 8, but I'm not sure how much of a difference there will be between 1067 and 1333.

Any insight on the issue is great, thanks guys!
Click to expand...
I don't think 2010 can handle the higher freq RAM. 1067MHz sounds about right for that model.

If you know what model processor you have you can look up the max freq it can handle. I usually use http://www.everymac.com. Great resource to find out specs.
 
simon lefisch said:
Awesome, thanks for that.

While the 2720QM can handle 1600MHz RAM, the 2675QM (which is the processor in my MBP) can only handle 1066/1333MHz.

http://ark.intel.com/products/53470/Intel-Core-i7-2675QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

So it looks like the RAM frequency is dependent on the processor type. My MBP is the base model (2.2GHz). Since yours is the higher end with the better processor, it can utilize the 1600MHz RAM.
Click to expand...
- I have seen those other Intel specs, too. And it is a bit curious, because OWC states in no uncertain terms on the page I linked to (scroll through the comments) that *all* 2011 MBPs can take advantage of 1600MHz according to their tests.
 
simon lefisch said:
I don't think 2010 can handle the higher freq RAM. 1067MHz sounds about right for that model.
Click to expand...
My 2010 17" MBP came with 4GB 1333MHz RAM - see actual photo


JTToft said:
- I have seen those other Intel specs, too. And it is a bit curious, because OWC states in no uncertain terms on the page I linked to (scroll through the comments) that *all* 2011 MBPs can take advantage of 1600MHz according to their tests.
Click to expand...

My late 2011 17" MBP came with 4GB 1600MHz RAM - now has G Skill 16GB 1600MHz RAM
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LiquidSpikes said:
In my Macbook Pro 15' 2011, I added the Samsung 840 1TB, with 16GB of 1600mhz ram, it works great!
Click to expand...
But that doesn't mean that it will work at all in a MID 2010, which is the subject of this thread.
 

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