Can any macbook work/use 32gb of ram if there is a compatible 16gb stick?

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Just wondering? I'm a heavy ram user and OS X on the 27" mac will use 32gb, I'm guessing because it has 4 slots but if there was a 16gb would the 2012's work with it? Or could they be "hacked" or "updated" to? Or is there no way and it just wouldn't work?
 

pigoo3

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Apple no longer sells "MacBooks".

Your posting mentions an iMac...but does not mention what Apple laptop you have. As far as the max. ram. Sometimes some Mac models can have a higher max. ram then they had when first released, and sometimes they don't.

This is usually because higher density ram modules (16 gig ram modules in this case) were not available when the computer was first released. Sometimes the higher density ram modules work...and sometimes they don't.

Only actual testing with the higher ram modules will answer the question if it will work. There is no accurate "theorizing" that can be done...since this can only be determined on a model by model basis.

- Nick
 
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crucial.com are normally quite good at letting you know what the advised max is and what has been shown to work. For a 2012 iMac the max they show is 32gb
 
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crucial.com are normally quite good at letting you know what the advised max is and what has been shown to work. For a 2012 iMac the max they show is 32gb

Apple no longer sells "MacBooks".

Your posting mentions an iMac...but does not mention what Apple laptop you have. As far as the max. ram. Sometimes some Mac models can have a higher max. ram then they had when first released, and sometimes they don't.

This is usually because higher density ram modules (16 gig ram modules in this case) were not available when the computer was first released. Sometimes the higher density ram modules work...and sometimes they don't.

Only actual testing with the higher ram modules will answer the question if it will work. There is no accurate "theorizing" that can be done...since this can only be determined on a model by model basis.

- Nick
Macbook Pro* same difference, you know what I mean't I'm guessing...

Exactly what I mean the 16gb single module is just coming out and the reason I mentioned the iMac is because OS X obviously supports 32gb its not like windows where you need the premium version to support 32, OS X 10.8 and 10.9 support 32 so I'm wondering
1. Does anyone make a 16gb 1600mhz stick that is apple compatible and 2. has anyone ever stuck it in say a 2012 MBP? Would it work?
 
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The 2012 MBP supports a max of 16gb and has two slots.

So it's a bit of a moot point. Even if you could get 16gb sticks the architecture in the MBP tops out at 16gb so there's no point putting more than 2x8gb sticks in there.
 

pigoo3

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Macbook Pro* same difference, you know what I mean't I'm guessing...

What you meant & what you said are two diferent things.;) "MacBooks" are a computer model that Apple used to sell. So accuracy is important.:)

As to the title of the thread, "Can any macbook work/use 32gb of ram if there is a compatible 16gb stick?"

Whether you meant "MacBook" or "MacBook Pro"...the answer to this is no. A "MacBook Pro" from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, etc...that doesn't even have a max. ram of 16gig...certainly isn't going to be able to utilize 16gig ram modules (for a max. ram of 32gig).

To add to this. The newest "MacBook Pro's" cannot even upgrade their ram. Thus 16gig ram modules will not work in them either.

AND...one more thing. The newest "MacBook Pro's" that can have their ram upgraded...originally had a max. ram of 8gig. To the best of my knowledge...Apple has never released a laptop computer (that had upgradeable ram) which had an "Official max. ram endorsed by Apple" that was greater than 8gig. There are some "MacBook Pro" models that do have a "true max. ram" of 16gig...but this is not something that is officially stated by Apple.

This means that these MacBook Pro's (that have an official Apple max. ram of 8gig)...would have to be capable of a 4x increase in thier max. ram capacity versus what Apple officially states. This has NEVER happened with any Macintosh laptop/notebook product EVER! It has been possible with a number of computer models to have a 2x greater max. ram than Apple states...but never a 4x increase.

So again...you need to be VERY specific and accurate as to what computer model/models you are speaking about.

- Nick
 
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chas_m

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Also, just for future reference ... Nick wasn't being snarky. Apple makes a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air currently, and used to make a model called (literally) "MacBook." So when someone calls their machine a "MacBook," without further clarification we don't actually know if they are referring to an Air or Pro (assuming its a current machine as we knew with yours).

Further, the two models use different kinds of RAM (and the ability to upgrade said RAM varies by model as well) ... so that would have affected the answer you got. In text-based forums like this, specificity is important.
 

pigoo3

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Exactly what I mean the 16gb single module is just coming out and the reason I mentioned the iMac is because OS X obviously supports 32gb... its not like windows where you need the premium version to support 32, OS X 10.8 and 10.9 support 32 so I'm wondering...

