Should I upgrade my RAM (late 2008 unibody)

[maclaw21]

Hi all:

I'm looking for advice regarding whether I should upgrade my RAM on my late 2008 unibody Macbook, running at 2.0 ghz dual core, 2 gb RAM. I don't use a lot of graphic programs; I'm wondering if I will get better performance with the upgraded RAM, especially with Lion on the horizon.

Here are the rest of my specs:

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz

Thanks!

 

[Mattness]

Hi,

Yeah you won't probably see a huge increase in speed based on how you say that operate your computer. On the other side memory is so cheap now days that putting 8GB of ram costs only about $80 or maybe a little less if you get a great deal.

I just upgraded to 8GB the other day and my computer does feel a little bit snappier. I installed Crucial CT51264BC1339 which are 4GB sticks of 1333MHz memory. I was able to load down the computer and use all 8GB of memory and the computer didn't kernel panic and it ran just fine. Under my normal use I usually never use more than 2GB of ram and so I wouldn't think that the computer should run any quicker but it does feel quicker...although only just a bit. I attribute that to the slightly faster 1333MHZ ram. Although I'm not absolutely sure of this as I did not test it against 8GB's of normal 1067MHz memory.

I'd say just buy the memory. Go with 8GB and don't look back. Considering how much it would have cost to buy 8GB or ram when you bought the computer new...today's prices are just a drop in the bucket.

Matt

 

[jsf8x]

So you would be able to use 8gb of ram on said computer? Because I have the same model and I have already upgraded to 4gb ram and wasn't sure about 8gb

 

[PurpleMarmalade]

Yes, 8GB now works, following a firmware update. I have 8GB in my MB unibody.

To the OP, you would certainly see better performance going from 2GB to 4GB. Whether you would see the benefit in 8GB does depend on your particular usage.