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MacBook Pro RAM help for Mac-Newbie

RetiredInFl

RetiredInFl

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
2,457
250
FORMERLY NJ now FL
Been a PC Guy since the dawn of the first IBM PC's (yea, I'm that old). Decided I wanted to try something new. Getting bored in my retirement so I purchased a "used fixer-upper" 13" 2.4GHZ MacBook PRO described as "early 2010" for almost free (well, real cheap). Never ever used a Mac other than watched a friend use his (I do have an iPhone & iPad).

Anyway, it has no HD, no problem, I have a spare 240GB SSD to drop in. Has no O/S so I had a Mac friend create a bootable thumb drive and it has no RAM which is where the questions come in.

It seems (compared to PC RAM) MAC ram is a bit on the high $$ side (this uses PC3-8500 1066MHZ) but isn't ANYTHING Apple related overpriced! :) Also I read it only "officially" supports 8GB although I have read 16GB will work if it's the right stuff.

I am looking for a VERY cheap source for a pair of 4GIG sticks that will work in this thing. Used, new, whatever, just c-h-e-a-p. Anyone know what will work or where to find it? eBay is high, Amazon is about the same as eBay. I understand I have to use the 1066MHZ which, unlike a PC which adjusts to just about anything. It kills me to pay almost $80 for 8GIGs ram.

Can anyone give me some suggestions on what or where I can find cheap? Do I HAVE to use the 1066 PC-8500? I'd like to go for 16GB but that's way too high.
 
The 2010 13" MacBook Pro is built with the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. It has two memory sockets which can be upgraded to 16GBs maximum memory with MacOS X 10.7.5 and the latest EFI Firmware update. Otherwise max memory will be 8GB. Memory can be installed one-at-a-time. Apple recommends two modules of the same size be installed for maximum performance.

------------

Datamem has been a source for memory for me. I've used them several times.

If you are sure your MBP is the 2010 version it has a core 2 duo 2.4Ghz CPU.
'
http://www.datamemorysystems.com/ap...2-4ghz-13-mc374ll/a-mid-2010-memory-upgrades/

4 GB sticks there are $44.95 each.
 
Thanks for the info. They are way to high for me. Amazon and even eBay is around $70 for 2 X 4's. Not looking for anything special, just something that will "work." :) Don't want to spend more on RAM than on the MBP. :D

Looking for maybe some pulls for ~$50 for the 8GIG. Do I have to use 1066 or will the system adjust to higher speed stuff which seems to be cheaper?

Thanks
 
I'm guessing you haven't bought memory for a year or two. :D
Prices have gone up somewhat.

www.Newegg.com

This should work OK.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231768

If the memory matches the specs that you need, then any memory should work. You don't really need to look for memory that is sold as "Mac-compatible"

If you can find memory for less, then try it. Looks like about $70 for 2 x 4GB is the low price.
 
Yea, it's been a while but PC RAM is lot cheaper so I was hoping maybe some of the higher speed PC SODIMMS which can be a bit cheaper would work but everything I have read said I MUST use the 1066 stuff. and that the MBP hrdeare won't "adapt" to faster (or slower) RAM as most all PC motherboards will do. The way I looked at it was if NEW stuff is $70 I should be able to buy USED for around $50 but I guess not,

I guess I'll just have to spend the $70.
 
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PC ram is compatible with Macs, don't worry. I've NEVER had an issue using PC ram. Right now I'm using an 8GB Corsair stick I dropped in that was leftover from an MSI gaming rig. It runs fine!
 
I find it weird that you complain RAM prices because Mac RAM and PC RAM are exactly the same thing. Just any DDR3 laptop RAM should work, higher-clocked RAM sticks should adjust the clock automatically. There can be some chipset incompatibles - but again, exactly the same as with PC.
 
leman said:
I find it weird that you complain RAM prices because Mac RAM and PC RAM are exactly the same thing. Just any DDR3 laptop RAM should work, higher-clocked RAM sticks should adjust the clock automatically. There can be some chipset incompatibles - but again, exactly the same as with PC.
Click to expand...


If people would read the original posts before making comments that are not correct we'd live in a better world. ;). I am not complaining that ram prices are high I'm just stating I'm looking for very cheap ram for a very cheap computer I purchased. I don't want to spend as much on the memory as I did on the computer.

And your comments that there are sometimes chipset incompatibilities is the exact reason why I'm asking if I can use different kinds of RAM other then ram that is spec'd out for the MacBook. I have read many many comments all over the web stating that the MacBook Pro is very memory sensitive. Lots of different RAM does not work well while some does work.

