So I recently came into possession of a late 2008 13in MacBook (a1278), it is the 2.4 GHz model and I am in the process of upgrading its parts to make it run better. When it comes to ram it currently has 2gb of ddr3 1066mhz which obviously is not a lot. according to apple website, it can be upgraded to a max of 4gb but I keep finding conflicting data across the web, some sites say it can take up 6gb and others say it can take 8gb. does anyone know or has tested what it can actually use? I would like to know before I purchase more ram.
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Late 2008 MacBook (a1278)
- Thread starter Ripebanana11
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That's the aluminum model, correct?
That one (also known by the model identifier: MacBook5,1) will actually go to 8GB. (2 x 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMMs)
Good site for Mac supported RAM - https://www.datamemorysystems.com/a...-unibody-mb467ll/a-late-2008-memory-upgrades/
That one (also known by the model identifier: MacBook5,1) will actually go to 8GB. (2 x 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMMs)
Good site for Mac supported RAM - https://www.datamemorysystems.com/a...-unibody-mb467ll/a-late-2008-memory-upgrades/
Keep in mind that all MCPx9 Macs (including your MacBook) require having at least one stick that is 1066MHz (PC3-8500), and preferably 2 matched sticks if possible. 2x 1066MHz DIMM's or 1x 1066MHz and 1x 1333MHz or 1600MHz will boot but 2x 1333MHz or 1600MHz will not. These Macs for some reason can down clock one SODIMM to 1066, yet can't do 2.
I've actually been having luck lately with running 1333MHz RAM in my 9400M-based Macs! I have an early 2009 mini, late 2008 15" MBP, and mid 2009 13" MBP all running two sticks of 1333MHz (PC3-10600) RAM just fine. I was surprised, as I've always had issues with it until recently.
In my case, it took weeks of having the computer powered off before it detected a non-1066 stick. Though my 7,1 is a MCP89 Mac.