MacBook Pro Memory Upgrade

paulgrogan.eu

Hi Guys,

Ive recently bought as new Macbook Pro with 4gb ram. I have just received a 4GB KTA-MB1333/4G memory module and was wondering how it will perform if I put it into my laptop paired with a 2gb factory chip?

Any help / advice much appreciated.

Rgds

Paul.

opinion guy

You might get more answers in the Mac forum:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=108

I don't know the specific RAM types needed to fit the MBP so I can't say if what you've got will work - but I do know you can use different sizes in each slot - althou its apparently less efficient than having the same size in each slot.

paulgrogan.eu

opinion guy wrote: »

You might get more answers in the Mac forum:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=108

I don't know the specific RAM types needed to fit the MBP so I can't say if what you've got will work - but I do know you can use different sizes in each slot - althou its apparently less efficient than having the same size in each slot.

Thanks for the reply. Yes this ram is compatible alright, and your right you can technically use different sizes, but I was wondering if it was a good idea or bad idea, and would I get the full benefit of it to save my buying a matching 4gb chip, which I will probably do in future when funds re-coup!

Genghiz Cohen

Personally I'd think it's a bad idea to open your MacBook yourself.
You'd be voiding your warranty on a €1200 laptop.

opinion guy

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Personally I'd think it's a bad idea to open your MacBook yourself.
You'd be voiding your warranty on a €1200 laptop.

Installing new memory or replacing the hard drive is allowed without voiding your warranty for macbook pros.

KTRIC

I did this last night on my mid-09 MBP. Just put in a 240GB SSD and 8gb's of RAM, its like a new machine now and sooooo nippy.

donutheadhomer

KTRIC wrote: »

I did this last night on my mid-09 MBP. Just put in a 240GB SSD and 8gb's of RAM, its like a new machine now and sooooo nippy.

is it easy install the SSD?

KTRIC

EurasianBadger wrote: »

KTRIC wrote: »

I did this last night on my mid-09 MBP. Just put in a 240GB SSD and 8gb's of RAM, its like a new machine now and sooooo nippy.

is it easy install the SSD?

Yep, just copied the hdd onto it and swapped them over. It took a couple of hours to copy it and minutes to drop it in.

donutheadhomer

KTRIC wrote: »

Yep, just copied the hdd onto it and swapped them over. It took a couple of hours to copy it and minutes to drop it in.

what is involved in installing it? physically installing it

KTRIC

EurasianBadger wrote: »

what is involved in installing it? physically installing it

Have you ever opened a laptop / MBP or installed a HDD ?

Burgo

EurasianBadger wrote: »

what is involved in installing it? physically installing it

http://www.tested.com/videos/how-to/videos/5411-how-to-replace-your-macbooks-hard-drive/

all you really need is a screwdriver.

can't see the video i posted above, but it sounds about right:pac:

paulgrogan.eu

Guys,

If I may ask 2 further questions:

1. For anyone who has gone from 4gb to 8gb of ram, have you noticed much improvement? My MacBook is a 15" bought last month with a 7200rpm HD

2. For anyone who has got or has upgraded to a SSD, how has performance changed and does it have a positive / negative effect on battery life?

Many thanks in advance.

Rgds

PG

Fluffy88

1. Unless you do a lot of video rendering or work on huge images you won't notice an upgrade from 4GB of RAM.

2. SSD give huge performance gains. They speed up boot and shutdown times, improve loading times for applications etc... It will also have a positive effect on battery life since they don't use moving parts like a normal HDD so require less power.

opinion guy

Fluffy88 wrote: »

1. Unless you do a lot of video rendering or work on huge images you won't notice an upgrade from 4GB of RAM.

Can't agree with this. RAM is useful for more than just video editing. OP it depends really on what you do - if all you do is email, surf the web and use Word you probably won't notice much, but if you run Windows unders parallels or VM Fusion, do alot of video editing or heavy math software extra ram can make a huge difference. You can use Activity Monitor to figure out if a ram boost will make a difference - I'm not so used to it though so perhaps someone else can explain.

2. SSD give huge performance gains. They speed up boot and shutdown times, improve loading times for applications etc... It will also have a positive effect on battery life since they don't use moving parts like a normal HDD so require less power.

Yes but you have to get the right SSD drive. SATA II vs SATA III, what make etc. Needs a bit of research. But it can make a huge difference all right.