My issue is I don't want to buy some cheaper used PC ram off of eBay for example and find that it is not compatible because it is not the proper speed. If the computer is flaky with some higher speed ram then the fact is that all ram is not compatible.

If I look for anything other then the 1066 ram then I might have a problem. And that was the point of my entire initial message. Is the MacBook Pro compatible with any speed ram. And the answer is "no not necessarily" due to POSSIBLE chipset incompatibilities.

The bottom line is, I'm looking for some very cheap memory for a very very cheap computer that I purchased just to play around with but it obviously has to be compatible with my MacBook Pro and it's chipset.
 
I own a mid 2010 MBP 2.4Ghz just like you do.

NO the board will not adjust. It is PC-8500 DDR3 1067Mhz RAM only. Nothing else will work. It will beep at you and won't boot at all. Trust me, I tried several times.

As for cheap? Nope. I looked for a few months and basically $75-$90 is what you're looking at. Like I said, I looked.
 
^^^^^ I pretty much see it as you do. For the most part the "majority" of what I have read online agrees with what you say, in fact, I read even some 1066 stuff is problematic. There are a number of people who say they have used faster stuff without issue but the general consensus agrees with you. I guess I'll just have the spend the few extra bucks unless I find a lucky deal on eBay. What I find strange is the used even unbranded stuff on eBay is going for the same price and sometimes more than much of the mainstream branded new stuff.
 
jbachandouris said:
I own a mid 2010 MBP 2.4Ghz just like you do.

NO the board will not adjust. It is PC-8500 DDR3 1067Mhz RAM only. Nothing else will work. It will beep at you and won't boot at all. Trust me, I tried several times.

As for cheap? Nope. I looked for a few months and basically $75-$90 is what you're looking at. Like I said, I looked.
Click to expand...

And the winner of the "100% wrong comment of the day" award goes to.... You!

I'm using a 2010 13" MacBook Pro and I threw in an 8GB DDR3-1600 stick, mixed with a 1066 2GB stick and I have zero issues. Are you still on Lion? Because I've heard that was only an issue on Snow Leopard and up to Lion 10.7.2 or something.

I'm on 10.9.2.
 
Is it possible you just happened to get one of those that worked? I've been doing a lot of searching and I find that the vast majority of people have issues with "non-standard spec" sticks and yes, they are running recent OSX versions. There are people who do fine with 8 + 2 then change to 8 + 8 and it's a fail. There are people of do PC1600 either 4 or 8 and it won't boot.

Yes, there are also success stories such as yours but I don't think a blanket statement that anything will work is any better then a blanket statement that nothing will work. I think it's a big YMMV which is why I (me personally) want to stay within spec because if I buy something used & cheap off eBay or P to P and it doesn't work I'm stuck and defeated my purpose of saving $$$. I don't question YOU'RE experience at all, just that it shouldn't be a blanket statement either way.
 
Essenar said:
And the winner of the "100% wrong comment of the day" award goes to.... You!

I'm using a 2010 13" MacBook Pro and I threw in an 8GB DDR3-1600 stick, mixed with a 1066 2GB stick and I have zero issues. Are you still on Lion? Because I've heard that was only an issue on Snow Leopard and up to Lion 10.7.2 or something.

I'm on 10.9.2.
Click to expand...

Nope running Mavericks. Tried several brands. None worked except 1067Mhz.

BTW, no need for smart alec comments.
 
I'm also finding that there is a lot of the "faster" RAM (1280 and up) available cheaper NEW than the 1066 USED on eBay (on Amazon). Since their refund policy is excellent maybe I'll try something from them so it can be returned.
 
TB07-NJ said:
I'm also finding that there is a lot of the "faster" RAM (1280 and up) available cheaper NEW than the 1066 USED on eBay (on Amazon). Since their refund policy is excellent maybe I'll try something from them so it can be returned.
Click to expand...

I always heard that some Macbooks -- specially the ones with shared-memory GPUs -- need low latency memory modules which is the case for the 2010 13" Core 2 Duo MBP. If you buy 1066 or even 1333 memory modules with high latency (CAS latency >7) you CAN experience problems with graphics performance or the system won't even boot.

Open your pockets and buy quality 1066 modules. With 8GB you should be fine. It's worth investing on it because this Mac is a decent machine even for our current time. Its built-in nVidia 320M performs slightly better than an Intel HD 3000 and even touch the the HD 4000 in some rare cases.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1385573/
 
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