Installing Memory

I'm buying more memory for my computer and I'm going to install it myself to try and save a little money since memory is expensive in the first place. I found a link to this: MacBook: How to install memory. It explains how to change the memory in and out. I have never done it before but I feel pretty confident that I can manage this myself. I was just wondering if any one has any experience with this and may be able to give me any other hints or tips that may not be in the instructions. Thanks in advance.

You can use the ifixit guide if you want photos Installing MacBook Core Duo RAM but otherwise the apple site will do the trick as well. I would personally buy ram from newegg.com they have the best prices in my opinion. Installing ram is really easy, and not worth paying someone lots of money to do, and it doesn't void your warranty if thats an issue. Go for it

one last thing to note if you have the core duo macbook like it says the max ram for that model I think is 2 gigs don't buy anything more because it won't work

I talked to an apple care technician about this all, they told me that if I don't buy the ram from Apple it voids my warranty. They also told me that it can take up to 4 gigs. I was planning on getting that much so i won't have to upgrade it for a while or ever. Did you mean 2 total or 2 per slot? The apple store site only sells 4 gigs total for my model. I can buy less in the store nearby but I was still going to get 4 total.

I had never touched the inside of a computer when I changed the memory in my macbook, but it was a piece of cake

That Apple care tech was full of bull and feeding you a line. Apple memory is a ripoff. Strongly advise against buying it from them. Upgrading the RAM in your Macbook does not void the warranty. They naturally will not warranty the RAM you buy from someone else.

If it is a Core Duo and not a Core 2 Duo, it will only support 2GB.
The May 2007 and later 2.0 will support 4GB

$150 for 2GB from Apple or $300 for 4GB from Apple, vs.

$20-$47 for 2GB or $38 - $70 for 4GB from Newegg. And these are low end to top of the line.

Here is the Apple page to pick your Macbook out of the line up

Here is the OWC page. Make sure you read the asterisk notes here.

Or check the Crucial site to verify. For either the White or Black Macbook with the Core Duo, 2GB's from them is $24 and has a lifetime warranty.

You will want to keep your original RAM during the warranty period to stick it back in the machine in case you need to send it in for repairs.

It's a core 2 Duo, I didn't notice the error in my specs. I got it November 2007; I checked the specs and it takes four. I have what's necessary for the Apple memory so I think I'm just going to go that route. Thank you for the help.

Still don't recommend that. Just put 4GB of CAS4 RAM in my MBP for $35.
That's a lot of dinners you can take your girlfriend out for the difference.
Or several PS3 games, or buy a new Touch with the difference.
It is your money, but that tech was not being truthful (maybe just doesn't know, could be a newbie tech you got hold of, one of those people that don't listen while they're in training).

The OWC site looks really good, thanks for the link Bob. I'm gonna order BF2142 for Mac, and depending on how it runs I might upgrade to 4GB, and that site will save me a **** of a lot of money should I decide to upgrade .

Apple can void the warranty that has to do with the RAM, but cannot void the rest of the unit unless they can prove the RAM, or you installing the RAM, caused the hardware problem.

Well you can easily put the Apple RAM back in if you have to send it back for the warranty. Is there any way they can tell if you've installed new RAM? (Like how they see water damage on iPod Touches)

OKay so since this is about installing memory I'll add my question to this thread. I just got the new aluminum Macbook (2.0 ghz, 2gb ram) and I was hoping to upgrade the RAM. The mechanical side of it shouldn't be hard for me. I was just wondering if i was getting the right RAM and if I was getting it from a trusted retailer. I was looking at getting THIS. My questions are: Is Crucial a trusted retailer? Is that the type of ram (I presumed DDR3 was correct) I need for my new aluminum Macbook? And is $125.00 for four gigs a legitimate price?

Crucial is a well respected manufacturer of RAM.

You can save $10 by getting it from Newegg instead of direct from Crucial.

I would prefer the Crucial out of those listed on that page. However, many would also recommend the G.Skill and mushkin.

bobtomay said:

Crucial is a well respected manufacturer of RAM.

You can save $10 by getting it from Newegg instead of direct from Crucial.

I would prefer the Crucial out of those listed on that page. However, many would also recommend the G.Skill and mushkin.

Click to expand...

Oh sweet. Thanks for the heads up. I may look on TigerDirect and hopefully they have Crucial because they have an outlet less than a half hour away.

What is the difference between DDR2 and DDR3? I noticed on apple.com they come with DDR3, but am wondering if putting in a 2 will hinder performance. Is the only difference price?.. Also, I am about to get a macbook, and am scared sh*tless of opening up a $1500 investment with no prior experience...

DDR3 is the new standard and runs at a faster speed than DDR2.

The new MacBooks and Macbook Pros use DDR3. All the older ones use DDR2.
You do not want to put DDR2 into one of the new ones. They won't fit anyway. The DDR2 are 200 pin and the DDR3 are 204 pin.

If you are purchasing one of the new machines and considering an upgrade from 2 to 4GB's of RAM, the $150 price tag is still a rip off, but not as much as it use to be. Purchasing 4GB after the fact will run you approx. $100-$125 at this time. This could change very quickly though. RAM prices over the years have been known to drop fairly rapidly.

Thanks for the clarification!

I'm considering upgrade mine but i'm not sure if it would be worth it. I have a 2.0 ghz aluminum macbook and for the moment i'm only doing watching movies, email, browsing etc. I'm gonna be doing gaming in the future most likely. Would i be worth it to get an external hard drive for storing the movies and using time machine or should i get more ram from owc and max it out in my notebook?

I did everything on my MBP for 1 1/2 yrs with 2GB of memory.
This includes multiple hour sessions of WoW and a few others.

For upgrades in order of priority, I would have to vote for:

1. Backup drive and SuperDuper! - having a bootable backup, this really is more important than going from 2 to 4GB of memory.

2. Upgrade from a 5400 to a 7200 RPM drive. I definitely noticed quite a speed bump in boot time, application launch times, the speed of coverflow, and the reaction times of several of my apps.

3. Upgrade from 2 to 4GB of memory. Quite honestly, I have noticed very little, if anything, in terms of speed improvements from this. I do like the fact it is there. And OS X seems to be pretty good at knowing how much memory is there and using it appropriately vs Virtual Memory.

My wife still has only 1GB in her Macbook and has no complaints with the things she does on it.
Regarding item #2, my notebook stays plugged in almost all the time. If you are one that uses a notebook on battery power most of the time and absolutely need the maximum minutes per charge, you may want to forego that one. Although I've seen multiple users report that the time difference is well under 15 minutes between them.