How much RAM can my MacBook handle?

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Hello, I have an older MacBook.

1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo
512 MB RAM

I just loaded Leopard and it takes a while to run programs and the system is generally slow. I was wondering if a RAM boost would help the situation. If so, what's the max I could put in my system?

Thanks,
Andrew
 
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13" MBP 2.53 DC2, 09 Mini 2.0 DC2, 07 Mini 2.16 DC2, MB 2.0 DC2, iBook G3 900MHz, G4 Sawtooth 1.6Ghz
you could definitely use more ram and your macbook will handle 2 2GB sticks but will only see 3.3 or so GB's of that because it came out before the actual 4GB capacity.

go to www.crucial.com and find your ram. it is the best place for mac ram.

if you follow their memory finder you will get an option for a 2 x 1GB upgrade because that was the specs at the time and that will give you a great boost for $53.99 but you can put in the 2 x 2GB sticks and it will work and give you a little more than 1GB more for $103.99

you can find the 2 x 1GB info here.
or the 2 x 2GB here.

hope that helps
 
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Macbook C2D 2GHz 2GB RAM 80GB HDD
Most likely it will recognize up to 4GB (which AFAIK is the most you can get in a SODIMM kit). However, it will only utilize 3.3GB.

Your best bet is to get a 4GB (2x2GB) kit to upgrade. You will see better performance with a matched pair than if you went with a 2gb and 1gb stick.
 
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Black Macbook C2D 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD iPhone 4 iPad 3G
The performance boost from dual channel RAM is negligible at best. With a max capacity of 3.3GB, you're best off just buying 2GB or 3GB of RAM and save yourself some money.
 
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The performance boost from dual channel RAM is negligible at best. With a max capacity of 3.3GB, you're best off just buying 2GB or 3GB of RAM and save yourself some money.

i agree with you that the boost performance is "negligible at best". however if you combine that small performance boost along with the extra 300mb of ram your not getting by going with 4GB over 3GB then i think it does make a difference and for the "negligible" ;) price difference you might as well get the added performance.

not arguing with you Kash :) just i think the extra 300mb would make a difference and the price difference from 3 to 4GB is small.

of course if your your not running windows on it , or using graphics software, etc... and all you do is surf, email, itunes, IM, etc... then save yourself even more money and go with the 2GB deal because that will more than work for ya.

FYI- i run occasional photoshop etc.. as well as windows XP (via VMFusion) and sometimes both at once with only 2GB of ram on my macbook and i rarely ever max it out. my guess by the way you worded your question is that 2GB kit would be more than enough for you.

good luck :)
 
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17" MacBook Pro Intel i5 2.53GHz, 4GB, 500GB, nVidia GT330m. iPhone 4S 16GB
go for the 4gb and overclock it a notch.
 
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go for the 4gb and overclock it a notch.

DO NOT attempt to overclock runandrew.

first of all the CPU's in Apple's notebooks are soldered to the motherboard and not-upgradeable, and you are therefore unable to access the pins underneath unlike a PC notebook. the speed is locked into the hardware, and there's nowhere where you can change it anyway. even if you could the benefit would be small and you would risk a possible overheat.

i think he just wants his mac to run a little faster and adding memory will solve what he needs for his macbook.
 
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Macbook C2D 2GHz 2GB RAM 80GB HDD
As far as I know you cannot overclock the memory on a Mac. The BIOS equivalent is locked in such a way to prevent you from altering the timings and voltages. This is largely (I would imagine) for compatibility reasons.

Even if you could, the Macbook runs hot enough as it is. Why would you want a miniature sun sitting in your lap?
 
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Thanks for the quick help guys!

Yeah I'll most likely be going for the 2GB route. I normally only use Firefox, Adium, and Photoshop. And with the 512MB stick, it's really not cutting it. My processor seems like it should handle everything as well as the integrated graphics. So ya, upgrading the RAM seems reasonable.

Thanks again guys,
Andrew
 
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17" MacBook Pro Intel i5 2.53GHz, 4GB, 500GB, nVidia GT330m. iPhone 4S 16GB
Good point...Duely noted

DO NOT attempt to overclock runandrew.

first of all the CPU's in Apple's notebooks are soldered to the motherboard and not-upgradeable, and you are therefore unable to access the pins underneath unlike a PC notebook. the speed is locked into the hardware, and there's nowhere where you can change it anyway. even if you could the benefit would be small and you would risk a possible overheat.

i think he just wants his mac to run a little faster and adding memory will solve what he needs for his macbook.


Good point.... im sorta new to Mac's and i used to OC my windows machines all the time.... but thanks for that.

You live and learn... lol
 
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1.83 processor... 1gb of ram.. 60gb hdd (that's all I know)
Hey there everyone. I'm also new to the Mac world, and am looking to upgrade the RAM on my machine. I went to the website Fletch recommended to try and find my model to get the proper parts, but my version of Macbook doesn't show up when I try to narrow it down. I've got a 1.83ghz processor, and 60 GB of HD stock... I'm not sure if anyone can determine what kind of Macbook it is from that little bit of information, but if anyone could help out, that would be super.
 

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