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4gb ram c2d macbook?

M

mothertucker

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 19, 2007
2
0
i recently found some tests done on the macbook core 2 duo as well as core duo.
apple says you need matched ram modules yada yada..

this company tested a lot of different setups and they said its possible to run 2 x 2gb in the c2d mac, they didnt say much about it so i was wondering if any one has tried 3 or 4 gb of gam in theirs?

http://lowendmac.com/musings/07/0525.html
 
mothertucker said:
i recently found some tests done on the macbook core 2 duo as well as core duo.
apple says you need matched ram modules yada yada..

this company tested a lot of different setups and they said its possible to run 2 x 2gb in the c2d mac, they didnt say much about it so i was wondering if any one has tried 3 or 4 gb of gam in theirs?

http://lowendmac.com/musings/07/0525.html
Click to expand...

You can put 2x2GB sticks in the C2D MB. It will recognize about 3.3GB of that, but will also run in dual channel mode.

I'm personally running 3GB in my MB and it's been functioning just fine.
 
3gb in my C2D, and running great. Maybe when the 2gb sticks dip below $100, I'll add a second to get that extra ~300mb of usable ram, and to get dual channel capability back. But I'm in no rush for that to happen.
 
Does anyone think that eventually C2D macbooks will be able to run 4gb completely?

I know that Apple said the first 17 inch powerbook could max out at 1gb and it's actually capable of 2gb.

It just seems to me that Apple is setting these limitations in order for people to upgrade their machines. If there is something else that is holding the macbooks back I'd love to know:eek:
 
The original CD MBPs have a memory limit of 2GB. The original C2D MBPs have a limit of 3GB. This is due to the chipset used, which is actually only 32bit. The new Santa Rosa MBPs have a limit of 4GB.
 
maverick808 said:
The original CD MBPs have a memory limit of 2GB. The original C2D MBPs have a limit of 3GB. This is due to the chipset used, which is actually only 32bit. The new Santa Rosa MBPs have a limit of 4GB.
Click to expand...

Isn't core 2 duo 64-bit?
 
Oh I understand.

Does this mean that the core 2 duo processor will be able to run Leopard at 64-bit but the chipset itself just won't be able to address more ram?
 
ricgnzlzcr said:
Does anyone think that eventually C2D macbooks will be able to run 4gb completely?

I know that Apple said the first 17 inch powerbook could max out at 1gb and it's actually capable of 2gb.

It just seems to me that Apple is setting these limitations in order for people to upgrade their machines. If there is something else that is holding the macbooks back I'd love to know:eek:
Click to expand...

After doing some research, I have come to the conclusion that it is not Apple but a limitation of the Napa platform in combination with the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo CPUs. It appears that any PC manufacturer using these chipsets has the same limitation. 2GB with Core Duo and 3.3GB with Core 2 Duo. The limitation is definitely a hardware one and, contrary to my previous beliefs, definitely out of Apple's control.

ricgnzlzcr said:
Oh I understand.

Does this mean that the core 2 duo processor will be able to run Leopard at 64-bit but the chipset itself just won't be able to address more ram?
Click to expand...

The maximum physical addressable memory for Napa is 3.3GB with a Core 2 Duo CPU. In practice it won't make much a difference as most programs would never need even that much physical RAM all at once and you would still have as much virtual RAM as your hard disk could provide.
 
flopticalcube said:
After doing some research, I have come to the conclusion that it is not Apple but a limitation of the Napa platform in combination with the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo CPUs. It appears that any PC manufacturer using these chipsets has the same limitation. 2GB with Core Duo and 3.3GB with Core 2 Duo. The limitation is definitely a hardware one and, contrary to my previous beliefs, definitely out of Apple's control.
Click to expand...

Yea, I looked it up too. It's nice to know that we can upgrade past the 2gb ceiling that Apple says the macbook is capable of. Though I understand that they only say that because they feel that dual channeling gives a great performance increase.

I might move up to 2x2gb sticks for my C2D macbook so I can have dual channeling and the max ram at 3.3gb.
 
ricgnzlzcr said:
Yea, I looked it up too. It's nice to know that we can upgrade past the 2gb ceiling that Apple says the macbook is capable of. Though I understand that they only say that because they feel that dual channeling gives a great performance increase.

I might move up to 2x2gb sticks for my C2D macbook so I can have dual channeling and the max ram at 3.3gb.
Click to expand...

I think the prices will be so low soon that it will be a non-issue and many will go straight to 3.3GB rather than 3GB. Dual channel helps the MacBook more so than the MacBook Pro because the GMA950 GPU makes good use of the 128bit data bus. It will certainly extend the useful life of MacBooks down the road.

One thing I would like to know: if there are any Mac mini owners out there who have upgraded their CPUs to C2D, have you tried 3 or 4GB?
 
flopticalcube said:
I think the prices will be so low soon that it will be a non-issue and many will go straight to 3.3GB rather than 3GB. Dual channel helps the MacBook more so than the MacBook Pro because the GMA950 GPU makes good use of the 128bit data bus. It will certainly extend the useful life of MacBooks down the road.

One thing I would like to know: if there are any Mac mini owners out there who have upgraded their CPUs to C2D, have you tried 3 or 4GB?
Click to expand...

Good question. I'd like to know that too if anyone's tried it.
 
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