Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Advice: 3GB or 4GB?

J

John01021988

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 11, 2007
280
0
Hey! I have a 2.16ghz macbook and I am wondering what would be the best thing to do. Currently I have 2.5gb of ram installed and I want to max out my mac's ram capacity (eventually I will add a 7200 rpm hard drive, or maybe a ssd drive) So I am wondering what would be the best thing I could do with my ram: Add the other 2gb stick so I can take "advantage" of the Dual Channel or just add 1GB sitck..... Also I've read the Understanding Macbook Ram in the Guides section, but I did not understand if the 3.3gb ram cap is hardware of software related. Ayone can explain me this? Thank you
 
Yes, it's hardware related. Due to the chipset, the OS won't see more than 3gb, even though the BIOS will recognize 4gb. The only way to get past this is to upgrade to a Santa Rosa+ chipset. Yes, add one more 2gb stick. The dual channel apparently makes a significant difference, despite the 3gb limitation.

See the last few posts in this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/397525/
 
Go with 2GB. If you watch newegg, you can find some good deals with rebates. I just got a 2GB stick from there for less than $30 shipped (after rebate). Unfortunately, that rebate expired yesterday, but new deals pop up frequently.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back