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

MattyG

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 21, 2006
6
0
I'm going to order a MB for my wife and a MBP for myself. I was going to upgrade mine to 1GB through Apple, but then I decided I would order 2 3rd party 1GB sticks for mine and move my stock 512MB over to my wife's to bump her up to 768MB. I know Apple says it is better to have matched pairs, but I've read some other people have unmatched upgrades that have seen definite improvement. So 2 questions: Do you think this is a good idea, and in doing this will I be guaranteeing myself an older built machine that is more likely to have the problems that have been discussed on this board as well as every other board dedicated to the MBs/MBPs?
 

TBi

macrumors 68030
Jul 26, 2005
2,583
6
Ireland
Your 512MB stock will come in 2x256 sticks so you won't be able to upgrade her memory.
 

reflex

macrumors 6502a
May 19, 2002
721
0
TBi said:
Your 512MB stock will come in 2x256 sticks so you won't be able to upgrade her memory.

That's not correct, the standard configuration Macbook Pro comes with a single stick.
 

erikamsterdam

macrumors regular
Apr 21, 2006
183
0
amsterdam
I have no idea what board problems you are talking about, your sentences are kind of vague.
Anyway, memory is memory, and the MB and MBP have the same memory so you can swap all you want.
However, for better video performance of the MB it is recommended to have matched pairs. And since the video memory is taken from the RAM I would certainly recommend getting matched pairs.
So just order 2x 1GB and 1x 512MB and your wife is happy as well :D
 

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
Not sure what you mean by your 2nd question, I think ordering from a non-Apple source might give you an older manufacture date. But you didn't really specify much that would apply to this question.

You might check the refurb store for both of these purchases. Could save some money or get the memory/HDD bumped up on the Pro for about the same price. I think she'd find 1GB minimum the best bet, esp if she ever has to run a Rosetta app. Either way, you'll probably get a newer logic board and actually have more chance for avoiding the problems plaguing these models than purchasing new, if anecdotal evidence means anything. Same warranty applies whether new or refurb.
 

MattyG

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 21, 2006
6
0
I didn't say anthing about board problems. I'm talking about the whine, lid not closing all the way, etc that have been discussed on the boards (forums). I'm afraid if I get a standard configuration it will be an older built machine that was built before these problems were addressed. Will just upgrading the RAM in mine to 2x512MB through Apple mean they will build that machine specifically for my order or do they have something as simple as that already made and ready to ship?
 

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
The whine is a logic board problem on both models, which has been designated with a fix on the Pro. And the MBs have had many board replacements for outright failures, their biggest issue. So I think you did reference them. Forum semantics don't matter, though.

If you go to a retail location, you can probably check for a recent mfgr date to get the latest one in stock. As I mentioned, refurb store should give the latest fixes. And ordering from Apple direct will almost certainly give you a more recent unit (if there's any difference at all) than ordering from Amazon or other 3rd party sellers. Hard to be any more specific with how a warehouse might ship you a product.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.