MB Pro RAM

Hi everyone.

I purchase a Macbook Pro and am waiting on it to arrive. The Macbook Pro will come with 1 Gig of RAM and I'm wondering if that will be enough?

For folks that don't me or my background, I've been working in the Networy Security arena for a bunch of years and I have a small lab setup at home (approx 10-15 servers/wks running just about every OS you can imagine). While this might sound ridiculous for some folks others that work in the same field will probably understand why I have so many machines

Anyway, on to my question. Typically with machines that I'm using to compile code and things like that I have at least 1.5 gig of RAM if not 2 gig.

I'm seriously considering upgrading the RAM in this Macbook Pro to 2 gigs just so RAM isn't an issue.

Is there one brand that is better then the other for the MB Pro or can I just use the typical Geil, Hynix, etc?

Thanks,
Tim

I went with what was cheapest after spending a sizable chunk on the MBP itself. Lucky for me, some Kingston memory were on sale so I picked those up. Prior to my foray into the Mac world, people have advised me against rogue names as Macs were fickle about compatibility but Kingston seems to play nicely with it.

Take it for what's it worth.

You'll be better served with more RAM, especially if you are going to run Parallels to run either Linux or Windows within OS X, or if you plan on using programs that aren't coded in universal binary (ie. PowerPC apps), such as MS Office, Adobe CS/CS2, etc.

From my widget iStat Pro, I'm currently consuming ~680MB RAM running OS X, Mail, Dashboard, Adium, and Firefox. When I load up MS Office my memory usage over doubles, using 1.6GB RAM, running Photoshop CS2 I'm using 1.3GB RAM. 1GB would work, but 2GB (or even 3GB) would be better. I plan on upgrading to 3MB in the near future if/when I see RAM on a good sale. Not that I need it, but it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

nukemm said:

You'll be better served with more RAM, especially if you are going to run Parallels to run either Linux or Windows within OS X, or if you plan on using programs that aren't coded in universal binary (ie. PowerPC apps), such as MS Office, Adobe CS/CS2, etc.

From my widget iStat Pro, I'm currently consuming ~680MB RAM running OS X, Mail, Dashboard, Adium, and Firefox. When I load up MS Office my memory usage over doubles, using 1.6GB RAM, running Photoshop CS2 I'm using 1.3GB RAM. 1GB would work, but 2GB (or even 3GB) would be better. I plan on upgrading to 3MB in the near future if/when I see RAM on a good sale. Not that I need it, but it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

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Thank you for that comprehensive answer --- I appreciate it. Dumb question but how much ram will the Macbook Pro handle? I think 6GB? How many slots does it have available for RAM?

Thanks again......

Macbook Pros support up to 3GB of memory in 1GB increments. Sticking a 2GB stick will be a waste of money as it either won't work or will only see 1GB.

Kash said:

Macbook Pros support up to 3GB of memory in 1GB increments. Sticking a 2GB stick will be a waste of money as it either won't work or will only see 1GB.

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Awesome thanks!!!!

I upgraded mine to two gigs and it made a HUGE difference. I was really surprised. I ordered mine from crucial.com. They have a liftime warranty and they are relatively cheap. I have only heard good things about them.

Kash said:

Macbook Pros support up to 3GB of memory in 1GB increments. Sticking a 2GB stick will be a waste of money as it either won't work or will only see 1GB.

Click to expand...

No, no, no, no. Sorry, just wanted to corrcet this. There are 2 slots for RAM in the MBPs. But the most it will recognize and use is 3GB, so in 1 slot is a 1GB stick, and the other slot is a 2GB stick to get max performance. I don't think it matters which slot has which stick.

The MBPs can support up the 3Gb ram? I didn't know this..is this just with the newer Core 2 Duo ones?

The Core 2 Duos can support 3GB of RAM, the Core Duos only support 2GB.

Ok so recap'ing on this.

The Macbook Pro can support up to 3 GB and has 2 slots? Anyone know for sure 100%? I'm not questioning just want to make sure.

Thanks. I believe the Macbook Pro that I have coming has 2 X 512MB currently.

MBP has two DIMM slots. MBP board can address up to 3G of RAM. So you can put 2G in one slot and up to 1G in the second slot.

My MBP came with two 1G DIMMs; if I want to upgrade, I have to junk 1G of RAM to replace it with a 2G stick. Which raises a question I hadn't considered until now: will the DIMM from a MBP work in a Mac Pro? I'm toying with the idea of buying a MP later this year and being able to recycle my memory would be impetus towards upgrading the notebook to 3G.

On the other hand, I have to admit that I've never had memory problems with 2G in the system. I run Office 2004 plus Mail, Safari, Parallels (only about 400M RAM dedicated to run MSIE7), and iTunes not to mention six or seven widgets and only see things slow when performing large downloads from iTunes.

Todd, I believe the Mac Pro uses an entirely different RAM from the MBP. Plus the Mac Pro RAM has the huge heatsinks.

(grumble grumble grumble)

Oh well, I won't shoot the messenger. Thanks for the info. Rep!

Ok since I'm not a professional hardware guy, would someone kindly explain the following to me?

- Difference between Core Duo and Core 2 Duo? My understanding of the core duo is two processors sharing the load. Sound right?

- What about Core 2 Duo? My new macbook pro has Core 2 Duo and now you have my interest peaked.

- The 3Gig RAM limit seems interesting to me. I would have thought the max would be 4 Gig so you can effectively run 2G X 2 dimms. Wierd.

The Core 2 Duo is just the next generation of the Core Duo, like Pentium 2 (3, 4, etc.).

The 3GB limit, as I understand it, is a function of the motherboard, not the OS.

The Core 2 Duo is just the next generation Core Duo. Its faster, and does more. (Don't quote me on that last line ) Its a dual core processors. Its technically 2 processors crammed onto one chip.

I'm not sure why Apple did the 3GB thing. I read something about it at one time, but I cant remember what it said.

sometimes I feel 2GB is not enough for what I do.

StretchR said:

The Core 2 Duo is just the next generation Core Duo. Its faster, and does more. (Don't quote me on that last line ) Its a dual core processors. Its technically 2 processors crammed onto one chip.

I'm not sure why Apple did the 3GB thing. I read something about it at one time, but I cant remember what it said.

Click to expand...

Core 2 Duo is 64bit rather than 32bit. The T7200 and higher have 4MB L2 Cache instead of 2MB. Its also a bit faster.

StretchR said:

The Core 2 Duo is just the next generation Core Duo. Its faster, and does more. (Don't quote me on that last line ) Its a dual core processors. Its technically 2 processors crammed onto one chip.

I'm not sure why Apple did the 3GB thing. I read something about it at one time, but I cant remember what it said.

Click to expand...

im not sure it was apple that made the choice. i believe the chipset used (which of course was apples choice) is 3gb limited.