Upgrading from 1x1GB 200pin 1067Mhz RAM to 4x4GB 1333Mhz 204pin RAM

[aningbo]

I'm planning to upgrade RAM in my mid 2009 macbook pro which has the following configuration: Core2Duo 2.26Ghz, 1x1GB 1067Mhz 200pin RAM, 160GB HDD.

1. I want to upgrade to 4x4GB RAM but can't find a 1067Mhz RAM. Can i use 1333Mhz RAM? Will it damage my macbook pro? It's difficult to find mac accessories in India. Apple Stores are way too expensive.

Also, according to this FAQ, it indicates that i can't have more than 6GB RAM but would using 8GB RAM have any adverse effect?

MacBook 5.2 - 13" Mid 2009
Maximum RAM 6.0 GB (Actual) 4.0 GB (Apple)
Type of Ram Slots 2 - 200-pin PC2-6400 (800MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM

2. All the RAM available in the local market have 204 pin and not 200 pin. Will this create any problem? My macbook pro mid 2009 is stated to use 200pin RAM

3. Can i buy RAM that are design for any laptop or must it have a mac compatible logo? I'm planning to buy one of these and wondering if it will work on my macbook pro: Transcend DDR3 4 GB Laptop RAM or Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 4 GB Laptop RAM

EDIT: i'm planning to buy it from Amazon.com as i have some friends coming back at the end of this month. Here's the link to the product. Will it work on my macbook pro?

 

[chrfr]

2. All the RAM available in the local market have 204 pin and not 200 pin. Will this create any problem? My macbook pro mid 2009 is stated to use 200pin RAM

Yes, this will be a problem. You cannot change the number of pins. The RAM will physically not fit.

 

[snaky69]

DDR2 and DDR3 are not interchangeable, you cannot use that RAM.

Since it is now obsolete, DDR2 is now more expensive than the more common DDR3.

I believe sites such as newgg.com and macsales.com will shp internationally.

 

[aningbo]

Mine is a DDR3 and not DDR2.

When i open "About This Mac", it clearly mentions Memory : 2GB 1067 Mhz DDR3 and nothing about pin. It's just that the FAQ article here pointed out my mid 2009 macbook pro to be 200pin.

I don't know how to actually check whether my mid 2009 macbook pro is 200 or 204pin. How do i confirm it?

 

[codenamecueball]

As it is DDR3, it will be 204-pin.

Make sure you match memory speed and get 2 x 4GB DDR3 1067MHz ram sticks, as some macs have kernel panic problems with higher speed RAM.

In terms of putting in 8GB of RAM, your MacBook Pro supports the full 8GB. The RAM spec you provided is for a different MacBook.

As you can see here, your Mac uses the following spec RAM.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)

Number of memory slots - 2
Base memory - 4 GB
Maximum memory - 8 GB
Memory card specifications - Double Data Rate Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module (DDR3) format
- 30mm (1.18 inch)
- 2 GB or 4 GB
- 204-pin
- PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz type RAM
Additional notes - For best performance, fill both memory slots, installing an equal memory module in each slot.

 

[Dalton63841]

It uses 204 pin ram. If you go here you will notice the Macbook Pro ram upgrade uses 204 pin. This is what I bought for mine, but you don't have to get apple branded ram. Hynix or Crucial work great.

You can use 1333Mhz, but it will be down clocked by the system to 1067. You cannot do 4x 4GB, because there are only 2 ram slots. It does support 8GB as the max(unofficially), as 2x 4GB. You can see in my sig that I have the same machine with that configuration.

 

[aningbo]

what was i thinking!? Sorry about that. I mean 2x4GB making it to 8GB

Hope i get 1067Mhz. If i can't, i'll go with 1333Mhz and hope it doesn't create panic.

Thanks guys. Will look forward to the upgrade

 

[sofianito]

Your mid-2009 MBP supports 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM. Max size supported is 8GB: You can get it too from OWC.

 

[aningbo]

okay. so i found this and i'm a bit confused. The first one has "9-9-9-24 CAS Latency" while the second link has 7-7-7 CAS Latency.

