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Memory and HD upgrade on blackbook.

M

MikeSantor

macrumors regular
Original poster
Whats up MacRumor!

So I have been a Mac user for about 2 months now and just purchased my second used macbook off ebay (because im poor😎)

Im looking to do some upgrading and have questions on both the memory, and HD. here are the specs on what I bought:

Blackbook
-2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
-80GB SATA hard drive
-1GB SDARM DDR2


The first think I was going to do was throw a 4GB memory kit in there. Then I read someone suggest that some macbooks will actually support up to 6 gigs. How can I find out if mine will take 6 and if it does, whats the best place to get it? I have been shopping on newegg for years but noone ever suggest them on here. All the suggestions are from mac shops I never herd of. if I can get 6gb of memory to work on this it would be great.

Next up is the HD. I was going to throw in WD scorpio (320BG, 7200RMP) But I was curious if this gave off more head then the stock HD? I have never had a 7200 RPM HD in a laptop. I have 2 PC laptop and one gets hot enough to ensure you never have kids if you have it on your lap for more then 5 minutes. the other one does not. I just want to make sure the upgraded HD
dosnt get super toasty.


Any info would be greatly appreciated!
 
get a cooling system it's sort of like a stand but it's sits below your blackbook 🙂
7200RPM will read stuff faster, so unless you're a speed freak or not, speed on a 7200rpm is different from a 5400rpm.

but yeah it's all up to you my brother!

and 4gb is max.
depends on what model you have... if you have the mid 2007 it's max is 3.25gb but put 4gb it'll only read 3.25 and if you have the 2008 i believe it's 4gb max.
Have fun!
 
MarkCooz said:
get a cooling system it's sort of like a stand but it's sits below your blackbook 🙂
7200RPM will read stuff faster, so unless you're a speed freak or not, speed on a 7200rpm is different from a 5400rpm.

but yeah it's all up to you my brother!

and 4gb is max.
depends on what model you have... if you have the mid 2007 it's max is 3.25gb but put 4gb it'll only read 3.25 and if you have the 2008 i believe it's 4gb max.
Have fun!
Click to expand...

I defiantly am a speed freak. So much so that i actually have a little savinigs going for an intel SSD HD BUT I travel a lot for paintball. Im always in an airport or on the road and this new blackbook is going everywhere with me. If the heat is defiantly noticeable on the 7200RMP drive im going to sacrifice some speed and get the 5400.

I have tried getting the cooling pad for an older laptop I had but traveling with it wasn't cool. it was just a huge pain in the ass in airports and hotel rooms.
 
SSD's are fast and quiet. They also generate less heat. So if you want max speed, get a Intel SSD and 4GB of RAM.
 
7200 is not always faster than 5400. Seagate makes 5400 HDD that outperform many 7200.
I just got SSD and it really makes difference. More than I ever noticed with 5400 or 7200 drives,
All my MBP is cooler thus less noisy and faster same time. If you can find a good deal on SSD I recommend it for sure. And battery lasts longer.
Also I have large storage for video files on external FW800 case. So I think this way I get speed and reliability maxed.
 
Tom's hardware has posted some pretty in depth reviews showing the difference in heat and battery life between recent 7200 and 5400 rpm drives was negligible.

I've noticed vibration with the seagate 7200.4 in my unibody mb, but YMMV.

500 gig wd scorpio blue promises to have near 7200 rpm speed without the vibration and other issues; just make sure you get one without shock protection.
 
clyde2801 said:
Tom's hardware has posted some pretty in depth reviews showing the difference in heat and battery life between recent 7200 and 5400 rpm drives was negligible.

I've noticed vibration with the seagate 7200.4 in my unibody mb, but YMMV.

500 gig wd scorpio blue promises to have near 7200 rpm speed without the vibration and other issues; just make sure you get one without shock protection.
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what i was going to do. get this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136314

You are the second person I have herd reference this shock protection. what is it? it does not mention it on new egg.


As i stated, i have a little savings going for an intel SSD but for this new mac I just bought i need the biggest HD i can get my hands on. Im going to put my itunes and all my MP3s and movies on it. I have about 200 videos I like to take with me when im on the road or in crappy hotel rooms. so the SSD will go in my other mac and the new one will get the 500GB boy.


Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
 
ive just upgraded to the 7200rpm 320gig WD scorpio and i've actually noticed my macbook runs cooler... the fans dont kick on nearly as much and its also quieter. VERY happy with this HD
 
you can actually get 6gb by using one 4gb chip and one 2gb chip - it has worked with some modders getting it going.

google '6gb macbook ram' and have a read - the only problem with this is that the ram wont be matched and you might not get the performance to warrant the mod.

i have a blackbook 2.4 late 2008 with 4gb of ram and i love it there great computers.
 
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