It's not about what OS X will support. It's about:

- What an individual computer model will support in terms of it's design.
- Will an individual computer models EFI support it.
- Will ram manufacturers make a 16gig ram module that's compatible with the particular computer in question (not all ram modules fit all models).

The bottom line is...if the current max. ram for a computer model is 16gig...no one at this point knows if 2 x 16gig will work. Maybe it will...maybe it won't.

When (and if) 16gig ram modules are made and are compatible (will fit) with a particular computer model...you can either:

- be the "first person on the block" to purchase the ram (2 x 16gig) and test to see if it works. And it's not just about it "working for 5 minutes"...it's about "real" stability (days, weeks, etc.).
- wait until someone else tests it. Usually someone like OWC or Everymac.com will test things quickly...and then they update their databases (max. ram for a particular model) if a change is necessary.

* Nick
 
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What you meant & what you said are two diferent things.;) "MacBooks" are a computer model that Apple used to sell. So accuracy is important.:)

As to the title of the thread, "Can any macbook work/use 32gb of ram if there is a compatible 16gb stick?"

Whether you meant "MacBook" or "MacBook Pro"...the answer to this is no. A "MacBook Pro" from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, etc...that doesn't even have a max. ram of 16gig...certainly isn't going to be able to utilize 16gig ram modules (for a max. ram of 32gig).

To add to this. The newest "MacBook Pro's" cannot even upgrade their ram. Thus 16gig ram modules will not work in them either.

AND...one more thing. The newest "MacBook Pro's" that can have their ram upgraded...originally had a max. ram of 8gig. To the best of my knowledge...Apple has never released a laptop computer (that had upgradeable ram) which had an "Official max. ram endorsed by Apple" that was greater than 8gig. There are some "MacBook Pro" models that do have a "true max. ram" of 16gig...but this is not something that is officially stated by Apple.

This means that these MacBook Pro's (that have an official Apple max. ram of 8gig)...would have to be capable of a 4x increase in thier max. ram capacity versus what Apple officially states. This has NEVER happened with any Macintosh laptop/notebook product EVER! It has been possible with a number of computer models to have a 2x greater max. ram than Apple states...but never a 4x increase.

So again...you need to be VERY specific and accurate as to what computer model/models you are speaking about.

- Nick
Hmmm I thought the 2012's had the 16gb option from apple? Well I guess I was just having wishfull thinking that apple has claimed 4max and 8 has worked and 8max and 16 has worked maybe 32 would some how work

Also, just for future reference ... Nick wasn't being snarky. Apple makes a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air currently, and used to make a model called (literally) "MacBook." So when someone calls their machine a "MacBook," without further clarification we don't actually know if they are referring to an Air or Pro (assuming its a current machine as we knew with yours).

Further, the two models use different kinds of RAM (and the ability to upgrade said RAM varies by model as well) ... so that would have affected the answer you got. In text-based forums like this, specificity is important.
I know I know but air's can't upgrade the ram and the white "macbooks" are old as crap lol
 

pigoo3

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Hmmm I thought the 2012's had the 16gb option from apple?

You are correct that some 2012 MacBook Pro's did have a 16gig ram upgrade option. These were the 2012 retina MacBook Pro's. They could be upgraded/configured to 16gig at the time of purchase only (not upgradeable after purchase by the end-user).

All of the "regular" 2012 MacBook Pro's that do have upgradeable ram by the end-user...(according to Apple)...have an official max ram of 8gig. Unofficially they can be upgraded to 16gig.

It would be VERY unusual for these "regular" 2012 MacBook Pro's to be upgradeable to 32gig of ram...since this would be 4x more than Apple officially recommends. And as far as I know...no Apple computer has ever had a max ram that was 4x the "offical max" from Apple. Lots of models have been 2x greater...but never 4x greater than Apple's official max.

- Nick
 
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the white "macbooks" are old as crap lol
Yep, but we've seen questions here from owners of those old machines, so as Nick said, it's important to be precise in how people post their issues here.
 

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I usually use Everymac to determine what the "real" max memory a particular Mac will support beyond what Apple official says. Your 2012 MBP, offically supports 8GB, but 16GB has been known to work. Nothing beyond that will work, so even if you plug in 16GB sticks, you'll only get a maximum of 16GB of usable memory..
 

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