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Swap ram from Intel iMac to MBP?

macaddicted

macaddicted

macrumors regular
Original poster
I have just purchased a 2.16 ghz MBP. I also have a 20" iMac Core Duo 2 ghz that I am going to sell. When I purchased the iMac I put a 1Gb stick in it. I believe that the ram is very much the same between the two systems. I have checked a couple of ram selling sites and thus far the only difference I can notice between the iMac specific and MBP specific ram is the part number.

So I wonder, is the ram from the imac usable in the MBP?

TIA
 
macaddicted said:
I have just purchased a 2.16 ghz MBP. I also have a 20" iMac Core Duo 2 ghz that I am going to sell. When I purchased the iMac I put a 1Gb stick in it. I believe that the ram is very much the same between the two systems. I have checked a couple of ram selling sites and thus far the only difference I can notice between the iMac specific and MBP specific ram is the part number.

So I wonder, is the ram from the imac usable in the MBP?

TIA
Click to expand...

I do know that the MBP, MB and Imac share the same ram. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
iMac vs. MacBook ram:

I am pretty sure the MacBook requires the smaller SODIMM format, whereas the iMac uses full-size DIMMs. Thus, although it is the same kind of memory, the form factor is different. Double check on the apple site.
 
unixhead said:
I am pretty sure the MacBook requires the smaller SODIMM format, whereas the iMac uses full-size DIMMs. Thus, although it is the same kind of memory, the form factor is different. Double check on the apple site.
Click to expand...

On Apple's web site they state that the iMac indeed uses SODIMMs, not the cheaper ones of full size. So I guess they are the same as in the MacBooks.

Edit: So the MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac all use SODIMMs PC2-5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 ram, while the Mac Mini uses the same kind but as DIMMs instead of SODIMMs. Therefore the RAM modules of MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac should be exchangable between these systems.
 
Temujin said:
iMac ram is NOT compatible with the MBP ram slot. The MBP ram is much smaller.
Click to expand...
Are you sure that's true about the Intel Macs, considering the iMac is basically using a notebook processor in it?

The Apple store shows the Intel Macs use 667 DDR2 SDRAM, which is the same as the MacBook, MacBook Pro and the mini.
 
this is from apple store, the rams for all apple intel are the same with exception of mac pro
 
I am quite sure this is not the case.. you can see for yourself if you attempt to customised both the iMac and (say) the MBP.. notice also the pricing wouldn't add up if they are indeed the same kind of modules.
 

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generik said:
I am quite sure this is not the case.. you can see for yourself if you attempt to customised both the iMac and (say) the MBP.. notice also the pricing wouldn't add up if they are indeed the same kind of modules.
Click to expand...
is that the new imac? i'm not really sure about the new imac, but at least the core duo one... well, at least according to one of the genius from the apple store

iMac 20" CD
MacBook Pro
iMac 20" C2D
iMac 24" C2D
These are links from crucial (despite their weird pricing issue, i believe their rams are good quality and right specs at the very least), and they are identicle aside from the part numbers

but you are right, the pricing does look different.
 
bearbo said:
is that the new imac? i'm not really sure about the new imac, but at least the core duo one... well, at least according to one of the genius from the apple store

iMac 20" CD
MacBook Pro
iMac 20" C2D
iMac 24" C2D
These are links from crucial (despite their weird pricing issue, i believe their rams are good quality and right specs at the very least), and they are identicle aside from the part numbers

but you are right, the pricing does look different.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... does seem strange...

I really don't see why Apple will neglect to mention that the memory modules used by the iMacs are SODIMMS if they indeed are. The prices are another telltale sign too.

I guess they really are SODIMMS

http://www.streetwise.com.au/memory_results.php?mem_id=38. The iMac is probably a cheap way to get official Apple memory for your MBP though...
 
The other theory could be that upgrade prices are only updated when the line is updated... which may well happen tomorrow if new MBPs come out then 🙄
 
generik said:
The other theory could be that upgrade prices are only updated when the line is updated... which may well happen tomorrow if new MBPs come out then 🙄
Click to expand...
lol... right😛
 
generik said:
The other theory could be that upgrade prices are only updated when the line is updated... which may well happen tomorrow if new MBPs come out then 🙄
Click to expand...
Hopefully, although the Mac mini's memory upgrade price didn't change when that line got updated the same day the C2D iMacs came out. Maybe it's a margin thing because the overall price of the minis is lower?
 
aristobrat said:
Hopefully, although the Mac mini's memory upgrade price didn't change when that line got updated the same day the C2D iMacs came out. Maybe it's a margin thing because the overall price of the minis is lower?
Click to expand...

The price of the Mac mini memory should be lower, because it doesn't use the laptop SODIMM memory modules but rather the standard desktop DIMMs.
 
2ndPath said:
The price of the Mac mini memory should be lower, because it doesn't use the laptop SODIMM memory modules but rather the standard desktop DIMMs.
Click to expand...
that would your opinion, not apple's opinion... however, the OP is asking for what apple offers, aka apple's opinion, not yours... to not sounding offensive, the OP is asking for fact, not your opinion, and the fact is, all apple intel computers, laptop/desktop, short of mac pro, use the same memory.
 
2ndPath said:
The price of the Mac mini memory should be lower, because it doesn't use the laptop SODIMM memory modules but rather the standard desktop DIMMs.
Click to expand...
Just to beat a dead horse again and follow up to bearbo's post, I think you're confusing what the G4 mac mini uses vs. what an Intel mac mini uses. They use different types of memory.
 
aristobrat said:
Just to beat a dead horse again and follow up to bearbo's post, I think you're confusing what the G4 mac mini uses vs. what an Intel mac mini uses. They use different types of memory.
Click to expand...

I admit, I might be wrong here, but looked it up before my post on apples technical specification pages about the iMac and the Mac mini. There they speak explicitly about SODIMMs for the iMac and about DIMMs for the Mac mini. Later on I checked back at the Apple store, they talk about SODIMMs for the Mac mini. So, I guess, their technical specification page for the Mac mini is partially outdated and provided me the wrong information.
 

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2ndPath said:
So, I guess, their technical specification page for the Mac mini is partially outdated and provided me the wrong information.
Click to expand...
Ugh, they should fix that. I would have been confused too. The only reason I know is that I've had the fun experience of moving extra memory between my MacBook Pro, Intel mini and MacBook. 😱 😀
 
Thanks to all. I'll try it later today and see what happens. 😱

Who do I send the bill to if it explodes? 😀


Edit: Yeah! No boom! I put the memory in and the system is working just fine. I'll let it run for a few days to make sure there are no problems.
 
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