Macbook Mid 2007 RAM/Hard Drive Upgrade

Hello all

I have a white mid 2007 Macbook (MB061LL/A) 1GB RAM (2 x 512MB) with a 250GB Samsung HN M25250 MBB hard drive installed. I'm running Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

I cant justify or afford to buy a new Macbook as I have an iPad and only use the Macbook for occasional downloads, iTunes, E-mail and internet browsing.

My questions are:

I have found this RAM from crucial and wondered if this will improve my Macbook's speed?

2GB kit (1GBx2), 200-pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300 upgrades for Apple MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (13-inch White) MB061LL/A Laptop/Notebook, CT613250 from Crucial.com

Is this is the maximum RAM that can be installed as i'm sure i've read somewhere that it can take 2 x 2GB of RAM but will only use just over 3GB?

Regarding the hard drive, can somebody suggest (I don't know if this is possible) any 500GB or more hard drive that would work well (I have a lot of music to store). I have limited knowledge of this and don't know weather to go for a solid state or a 'normal' drive?

Lastly would downgrading to Leopard improve the overall speed? Or any other tips on improving overall performance would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Raff

Raff said:

I have found this RAM from crucial and wondered if this will improve my Macbook's speed?

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Since you currently only have 1gig of ram…more ram will certainly help.

Raff said:

Is this is the maximum RAM that can be installed as i'm sure i've read somewhere that it can take 2 x 2GB of RAM but will only use just over 3GB?

Click to expand...

You got it right. You can install 4gig of ram…but only around 3.25gig will be addressable.

Raff said:

Regarding the hard drive, can somebody suggest (I don't know if this is possible) any 500GB or more hard drive that would work well (I have a lot of music to store). I have limited knowledge of this and don't know weather to go for a solid state or a 'normal' drive?

Click to expand...

As long as the hard drive is a laptop hard drive (2.5")…and it's height/thickness is around 9.5mm or less…it will fit. You decide on the HD size. As far as a solid state drive. This is going to cost a lot more…and you're going to get a lot less storage space.

Raff said:

Lastly would downgrading to Leopard improve the overall speed?

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No…downgrading to Leopard would not be a good idea. You could upgrade to Lion (10.7) if you wanted to. But Apple no longer sells Lion online or at the Apple Stores…so you have to call them directly (not an Apple Store) to purchase it.

HTH,

- Nick

Many thanks for the reply Nick. Gonna upgrade the RAM (2x 2GB) and try a 'normal' hard drive as appose to SSD, then upgrade to Lion.

Are there any HD's to steer clear of?. I've seen Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung & Kingston?

Cheers again
Raff

Raff said:

Many thanks for the reply Nick. Gonna upgrade the RAM (2x 2GB) and try a 'normal' hard drive as appose to SSD, then upgrade to Lion.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a solid plan!

Raff said:

Are there any HD's to steer clear of?. I've seen Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung & Kingston?

Click to expand...

I typically say buy whatever is the least expensive size HD that fits your needs (from a major name manufacturer). Other folks will have their favorite/less favorite brands.

Being a mechanical device...ANY hard drive can fail at ANY time…so as long as you keep your important items backed up you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck,

- Nick

Hi Nick

Thank you very much for the advice. I also found your links to beachballs/speed up advice very helpful. Never even knew about Activity Monitor.

Many thanks
Raff

Raff said:

Never even knew about Activity Monitor.

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Activity Monitor can be one of those apps. that no one pays attention to until problems arise. Activity monitor can provide a surprising amount of info.

Good luck with the upgrades!

- Nick