8gb memory rather than 4gb

I'm purchasing a new MacBook Pro 17 inch soon for college and I've been putting together what I want in it but I don't understand why its $1,000 to upgrade from 4gb to 8gb of RAM. I understand that this is double the memory but if you google that same memory there are all these instructions on how to install your own RAM in the MacBook Pro and save big $$$.

You can find 4gb of ram for less than $200 and its supposedly easy to install.

So why does Apple charge $1,000 for the upgrade?

Please and thanks for any help!

Truthfully, that's just the way Apple works. They charge an unexcusable premium for RAM. If you really feel the need for 8GB of RAM, do it yourself independent of Apple.

You first need to understand something about how the memory modules are fitted from Apple in a new machine. Since the MBP has two memory slots, modules are fitted in pairs. That means the stock model has 2 x 2 GB DDR3 modules.

In order to fit 8 GB, you would need 2 x 4 GB DDR3 modules. I suggest you go to a seller such as Crucial and price out 4 GB DDR3 modules. Add to that the very high mark up from Apple and it translates into $1000.00.

Do you really need 8 GB of memory? And, as has been reported by some users and MacWorld Mag, installing 8 GB of memory does not necessarily mean the machine is going to be able to use it. It probably will only be able to use 6 GB.

Regards.

chscag said:

Do you really need 8 GB of memory? And, as has been reported by some users and MacWorld Mag, installing 8 GB of memory does not necessarily mean the machine is going to be able to use it. It probably will only be able to use 6 GB.

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I agree (once again ) with chscag. There is really no need for 8GB of RAM. Think about what you would do on your Mac and then think if 8GB of RAM is really all that necessary. I'm sure you'll come to the same conclusions here.

I will add that even when encoding video on my MacBook, I only see about 2 GB being used. No matter how many programs I have going, I almost always have 2 free. As the other guys said, If you want the 8GB ram, you should definitely install it yourself.

There's a big performance improvement going from 2 to 4, but you'd not notice much of one above that unless doing Pro work with really large files that need to be kept in memory.

I suggest you save your money and work with a 4GB RAM. I am using 2GB and it's running just fine, I do some photoshop, hardcore gaming, and other 3D programs and it still works great. So stick to the 4GB and save your money. If you don't find it giving you what you need, then replace it with an 8GB one.

agreed, i have 4gb of ram in my macbook and i have lots of apps open, i say 4gb is sufficient for almost anything, besides we arent running M$ windows where it uses 4gb of ram just to boot lol

Macbook Pro RAM Upgrade

I am currently working with a 3.5 year old 2GHz Core Duo, 1GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. I would like to upgrade the RAM, but I know little about options and brands. I am doing lots movie editing in iMovie while having most iLife applications open. Can you recommend the level of upgrade and differences in specs or brands? I have two slots, one of which is filled with the 1GB RAM. Should I go to 2GB by adding one more card or 4GB by adding two new cards? Thanks for your help!

Looks like 2 gig is the limit on that MacBook Pro

Is the 2 GB maximum RAM capacity for the MacBook Pro "Core Duo" a true limit? Would it support 4 GB of RAM if I installed dual 2 GB SO-DIMMs? @ EveryMac.com

Is there better 1GB RAM

Thanks for the info on the 2GB RAM limit. So, since I already have 1GB RAM, do I just buy another to fill the other slot or do I replace both? Meaning what is the difference between RAM, between the different brands and compared to the 1GB RAM I already have? Is a new 1GB RAM better than the one that exists in the MacBook Pro?

You will need to purchase 2 x 1 GB modules since your machine now has 2 x 512 MB modules. (Your machine only has two slots and Apple installs memory from the factory in pairs.)

Regards.

Running VMware

That is my issue, my MBP is only 9 months old and I'm running 4GB, 2 for Mac and 2 for VMW. I'm running our of memory when running both systems and multiple apps on both. I'm thinking of upgrading to the new 8GB MBP but don't want to pay Apple an extra Grand to do so.

Would you guys recommend getting 2x4 memory from Crucial?

Any buyers for a 9 month old MBP 320 GB HDD, 4 GB with Invisible Shield all around.

First thing to suggest when people want to buy 8GB of RAM...buy a 7200RPM HD instead!

True Bassist said:

First thing to suggest when people want to buy 8GB of RAM...buy a 7200RPM HD instead!

Click to expand...

Better yet, don't use so many apps in both OSes at the same time.

Can I assume from your timeframe that you have a late 2008 MBP? If not, and you have an early 2008 MBP, you can only put 4GB in and 6GB "unofficially".

I bought it in late 2008 and it states a max of 4GB. I have to run multiple apps on both OS. I run SAP and Office on the Win side and I need to run other apps on my X side.

Free: 813.77 MB
Wired: 2.42 GB (whatever this means)
Active: 286.75 MB
Inactive 516.11 MB
USED: 3.21 GB

I made a mistake earlier, my system has a 250GB HD not 320.

From a quick search on Crucial, it looks like Apple's markup here isn't all that much. 2 sticks of 4GB 1066 mhz DDR3 laptop ram compatible with the MacBook Pro totals out to $799 before tax. Check the info here.

Now, don't ask me why it's so expensive.

kbarnette said:

From a quick search on Crucial, it looks like Apple's markup here isn't all that much. 2 sticks of 4GB 1066 mhz DDR3 laptop ram compatible with the MacBook Pro totals out to $799 before tax. Check the info here.

Now, don't ask me why it's so expensive.

Click to expand...

All 8GB kits are expensive. Apple's markup though is bad - the 8GB kit for a new 13" MBP is $1,320 CDN while $799 USD would be about $885 CDN. So, Apple's price is almost 1.5 times that of buying it yourself. If you ask me, to pay Apple $319.95 for 5 minutes of labour is ridiculous (with tax, it would be $1000.05 for the RAM). It's not quite as bad for a 4GB kit install from Apple but I refuse to pay labour to install RAM.

It's a good time to wait. Snow Leopard will make its appearance in September giving us true 64 bit computing. Windows 7 will make its debut this Summer and more than likely the 64 bit version will be popular.

The definite trend will be for memory prices to come down. Unlike Oil, prices for memory are on our side. Be patient.

Regards.

vansmith said:

All 8GB kits are expensive. Apple's markup though is bad - the 8GB kit for a new 13" MBP is $1,320 CDN while $799 USD would be about $885 CDN. So, Apple's price is almost 1.5 times that of buying it yourself. If you ask me, to pay Apple $319.95 for 5 minutes of labour is ridiculous (with tax, it would be $1000.05 for the RAM). It's not quite as bad for a 4GB kit install from Apple but I refuse to pay labour to install RAM.

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I agree that the markup is more than I'd be willing to pay, but I expected after market RAM to be a lot cheaper that $799. Given this expectation, the Apple markup didn't seem to be as high as I originally thought.

chscag said:

It's a good time to wait. Snow Leopard will make its appearance in September giving us true 64 bit computing. Windows 7 will make its debut this Summer and more than likely the 64 bit version will be popular.

The definite trend will be for memory prices to come down. Unlike Oil, prices for memory are on our side. Be patient.

Click to expand...

I agree with chscag. When I was running my 17" MBP 2.93 ghz with 4 GB of memory (before I sent it back to exchange it with another machine), I saw no problems in performance. I'll probably wait a couple of months until after market RAM prices go down, as well as until SL comes out to upgrade to 8GB on my new machine.