MacBook Pro 15" Late 2008 - 6GB RAM?

I read that it is possible to upgrade the MBP 15" Late 2008+ to 6GB of RAM by installing a 2GB stick along side a 4GB stick.

Has anyone tried this?

I am picking one up on the weekend and I am just exploring some options ;D

I haven't tried it, but believe it is possible as long as they're identical to one another, but the price is a bit steap though, it's @round $100.

chrismac said:

I read that it is possible to upgrade the MBP 15" Late 2008+ to 6GB of RAM by installing a 2GB stick along side a 4GB stick.

Has anyone tried this?

I am picking one up on the weekend and I am just exploring some options ;D

Click to expand...

If I got your MBP model correct...Apples official supported memory max. is 4 gig...but folks have been able to upgrade to 6 gig...like you mentioned with a 4 gig + 2 gig sticks.

- Nick

I read that the OWC sticks can be problematic with some machines, and some people suggest Crucial.

The cost is stupid though:-

4GB [2GB + 2GB] kit = £55

6GB Kit [4GB + 2GB] Kit = £271 + £28 = £299

It's not really worth having 6GB of RAM for most computer usage. If you really needed 6GB of RAM, you'd know because you would be doing heavy rendering or media manipulation. What do you use your Mac for? I can pretty much guarantee that the 6GB won't be worth it.

I know straight up that I will not need 6GB, its all about having the ultimate machine!

I will not proceed with this, the cost is too high and there seems to be issues when switching to the shared graphics card from dedicated.

I currently have 4GB in my uni MBP 13" which makes it very snappy.

I will just give the uni MBP 15" the same config.

chrismac said:

I know straight up that I will not need 6GB, its all about having the ultimate machine!

Click to expand...

In computing there is really no such thing as the "Ultimate" machine...unless you currently (like today) have a purpose where you NEED the ultimate machine!

Because in 1 week, 1 month, or 6 months...Apple could or would launch new models that would make your "Ferrari" look like a "horse & buggy"!

I'm exaggerating, but you know what I mean!;D

- Nick

lol - I know, my career is in IT [VOIP] so know that it is a waste of money [unless purposeful]

chrismac said:

lol - I know, my career is in IT [VOIP] so know that it is a waste of money [unless purposeful]

Click to expand...

Well since your an IT person...you know the deal!

Obviously we would both agree that if the 6 gig upgrade was reasonably priced (whether you needed the extra ram or not)...I would say go for it.

- Nick

"Because in 1 week, 1 month, or 6 months...Apple could or would launch new models that would make your "Ferrari" look like a "horse & buggy"!"

pigoo3 that is hilariously funny but very true!

coolbreeze said:

"Because in 1 week, 1 month, or 6 months...Apple could or would launch new models that would make your "Ferrari" look like a "horse & buggy"!"

pigoo3 that is hilariously funny but very true!

Click to expand...

The longer you're into computing...the more you realize that trying to have the "latest & greatest" computer setup is just a futile attempt at trying to be ""King of the Hill"...or it's like a dog chasing his tail!!! You get absolutely nowhere...and you will end up spending an ungodly amount of money trying to always have the latest & greatest!

There are of course situations where owning the fastest computer available is important. Such as folks that do a lot of video, computer graphics, photo, or number crunching type tasks...where a 15-20% faster computer will save them time that is much more valuable than the cost of buying the latest computer.

But for most "normal" computing people...who may be trying to have the fastest computer "on the block"...it's just a waste of money!!!

After you've purchased your 3rd, 4th, or 5th brand new computer (paying big bucks for all of them)...trying to have the speediest computer available...AND selling your old computer (the former "fastest or ultimate" computer) for 50-75% of what you paid for it...you soon realize that you can go broke real fast getting caught up in this cycle!!!

- Nick

Tell me about it! Since June I have had the follwing pass through my hands [in order]:-

Apple iPhone 3G.
Apple MacBook White 2GB RAM > Then upgraded to 4GB RAM.
Apple iPhone 3GS.
Apple MacBook Pro 13" 2GB RAM / 160GB HDD > Then upgraded to 4GB RAM / 320GB HDD.
Apple MacBook Pro 15" 2GB RAM / 250GB HDD > Just ordered 4GB of RAM and a 320GB 7200rpm HDD.

You would never believe my career is based upon MS/Linux based networks! lol

chrismac said:

Tell me about it! Since June I have had the follwing pass through my hands [in order]:-

Apple iPhone 3G.
Apple MacBook White 2GB RAM > Then upgraded to 4GB RAM.
Apple iPhone 3GS.
Apple MacBook Pro 13" 2GB RAM / 160GB HDD > Then upgraded to 4GB RAM / 320GB HDD.
Apple MacBook Pro 15" 2GB RAM / 250GB HDD > Just ordered 4GB of RAM and a 320GB 7200rpm HDD.

