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what ram to buy for new MBP (noob question)

T

tman08

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
57
0
I just bought a new MBP and want to upgrade from 2gb to 4gb of ram. I don't know much about what to buy. Can someone please tell me what kind of ram is okay to use in MBPs. I don't understand this 2gb X 2 matched or + 1 gb matched lingo. I'm planning to run over to best buy or compusa today to pick it up. Thanks.:confused:
 
tman08 said:
I just bought a new MBP and want to upgrade from 2gb to 4gb of ram. I don't know much about what to buy. Can someone please tell me what kind of ram is okay to use in MBPs. I don't understand this 2gb X 2 matched or + 1 gb matched lingo. I'm planning to run over to best buy or compusa today to pick it up. Thanks.:confused:
Click to expand...

First of all, don't buy from Best Buy or CompUSA. Those are going to charge you waaaay too much for the RAM. Go for an online retailer like NewEgg or OWC. And if you're upgrading to 4GB of RAM, buy 2 x 2GB of the exact same model, that's what's meant by matched sets. There will be a better performace from matched RAM.
 
tman08 said:
I just bought a new MBP and want to upgrade from 2gb to 4gb of ram. I don't know much about what to buy. Can someone please tell me what kind of ram is okay to use in MBPs. I don't understand this 2gb X 2 matched or + 1 gb matched lingo. I'm planning to run over to best buy or compusa today to pick it up. Thanks.:confused:
Click to expand...

do yourself a favor and check out http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/Pro/DDR2/
 
I bought 4GB from Newegg.com for $98. Its Kingston & Im very pleased with its performance. Just make sure you get the right spec RAM (look in System Profiler for the exact specs).

You'll need to get 200 pin - & then match the type & speed you see in the profiler for your current RAM. Should look something like this for your new RAM:

2GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz

Matched pairs just means you bought 4GB in 2x2GB sticks. Same make & model for both sticks. It does increase performance, so I would recommend you do that. Hope that info helps!
 
AliensAreFuzzy said:
First of all, don't buy from Best Buy or CompUSA. Those are going to charge you waaaay too much for the RAM. Go for an online retailer like NewEgg or OWC. And if you're upgrading to 4GB of RAM, buy 2 x 2GB of the exact same model, that's what's meant by matched sets. There will be a better performace from matched RAM.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the info. So I'm actually needing to buy 4gb and then replacing the 2gb I already have in my MBP?
 
Thanks guys. I tried to read up on that stuff but it makes much more sense when people explain it to you. I wanted to go buy it in stores because I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow and would like to have the upgraded ram for it (im very impatient). But if its such a large cost difference i'll stick to newegg. One last question, is there anything I need to do after installing the ram to get the computer to recognize it or anything?
 
Hey, just to add in one more question to make things clearer.

Most 667MHz rams are CL5, and theres this Gskill one thats 4-4-4-12.
question is: does the MBP suport 4-4-4-12 at all?
If i buy that low latency Gskill ram and put it into the MBP, in what mode will it run at?
 
Order now at Newegg or OWC, upgrade to Priority Overnight shipping and I bet you'll still come out ahead of buying at your local BestBuy or CC. :)

tman08 said:
I wanted to go buy it in stores because I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow and would like to have the upgraded ram for it (im very impatient). But if its such a large cost difference i'll stick to newegg.
Click to expand...
 
As long as it's a well known brand that won't fail it doesn't really matter does it? I mean they'll all preform the same, right?
 
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