2008 2GB Ram ---> 8GB Ram

[ZacNicholson]

i recently upgraded my friends 2008 17inch MBP to ML from leopard. well i installed Lion over Leopard then ML, but it runs very sluggishly. He only has 2GB of ram installed, so i am wondering if he upgraded to 6GB if that would speed up his system. i have a 2011 13inch MBP with 4GB and it runs fine. so i guess my question is should he upgrade to 4GB or 6GB? Also what is the best type of ram to buy. i found this but i do not know if it is any good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139083

thanks in advance!

 

[tygrubb]

Other World Computing (OWC) is perhaps the most popular go-to shop for Mac upgrades. They cater specifically to Mac users, with listings for compatible parts for each model and video installation guides. I recently got an SSD for my 2007 17" MBP and their installation videos made it very easy. They carry RAM, also, and have tested configurations of up to 6GB in models where Apple only specifies 4GB.

Upgrade that machine with an SSD with a clean install of ML (restore data back manually from a backup) and I promise you will see a significant performance increase. It will be like a new machine. Then you might consider adding more RAM.

 

[tazhombre]

Is the 2008 17" MBP a unibody or the one prior to that? Reason being, there was an EFI update awhile back that increased the RAM cap to 8GB. I'm running 8GB in my 2008 15" MBP unibody and originally the cap was 4GB.

 

[ZacNicholson]

Is the 2008 17" MBP a unibody or the one prior to that? Reason being, there was an EFI update awhile back that increased the RAM cap to 8GB. I'm running 8GB in my 2008 15" MBP unibody and originally the cap was 4GB.

its a unibody. thank you i didn't it he could get 8gb. how does ML run on your machine?

 

[tazhombre]

So far it runs better than Lion did. I used to have 6GB in and just recently bumped it to 8GB, I can definitely tell a difference. The CPU is a 2.53Ghz C2D. Side note: One of my next upgrades will be a SSD, using a OWC data-doubler drive cage and replacing the optical drive, then it should scream. Overall I'm still quite impressed with an almost 4yr old system.