Should I upgrade my MacBook Unibody Mid-2010 to 8gb or 16gb RAM?

[Mitchi3boi]

First of all, i own a Macbook Unibody 13" Mid-2010 2.4GHz (A1342). It is running OS X Mavericks (10.9.2). The RAM has already been upgraded from 2GB (stock 2x1GB) to 4GB (2x2GB). It also still has the stock 250GB Hard Drive.

I was researching ways to upgrade my MacBook to get the most out of it without having to buy a new one. I know that Apple says this MacBook can only take 4GB of RAM max but I have read that you can install 8GB of RAM fine. However, I also read about one or two people that have upgraded to 16GB RAM and that works too, but only if you have 2.4GHz and the latest software installed (which I do). One thread linked to OWC's website, which also states that my MacBook can take up to 16GB RAM. (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/8566DDR3S16P/)

First of all, is this safe? And also, is it worth it? it costs $199.00 for 16GB or $101.99 for 8GB.

thanks

 

[fwebeb]

First of all, i own a Macbook Unibody 13" Mid-2010 2.4GHz (A1342). It is running OS X Mavericks (10.9.2). The RAM has already been upgraded from 2GB (stock 2x1GB) to 4GB (2x2GB). It also still has the stock 250GB Hard Drive.

I was researching ways to upgrade my MacBook to get the most out of it without having to buy a new one. I know that Apple says this MacBook can only take 4GB of RAM max but I have read that you can install 8GB of RAM fine. However, I also read about one or two people that have upgraded to 16GB RAM and that works too, but only if you have 2.4GHz and the latest software installed (which I do). One thread linked to OWC's website, which also states that my MacBook can take up to 16GB RAM. (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/8566DDR3S16P/)

First of all, is this safe? And also, is it worth it? it costs $199.00 for 16GB or $101.99 for 8GB.

thanks

Is it worth it? That really depends on what you want to use your macbook for. If you're looking at memory-hungry programs like Photoshop, then the more RAM you have, the better the machine will run. However, if you are just using it for simple tasks like web-browsing, mail etc... then you should (in theory) be fine with the 4GB you have (although nobody's going to stop you upgrading to 8GB).

I have 8GB RAM in my MacBook late 2009 and that works brilliantly (also upgraded to SSD). If you really want to see a speed difference, I would consider buying a 250GB SSD to replace the HDD. A 240GB Crucial M500 is about $120 on Newegg.

 

[Mitchi3boi]

Is it worth it? That really depends on what you want to use your macbook for. If you're looking at memory-hungry programs like Photoshop, then the more RAM you have, the better the machine will run. However, if you are just using it for simple tasks like web-browsing, mail etc... then you should (in theory) be fine with the 4GB you have (although nobody's going to stop you upgrading to 8GB).

I have 8GB RAM in my MacBook late 2009 and that works brilliantly (also upgraded to SSD). If you really want to see a speed difference, I would consider buying a 250GB SSD to replace the HDD. A 240GB Crucial M500 is about $120 on Newegg.

Thank you! I do use photoshop and other similar apps sometimes but it sounds like 8GB is probably enough.

Just another quick question, I've been thinking of upgrading my hard drive to a 1TB Seagate SSHD Hybrid (ST1000LM014 is the model number to be specific) because I want the memory space but also decent speed and it isn't too expensive. I've almost entirely filled my current 250GB stock hard drive. I've been researching if it would work on my MacBook seeing as though it says "SATA III, SATA" in the specifications of the hard drive. I'm not too educated on SATA but I think I might have heard that my generation of MacBook can't run SATA III. This SSHD runs at 5400RPM by the way.
I've also seen a faster but older model with 750GB instead of 1TB, also made by Seagate (Momentus XT ST750LX003). This runs at 7200RPM. The only information about SATA that I can find for this drive is that it's just SATA.

Do you know if either would work on my MacBook? and if so, which would be best? (You can try to persuade me to get just SSD too if you like but I would like around 1TB of hard drive space and I don't have too much to spend on it.)

 

[fwebeb]

Thank you! I do use photoshop and other similar apps sometimes but it sounds like 8GB is probably enough.

Just another quick question, I've been thinking of upgrading my hard drive to a 1TB Seagate SSHD Hybrid (ST1000LM014 is the model number to be specific) because I want the memory space but also decent speed and it isn't too expensive. I've almost entirely filled my current 250GB stock hard drive. I've been researching if it would work on my MacBook seeing as though it says "SATA III, SATA" in the specifications of the hard drive. I'm not too educated on SATA but I think I might have heard that my generation of MacBook can't run SATA III. This SSHD runs at 5400RPM by the way.
I've also seen a faster but older model with 750GB instead of 1TB, also made by Seagate (Momentus XT ST750LX003). This runs at 7200RPM. The only information about SATA that I can find for this drive is that it's just SATA.

Do you know if either would work on my MacBook? and if so, which would be best? (You can try to persuade me to get just SSD too if you like but I would like around 1TB of hard drive space and I don't have too much to spend on it.)

SATA III HDDs will run in these MacBooks, but will not run at SATA III speeds. For example, the SSD in mine is supposed to do 500mb/s read and about 400mb/s write, but it does about 200mb/s read and 180mb/s write (which is still fast). Most HDDs/SSHDs/SSDs should be backwards compatible so you probably won't have to worry about it not working.

Both SSHDs you mentioned will probably be fine in your machine (although I've never tried them before), and they'll be pretty fast as well. Another option would be to replace the Superdrive (if you don't use it) with a second HDD (a 1TB one). Store all your files on that, and put the OS onto an SSD (or SSHD). This ensures fast boot times and lots of storage. You can get a bracket so that the 2nd HDD fits in the Superdrive bay pretty cheaply.

 

[Mitchi3boi]

SATA III HDDs will run in these MacBooks, but will not run at SATA III speeds. For example, the SSD in mine is supposed to do 500mb/s read and about 400mb/s write, but it does about 200mb/s read and 180mb/s write (which is still fast). Most HDDs/SSHDs/SSDs should be backwards compatible so you probably won't have to worry about it not working.

Both SSHDs you mentioned will probably be fine in your machine (although I've never tried them before), and they'll be pretty fast as well. Another option would be to replace the Superdrive (if you don't use it) with a second HDD (a 1TB one). Store all your files on that, and put the OS onto an SSD (or SSHD). This ensures fast boot times and lots of storage. You can get a bracket so that the 2nd HDD fits in the Superdrive bay pretty cheaply.

thank you so much, you've been a massive help to me! I just bought the SSHD off eBay and it should be here soon. I think I might buy the RAM later too. thanks again!