Can I upgrade my MacBook?

I have a 13" MacBook (white plastic, Intel Chip). I think I bought it in 2007 or 2008. It has the 80G hard drive and 1.5 Gig of memory. It has been a fantastic piece of equipment and still works as good as new. I would like to replace the HD with a larger capacity version, but I don't know if this is possible, or what item would be a straight (but larger capacity) replacement for the stock item. Also, I would like to maximize the RAM. Does anyone know how much it is limited to?

nemick said:

I have a 13" MacBook (white plastic, Intel Chip). I think I bought it in 2007 or 2008. It has the 80G hard drive and 1.5 Gig of memory. It has been a fantastic piece of equipment and still works as good as new. I would like to replace the HD with a larger capacity version, but I don't know if this is possible, or what item would be a straight (but larger capacity) replacement for the stock item. Also, I would like to maximize the RAM. Does anyone know how much it is limited to?

Click to expand...

Depending on the exact model MacBook you have (2007 or 2008)...ram can be upgraded to either 4gig or 6gig...and yes...the hard drive can be upgraded.

- Nick

Is there a way for me to positively identify which MacBook I have? The receipt is long gone, lol.

nemick said:

Is there a way for me to positively identify which MacBook I have? The receipt is long gone, lol.

Click to expand...

Go to:

- Apple Menu
- click on "About This Mac"
- in that window click on "More Info"

In the window that shows up...on the left side will be a long list of things to choose from. Initially "Hardware" will be selected.

Under the "Hardware" section tell us (from the right side of the window):

- the "Model Identifier"
- the "processor speed"

From the left column...now select/highlight..."Graphics/Displays"...and tell us the:

- "Chipset Model"

This should be enough for us to identify your exact MacBook model.

- Nick

By the way...are you going to be performing the ram & hard drive upgrades yourself?

Because if you're not...there's not a whole lot of reason for us to discuss these details if you're going to take it to someone to have the upgrades done.

If this is the case...the answers you need to know have already been answered...yes...the ram & hard drive can be upgraded.

- Nick

Okay, here's the info.

Model Identifier MacBook2,1

Processor Speed 2GHz

Chipset Model GMA 950

And yes, I am planning on doing these modifications myself.

nemick said:

And yes, I am planning on doing these modifications myself.

Click to expand...

Ok...thanks for the info...and great to hear that you're going to be doing the upgrades yourself. Both of these upgrades are not too tough to do...but some folks still don't feel up to it. So glad to hear you're going to do it!

Like I mentioned in your other "MacBook Pro" thread. Many times the ram in some Apple computer models can exceed Apple's "official" level.

Your MacBook "officially" can be upgraded to 2 gig of ram...but it can actually be upgraded to 4gig (but only about 3.25gig is available). Don't ask why...just be happy that the 2gig limit can be exceeded!

As far as the HD. Just depends on how big you want to go. It currently has an 80gig drive...but you could safely go up to 720gig. Bigger than this...and we would have to discuss the dimensions to be sure it would fit. But you could easily upgrade it to a 160, 250, or 320gig drive.

HTH,

- Nick

Nick, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. Ideally, I would like to go to a 500 gig drive on this MacBook, but I'll settle for 320 gig if that's the best I can do. Can you suggest a suitable Hard Drive then? I don't want to buy the wrong thing. I was looking at the following, would it be correct?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R4BBLU/?tag=macforums0e4-20

nemick said:

Nick, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. Ideally, I would like to go to a 500 gig drive on this MacBook, but I'll settle for 320 gig if that's the best I can do. Can you suggest a suitable Hard Drive then? I don't want to buy the wrong thing. I was looking at the following, would it be correct?

Click to expand...

Sure you can upgrade it to 500gig...I just didn't include it in my previous post. There are just too many possibilities to mention them all.

I like to recommend to folks to shop at OWC:

OWC

They're very "Mac friendly"...have great prices, a great return policy, fast shipping, and fair shipping prices. Just look at the 2.5" SATA drives on this page:

2.5" Laptop Hard Drives

...and choose the size you want. I also don't have a brand preference...some folks do...I find them all to be very similar.

Good luck,

- Nick

I can't thank you enough for your patience and advice. I'll take a look and report back which one I decide on.

nemick said:

I can't thank you enough for your patience and advice. I'll take a look and report back which one I decide on.

Click to expand...

Awesome...good luck again!

- Nick

I have ordered this:500GB Seagate Momentus 7200RPM 2.5" SATA HD 16MB Cache

That's an awesome site and one I will use regularly from now on. I went ahead and paid the extra for the DIY kit as I figured I might as well make it easier for myself.

Thanks again for ALL your help.

nemick said:

I have ordered this:500GB Seagate Momentus 7200RPM 2.5" SATA HD 16MB Cache

That's an awesome site and one I will use regularly from now on. I went ahead and paid the extra for the DIY kit as I figured I might as well make it easier for myself.

Click to expand...

Good choice getting the 7200rpm model...might make the MacBook seem a bit faster.

What DIY kit did you get?

- Nick

It was a kit that was bundled in, $130.00 for the lot. Here's what's in it:

OWC Express 2.5″ SATA Drive Enclosure
500GB Seagate Momentus 7200.4 Hard Drive
OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit
Nylon Spudger
Phillips #00
Straight Blade 1.8mm
Torx T8
Torx T6
High Quality Double Shielded USB 2.0/1.1 (mini-B type) connecting cable
Express Installation Guide
Carrying sleeve
OWC 1 Year Solution Warranty with 48-Hour Turnaround Time

In About this Mac does it say the CPU is Core Duo or Core2Duo?

Core 2 Duo

Because I was upgrading two laptops at the same time (this 13" MacBook and also a unibody 15" MacBook Pro), I did things a little differently than originally planned. I purchased a 500 gig, 7400 rpm replacement HD and after cloning it, I put it into the MBP along with an additional 4 gig of ram for a total of 8 gig. This made a significant difference to the speed and usability of the MBP. I then took the 320 gig HD that was originally in the MBP and installed it into the MacBook, along with additional ram to a total of 4 gig of ram. I was expecting to only register 3.25 of ram on the MB because it had been indicated that although I could exceed the supposedly maximum ram of 2 gig, I would not be able to use all of it. Happily, all 4 gig of ram registers and appears to be working normally. Thanks again for all the help. I'm now good to go..

I have a SIMILAR macbook and I did a HDD upgrade on it a few weeks back. I'm nearly positive that you will need a SATA type HDD for it but it doesn't really matter what brand. I would recommend Seagate though as they are an OEM distributer. The HDD I used was a 320gb from my dad's Lenovo ThinkPad and it still worked because it is SATA also it was Seagate brand which was also nice.

All MacBooks take a 2.5" SATA notebook drive.