You would never believe my career is based upon MS/Linux based networks! lol

Click to expand...

Were these items for your personal use?

When you say "passed through my hands"...do you mean you bought them, used them for a while, sold them, and no longer have them?

If so...I would be curious why you bought & sold both an iPhone 3G & an iPhone 3GS (since June). I could understand if you simply upgraded from the 3G to the 3GS (and kept the 3GS)...but if you sold the 3GS I would be curious why?

I'm considering purchasing a 3GS...and would be interested why you sold it so soon after purchasing it.

Thanks,

- Nick

I tried 6GB of RAM in my Late 2008 MBP 2.53Ghz and couldn't tell any differences, no matter how many applications I launched or what benchmark tests I ran. Sold the RAM off and bought a SSD instead. Now the 128GB SSD, is another story entirely... MUCH quicker

pigoo3 said:

Were these items for your personal use?

When you say "passed through my hands"...do you mean you bought them, used them for a while, sold them, and no longer have them?

If so...I would be curious why you bought & sold both an iPhone 3G & an iPhone 3GS (since June). I could understand if you simply upgraded from the 3G to the 3GS (and kept the 3GS)...but if you sold the 3GS I would be curious why?

I'm considering purchasing a 3GS...and would be interested why you sold it so soon after purchasing it.

Thanks,

- Nick

Click to expand...

I sent the 3G back within its 14 day money back offer on announcement of the new 3GS. I still have the 3GS now, I really rely on it. One of the best bits of tek I have bought.

The Whitebook was sent back on a 14 day money back on announcement of the MBP 13".

Then I realised that I do not use the portability of the 13" and would like a bigger screen!

XJ-linux said:

I tried 6GB of RAM in my Late 2008 MBP 2.53Ghz and couldn't tell any differences, no matter how many applications I launched or what benchmark tests I ran. Sold the RAM off and bought a SSD instead. Now the 128GB SSD, is another story entirely... MUCH quicker

Click to expand...

How quick is the SSD? You should do some YouTube vids showing you booting it up, launching PS CS4, etc! I might consider one then - alhtough I just ordered a 7200rpm drive! lol

Not much the YouTuber here, but I did post a few results of the SSD -vs- Seagate Momentus 7200rpm around here on the Mac-Forums. I'll say that real world performance is astonishing and much faster than my MBA with a SSD. About 5.5 spins of the wheel, after the Apple logo, to boot up to a working usable desktop. The system lopped off about 1/3 of the RAM it usually uses (no idea why this is the case). Applications take exactly one bounce of their dock icon to open with full functionality, including iTunes, iPhoto, etc... I was very happy with the purchase and performance.

I think SSD is the way forward. I bet there is no noise what so ever too!?

Even though the size is small, if you work smart it shouldn't matter. You could consolidate all you media and databases to one file server or NAS on the network.

This is what I plan to do:-

1 x 2TB NAS [2 x 1TB drives RAID], the SSD drives in all my machines. I suppose not a million miles away from a Citrix environment.

PS. Are you still getting rid of the MBP 15"? I get mine on the weekend! What machine do you use your SSD in?

Yeah, going SSD lowered the noise, and temperature of the MBP by quite a bit. The fan rarely if ever kicks in now. Handbrake also freaking sails through it's queues now.

It did require some slimming down my disk usage however. I found I had 4 office suites, 4 browsers, about 8 media players, etc... I picked the one or two of each and that thinned out the herd by quite a bit. Cutting down my iTunes library to about 8GB of video and music also helped. I now have a pretty sleek 40GB install (including an 8GB WinXP VM). It takes maybe 10 minutes or so to back up the whole thing, which is nice. With free space in the 60+GB range, I have plenty of room to add video, VMs or whatever for when I travel.

I also did what you are planning ie: a RAID served up over a Mac Mini feeding iTunes media to my AppleTV, and Time Machine space to everywhere. It's also where I store all my .dmg's, installers for Mac and Windows, and Linux distro .iso's. I can honestly say that I'm pretty happy with the whole system and for the first time in a while, and have no complaints with my setup.

I'm keeping the MBP for now as I'd like to see how Snow Leo runs on it. My wife is pretty attached to the Express34 slot as well. Let us know how it goes with your new ride. I think you will be pretty happy with the 15" MBP!
-Dave

Wow, I will have to get some tips on config when I get around to splashing some more cash on that setup.

I am excited for the arrival of the new MBP, I had a look at the late 2008 model at a local store today and god the screen looks good. I also like the idea of the dedicated graphics card. Its upgrades are already shipped and should arrive tomorrow for it to be revamped before use. Maybe I should have got the SSD! lol

Oh and BTW - I ordered a Belkin Expresscard reader. I hope it will read SDHC [cards over 2GB]!!!