Macbook and RAM...

[coachingguy]

I've got a 2.0 gig C2D, white Macbook with the standard 1gig RAM. I'm looking to upgrade to at least 2gigs... I saw at Macsales.com (OWC) that they have 3 gig kit. Has anyone tried the 3gig kit? If so what was the performance increase? For those that just upgraded to 2gigs, what kind of jump did you get?

I usually run 5 or 6 apps at once, 10-12 windows running etc... I find myself getting the spinning ball more often than I like.

I can get the 2gig kit for $97 or the 3gig kit for $157.

Thanks for you opinions and suggestions.

Coachingguy

 

[aethelbert]

2GB would suit you well, but since you are running close to $50/GB, getting the 3GB won't take that very far off track. I would suggest that you go with 2GB, but 3GB would just make it even better. If you plan to run even more apps at once in the future, go with the 3GB kit and you will see a great performance improvement, as you will with 2GB. It's up to you to decide.

 

[munckee]

I've got a 2.0 gig C2D, white Macbook with the standard 1gig RAM. I'm looking to upgrade to at least 2gigs... I saw at Macsales.com (OWC) that they have 3 gig kit. Has anyone tried the 3gig kit? If so what was the performance increase? For those that just upgraded to 2gigs, what kind of jump did you get?

I usually run 5 or 6 apps at once, 10-12 windows running etc... I find myself getting the spinning ball more often than I like.

I can get the 2gig kit for $97 or the 3gig kit for $157.

Thanks for you opinions and suggestions.

Coachingguy

I just installed this kit on my macbook. Works great so far, though I haven't had occasion to tax the system much yet. I picked up CS3 over the weekend and will install it probably tomorrow. I also don't have much to compare to. I only started up with the stock 1GB once to make sure it wasn't DOA before I installed the OWC kit.

 

[puuukeey]

MBPSR 2GB on 2 Chips??? WHY?

so the guy at the store whispered in my ear and said to can the ram upgrade. So I get my macbook home and system profiler says that there are two 1 GB cards in there... that means I have to buy 4 gb instead of 2???

its been so long since I've upgraded ram..
is this right?

 

[Episteme]

so the guy at the store whispered in my ear and said to can the ram upgrade. So I get my macbook home and system profiler says that there are two 1 GB cards in there... that means I have to buy 4 gb instead of 2???

its been so long since I've upgraded ram..
is this right?

EDIT: I thought you were talking about a MacBook, not an MBP, as this thread is about the MacBook. The below applies to only the MacBook and older MBPs, not the current MBP.

No, it means you just need to buy a single 2GB DIMM.

Buying two 2GB DIMMs won't give you anything, since the current MacBook can only use 3GB of RAM anyway.

The new MBP can use 4GB, due to it using the new (Crestline) chipset.

Having said that, see if you find you're swapping much first. 2GB might be fine for your needs.

 

[munckee]

so the guy at the store whispered in my ear and said to can the ram upgrade. So I get my macbook home and system profiler says that there are two 1 GB cards in there... that means I have to buy 4 gb instead of 2???

its been so long since I've upgraded ram..
is this right?

Yes, you're right. But this thread is about the macbook. And you've already posted this exact same question in your own thread about the MBP. Do we really need it twice?

 

[Igantius]

Buying two 2GB DIMMs won't give you anything, since the current MacBook can only use 3GB of RAM anyway.

From what I've read....

If you install 4GB, the MB will recognise 3.3GB (some users report just 3GB) but should have optimal graphic performance as you're using a matched pair of RAM.

If you have an unmatched pair of memory sticks (e.g. 2GB & 1 GB), there's a slight deterioriation in the MB's graphical performance.

I would love to see some benchmarks about this though.

 

[coachingguy]

Thanks for the responses...

I think I'll order the 3gig kit... You can never have too much RAM.

Coachingguy

 

[nownot]

i might be missing something but i thought macbooks could only support 2gb of ram. maybe im wrong or misinformed.

 

[coachingguy]

Can support...

The Macbooks can support up to 3 gigs... I think when Apple made the MB's, they didn't see someone making a matching 1 gig and a 2 gig chip. Macsales has benchmarks showing the system improvements w/ 3 gigs. It's not a 33% over 2 gigs, but it is noticeable.


Coachingguy

 

[flopticalcube]

Apple has a long history being "conservative" about maximum RAM.

 

[munckee]

The Macbooks can support up to 3 gigs... I think when Apple made the MB's, they didn't see someone making a matching 1 gig and a 2 gig chip. Macsales has benchmarks showing the system improvements w/ 3 gigs. It's not a 33% over 2 gigs, but it is noticeable.
Coachingguy

Lets be careful on this one... the core TWO duo macbooks can address 3GB. The core duo MB's only two.

 

[Igantius]

Apple has a long history being "conservative" about maximum RAM.

Also, I doubt Apple were that keen to advertise that their consumer laptops could take as much RAM as their professional offerings, particularly as specs-wise, there wasn't too much difference between them.

 

[dex22]

Hmmm.

Reading this, I took two 2GB DDR2-667 200 pin SO-DIMMS from a Dell here and put them in my MacBook. It booted up fine, and showed having 3.3GB, not 3GB. Mine is a two-day-old current MacBook.

I've put that memory back in the Dell for now, and am back to 2x1GB, but I suspect for me it may be worth the $200 or so to get a couple of these for my MacBook - 3.3GB and still keeping the matched pairs for speed, unlike the 2+1GB option.

Has anyone else tried this?

 

[Igantius]

Has anyone else tried this?

No, but I would interested in hearing more! As I would about using 3GB.

The recent tests Barefeats ran on the new MBs and MBPs, used MBs with 4GB (2x2) installed (it says 3GB, but I emailed Rob @BF to check this) so you might want to take a look - not that there's much to compare it too!

 

[localoid]

...
I've put that memory back in the Dell for now, and am back to 2x1GB, but I suspect for me it may be worth the $200 or so to get a couple of these for my MacBook - 3.3GB and still keeping the matched pairs for speed, unlike the 2+1GB option.
...

Don't kid yourself. It's not a matter of (only) being "matched pairs" ... If the system can't see/use (all) 4GB, and is only using 3.3GB, you won't have all of the RAM running in dual channel mode.

 

[munckee]

Hmmm.

Reading this, I took two 2GB DDR2-667 200 pin SO-DIMMS from a Dell here and put them in my MacBook. It booted up fine, and showed having 3.3GB, not 3GB. Mine is a two-day-old current MacBook.

I've put that memory back in the Dell for now, and am back to 2x1GB, but I suspect for me it may be worth the $200 or so to get a couple of these for my MacBook - 3.3GB and still keeping the matched pairs for speed, unlike the 2+1GB option.

Has anyone else tried this?

OWC recently benchmarked both a 3GB setup and a 2x2GB setup in a c2d macbook. Go have a read for a better idea of the difference.

 

[jstad]

OWC recently benchmarked both a 3GB setup and a 2x2GB setup in a c2d macbook. Go have a read for a better idea of the difference.

you got a link to that?

 

[flopticalcube]

Here's the link:

http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/MacBook/Testing/Memory_Benchmarks

Lets be careful on this one... the core TWO duo macbooks can address 3GB. The core duo MB's only two.

Why would that be? Don't they share the same chipset? OWC agrees with you but provides no explanation.

Don't kid yourself. It's not a matter of (only) being "matched pairs" ... If the system can't see/use (all) 4GB, and is only using 3.3GB, you won't have all of the RAM running in dual channel mode.

Looking at the OWC results, it certainly looks like it runs in dual channel mode.