RAM for 2010 MacBook - Does it matter if 1 stick or 2?

[dmk1974]

For my 2010 MacBook, I ordered a 4GB stick of ram to replace the two 1GB sticks that it came with. Will I have any issue using just a single 4GB stick of RAM while leaving the other memory bank empty? Thanks.

 

[alust2013]

You could, or you could leave one of the 1GB chips in and have 5GB

 

[ViPhone]

Shouldn't. Might affect dual channel though, not having the "ideal" identical (2+2) sticks in both. Not really sure. It wouldn't be noticeable anyway with the increase in speed that you would experience as a result of the doubled-RAM.

You could even go higher on the memory if you wanted to.

 

[unixperience]

you can use one stick at a time, or two mismatched sticks, it doesn't matter.

In fact, most people test new ram by trying one stick at a time, to make sure they work. It's perfectly legitimate.