Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Purchasing 4GB RAM from Apple OR upgrading yourself?

T

Tamasi

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 18, 2010
68
1
What would you guys suggest to do? I guess this is a pretty comon issue to those purchasing a new MBP? I'm not very computersavvy when it comes to RAM though..

My question is threefold;

1) Paying 360 euro's to Apple to upgrade from 4gb to 8gb seems really expensive.. Is it cheaper and most importantly "better" to "do-it-yourself"? (I don't prefer a cheaper option if that implies getting less!)
If so, where/how would you suggest to purchase it myself?

2) MBPs standardly come with 2x2gb (i.e. 4gb in total) of RAM. If you want to upgrade this to 8gb yourself, do you have to purchase 2 times 4gb, or does 1 time 4 gb suffice? (in other words, can you put 2 times 2gb PLUS 1 time 4gb in one MacBook Pro?? Or can you only fit a maximum of two modules (i.e. 2x4gb) in there??)

3) Finally, could I just take a 4gb RAM module out of my old (Windows)notebook and put it in a MacBook Pro? Or are there some requirements as to what RAM modules you can put in a MBP?
 
Tamasi said:
1) Paying 360 euro's to Apple to upgrade from 4gb to 8gb seems really expensive.. Is it cheaper and most importantly "better" to "do-it-yourself"? (I don't prefer a cheaper option if that implies getting less!)
If so, where/how would you suggest to purchase it myself?
Click to expand...

It's generally cheaper to buy it yourself, but I don't know what the equivalent of newegg is in Europe.

2) MBPs standardly come with 2x2gb (i.e. 4gb in total) of RAM. If you want to upgrade this to 8gb yourself, do you have to purchase 2 times 4gb, or does 1 time 4 gb suffice? (in other words, can you put 2 times 2gb PLUS 1 time 4gb in one MacBook Pro?? Or can you only fit a maximum of two modules (i.e. 2x4gb) in there??)
Click to expand...

There are only two slots, so you need to buy 2x4GB if you want 8 GB.

3) Finally, could I just take a 4gb RAM module out of my old (Windows)notebook and put it in a MacBook Pro? Or are there some requirements as to what RAM modules you can put in a MBP?
Click to expand...

Probably not, but I don't know what kind of RAM is in your Windows machine.
 
Never ever ever ever ever ever buy it from Apple. Their RAM upgrade price is criminal. 8GB of RAM can be had currently for less than $100 US.
 
i agree with the guy above. always buy the upgrades outside of apple just buy the stuff you cant upgrade like cpu, screen size at apple :p
 
Hey guys, thanks for your swift replies.

Any suggestions as to what RAM to get and where? (again, I prefer quality/performance over a cheap price)

miles01110 said:
Probably not, but I don't know what kind of RAM is in your Windows machine.
Click to expand...

When I open up my old machine it reads "1.5v DDR3 rev" and "foxconn". It's a Sony vaio VGN-Z590 from 2008 with two 4gb RAM modules. Yet, unfortunately the motherbord died so I can't turn it on to try and look under system hardware or something to see what kind of RAM it exactly is..

Do you think these two 4gb RAM modules would work in a MBP? Would trying be dangerous? And also, are there RAM modules out there that would perform better than these "1.5v DDR3" things?

Thanks a lot in advance for your insights!
 
Tamasi said:
Hey guys, thanks for your swift replies.

Any suggestions as to what RAM to get and where? (again, I prefer quality/performance over a cheap price)



When I open up my machine it reads "1.5v DDR3 rev" and "foxconn". It's a Sony vaio VGN-Z590 from 2008 with two 4gb RAM modules. Yet, unfortunately the motherbord died so I can't turn it on to try and look under system hardware or something to see what kind of RAM it exactly is..

Do you think these two 4gb RAM modules would work in a MBP? Would trying be dangerous? And also, are there RAM modules out there that would perform netter than these "1.5 DDR3" things?

Thanks à lot in advance for your insights!
Click to expand...

We'd need a little more info on the ram to tell you if it's the correct type. But if you just stick it in and try it you'll know for sure.

If it fits and the computer boots up and acts fine, you have the correct RAM. If it boots but acts wonky, it isn't. And if it doesn't even boot, well, forget it.

Try it, unless you try and break the machine in half, you can't break anything if you do.
 
snaky69 said:
We'd need a little more info on the ram to tell you if it's the correct type. But if you just stick it in and try it you'll know for sure.

If it fits and the computer boots up and acts fine, you have the correct RAM. If it boots but acts wonky, it isn't. And if it doesn't even boot, well, forget it.

Try it, unless you try and break the machine in half, you can't break anything if you do.
Click to expand...

If it fits and the computer boots up and acts fine as you put it, does that automatically imply that there are no other RAM modules out there that would make the MBP perform better? (in other words, can there be performance difference between 2x4gb of DDR3 RAM from different brands??)
 
Tamasi said:
What would you guys suggest to do? I guess this is a pretty comon issue to those purchasing a new MBP? I'm not very computersavvy when it comes to RAM though..
Click to expand...

Not only is it much cheaper to buy the RAM on your own, it is very easy to replace:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2010-RAM/3032/1 (This is the latest 15" MBP, you may want to find the page for your MBP if it's a different model, click on "Back to device" toward the top left of the page)

Remove 10 screws from the bottom, pull the cover off and the RAM is right there. You could have it done in less than 5 minutes, but you may want to take your time and be very careful, so more like 10 minutes :D
 
Last edited:
Tamasi said:
If it fits and the computer boots up and acts fine as you put it, does that automatically imply that there are no other RAM modules out there that would make the MBP perform better? (in other words, can there be performance difference between 2x4gb of DDR3 RAM from different brands??)
Click to expand...

Very little practical difference in major brand modules so just go for it and sell the rest of the sonly for parts.

Cheers,
 
One additional point: it is very important to use decent quality tools when you're dealing with tiny screws such as the ones on the bottom of a Macbook.

For RAM only, you'll need a #00 Phillips driver. Add a #6 Torx driver for the hard drive.

No need to mail order the tools if you have a Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, Radio Shack, ACE Hardware, or other decent tool or DIY store you can get to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back