Which one should i choose?

http://www.flipkart.com/corsair-ddr3-laptop-mac-4-gb-ram-cmsa4gx3m1a1066c7/p/itmdc2gghcgtkshz?pid=RAMDC2GFGRC6KCGZ&ref=b0616541-e12b-4cab-a8e1-e20348b79b4f&srno=t_1&otracker=from-search&q=4gb%20ram

http://www.flipkart.com/g-skill-sq-mac-ddr3-4-gb-1-x-gb-laptop-mac-ram-fa-8500cl7s-4gbsq/p/itmd2ryszh3fahu5?pid=RAMD2RYRYCW7R7FG&ref=f3c5c001-d594-45f9-b716-9c62b76b9ed2&srno=t_2&otracker=from-search

EDIT: I guess i'm going with the first option which is cheaper since it won't make much difference as mentioned in other forums

 

[Dalton63841]

okay. so i found this and i'm a bit confused. The first one has "9-9-9-24 CAS Latency" while the second link has 7-7-7 CAS Latency.

Which one should i choose?

http://www.flipkart.com/corsair-ddr3-laptop-mac-4-gb-ram-cmsa4gx3m1a1066c7/p/itmdc2gghcgtkshz?pid=RAMDC2GFGRC6KCGZ&ref=b0616541-e12b-4cab-a8e1-e20348b79b4f&srno=t_1&otracker=from-search&q=4gb%20ram

http://www.flipkart.com/g-skill-sq-mac-ddr3-4-gb-1-x-gb-laptop-mac-ram-fa-8500cl7s-4gbsq/p/itmd2ryszh3fahu5?pid=RAMD2RYRYCW7R7FG&ref=f3c5c001-d594-45f9-b716-9c62b76b9ed2&srno=t_2&otracker=from-search

EDIT: I guess i'm going with the first option which is cheaper since it won't make much difference as mentioned in other forums

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26

Those represent in a nutshell how fast the ram with work. The lower the number the better. That having been said, the SSD is going to be the biggest jump in real world noticeable speed, so I wouldn't worry about it either. Get the cheaper ram. The difference in ram timings would be negligible on your system.

 

[dusk007]

Don't pay up for that pointless "For Mac" label. Any ram works for Mac. That is just a label that they use to get a few extra bucks out of people that don't have a clue about RAM. It is just a rip off.

CL 7 really isn't worth it. The difference in speed is negligible and you might also pay for nothing as the RAM might revert to compatibility settings that would be CL9 after all.

I would get some Corsair VS. Always been incredibly compatible in my experience.
http://www.flipkart.com/corsair-ddr...AHZF&ref=d5d867a0-15b0-47b5-ac36-15172fc7f0c9

Generally go for price you don't need to buy one at a certain speed. You can always buy faster if the notebook cannot handle it the memory will automatically change its setting to however fast your cpu can handle.
It doesn't have to be 1066 anything faster like 1333 or 1600 is fine. If your C2D cannot handle it, it will just run on 1066. If it can run faster it will (i guess 1333 should be possible) but just like the CL it won't make a big difference. CL7 @1066 is about like DDR3 1600 @CL11 since CPU generally prefer latency over bandwidth. Faster clock speed means that higher timings like CL11 result in equivalent latency. But really just forget about that stuff and go for price. Even the fastest RAM you can buy will not make a noticeable difference. You need benchmarks and even with those it is sometimes hard to tell a difference.

 

[ladadhillon]

upgrading ram

there are lot of websites just put your mac no. and you find ram details. just remember number of pins should be same like 204 pin or 240 pin Ram. and type SODDIM or any other speed 1067Mhz or anything more than that will fit and mac start up. in my macbook i put 1Gb + 4GB module works fine and sysytem prety fast than before. no hangs or freezing. and also best upgrade is SSD check out.
Try to find more memory at low price. i tried on windows laptop, desktop( 512mb +1gb working from 7 years), and macbook(1gb+4gb working from 1month) .

 

[Freyqq]

4x4 dimms? All mac laptops since forever only have 2 slots.