2009 Macbook upgrade

I currently have a 2006 Macbook that I want to upgrade for the purposes of using Xcode and thus Swift. I upgraded the Macbook to Yosemite to support Xcode 6.1, but for obvious reasons it is incredibly slow. The Macbook is fairly slow itself when running Yosemite, but tolerable enough to do basic tasks like going on the internet.

My Macbook currently has 2 gigs of RAM, and I was curious as to whether or not if I were to install 8 gigs, or even 4 gigs, if it would adequately run Xcode 6.1 with Swift.

Any other suggestions are most definitely welcome and appreciated.

tester1 said:

I currently have a 2006 Macbook that I want to upgrade for the purposes of using Xcode and thus Swift. I upgraded the Macbook to Yosemite...

Click to expand...

No you didn't...since the max. OS on 2006 MacBooks (depending on the exact model) is either 10.6.8 or 10.7.5. Yosemite is OS 10.10. If you did upgrade to Yosemite...then this isn't a 2006 MacBook.

tester1 said:

My Macbook currently has 2 gigs of RAM, and I was curious as to whether or not if I were to install 8 gigs, or even 4 gigs...

Click to expand...

If this is a 2006 MacBook. Depending on the model...max. ram is either 2gig...or 4gig (but only about 3gig is addressable). Definitley no 8gig ram upgrades for a 2006 MacBook.

tester1 said:

Any other suggestions are most definitely welcome and appreciated.

Click to expand...

Clarification on exactly what model MacBook this is. And what exact OS version it is running.

- Nick

Need to tell us specifically what MB you have because 1) there is no Mac from 2006 that supports Yosemite and 2) there is no Mac from 2006 (except the Mac Pro) that can use 4 GB RAM.

The maximum RAM for some of the '06 Macs was to use 2 ea 2 GB sticks to maintain dual channel capability, but they will only use 3 GB worth of it - and this depends on the specific model.

edit:
Nick beat me to it, I was eating and typing.

pigoo3 said:

No you didn't...since the max. OS on 2006 MacBooks (depending on the exact model) is either 10.6.8 or 10.7.5. Yosemite is OS 10.10. If you did upgrade to Yosemite...then this isn't a 2006 MacBook.



If this is a 2006 MacBook. Depending on the model...max. ram is either 2gig...or 4gig (but only about 3gig is addressable). Definitley no 8gig ram upgrades for a 2006 MacBook.



Clarification on exactly what model MacBook this is. And what exact OS version it is running.

- Nick

Click to expand...

I apologize. I did in fact upgrade it to Yosemite and it is a 2009 Macbook (confused about the year because it was a hand me down ) The exact os is 10.10.

2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

More info - what is the CPU in it? And this is a 13" MB?

bobtomay said:

More info - what is the CPU in it? And this is a 13" MB?

Click to expand...

Updated my second reply but here it is again:

2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Yes a 13"

tester1 said:

I apologize. I did in fact upgrade it to Yosemite and it is a 2009 Macbook (confused about the year because it was a hand me down ) The exact os is 10.10.

Click to expand...

Ahh...MUCH different story being a 2009 MacBook.

- Is it actually a "MacBook"...or is it a "MacBook Pro"?
- And again...need more clarification on which exact 2009 model this is? There were multiple 2009 models...and it makes a difference as to the exact max. ram we would be talking.

* Nick

bobtomay said:

edit:
Nick beat me to it, I was eating and typing.

Click to expand...

Sorry Tom. Hopefully you were munching on something good!

- Nick

tester1 said:

Updated my second reply but here it is again:

2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Yes a 13"

Click to expand...

Ok...now we're getting somewhere!

This MacBook can definitely run Yosemite (as you probably know if you already have Yosemite installed).

2gig of ram is the absolute min. ram for Yosemite...and probably one BIG reason for it running slow. Of course it is an older computer...so that could account for some of the slowness too.

This MacBook has a max ram of 8gig. So you could either upgrade to 4gig or 8gig of ram. Any ram upgrade for this computer should most definitely help.

- Nick

You could also replace the traditional internal HD with an SSD. That will make things feel quicker.

But...between the cost of the ram upgrade...and the cost of an SSD (depending on its capacity)...this might be spending too much on an older 2009 MacBook. Something to consider.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Ok...now we're getting somewhere!

This MacBook can definitely run Yosemite (as you probably know if you already have Yosemite installed).

2gig of ram is the absolute min. ram for Yosemite...and probably one BIG reason for it running slow. Of course it is an older computer...so that could account for some of the slowness too.

This MacBook has a max ram of 8gig. So you could either upgrade to 4gig or 8gig of ram. Any ram upgrade for this computer should most definitely help.

- Nick

Click to expand...

I greatly appreciate all the help. I am not as knowledgeable about hardware, so do you think if I went with 4 or 8gigs it would allow for xcode to run quickly enough to operate with? It is not my main computer and would be used solely to run Xcode if that helps you gauge things. Xcode doesn't really seem like THAT heavy of a program, but it is most definitely going to be more demanding than running a browser window.

With that being said, even if your not sure, do you think that a 4 or 8 gig upgrade would be able to run Xcode smoothly despite the rest of its old hardware?

tester1 said:

With that being said, even if your not sure, do you think that a 4 or 8 gig upgrade would be able to run Xcode smoothly despite the rest of its old hardware?

Click to expand...

I have to admit I'm not an Xcode expert. So I probably shouldn't make any specific comments on that.

But what I will say is...just running Yosemite on a 2009 MacBook with 2gig of ram is probably taxing the computer a bit. Then add on top of this running apps (almost any apps)...could seem slow. And if multiple apps are open simultaneously...just that much worse with only 2gig of ram.

So any ram upgrade will help. 4gig upgrade will cost around $50...8gig around $80.

- Other World Computing (OWC)
- Crucial

* Nick

Ok the 2009 MacBooks where known for Graphics card failures so watch it but you need at least 8 gig's of ram to run yosemite and i recommend a 1 tb or better hard drive for use with Xcode

2Gb is minuscule. Your MB can handle 8GB of memory, 2x4GB modules and at around $80 that is a fair price for any improvement. Next option if it were mine would be an SSD, biggest bang for your buck.

Also update Yosemite to version 10.10.3 as there are a number of security updates released since Yosemite first came out.

I just changed the thread title to 2009 so others will know what the OP wants.

If that were my Macbook I would go to 8GB since you can and probably an SSD. I know from experience that 2GB even with Lion runs out doing more than 1-2 things and the machine lags like crazy. 4GB with Lion is not bad and even worked for Mountain Lion for many, but with both Mavericks and Yosemite to ME here in my tests at least 4GB RAM and even with 4 I run out of RAM doing many things.

Max it out since you can and Clean your hard drive and run Onyx and I believe it will be quite useable.

Thanks again gentlemen. So I've installed the 8 gigs but haven't been able to boot it up due to the fact that I don't have a charger. I thought I could use other peoples for the time being until I got everything straightened out but my 2009 requires a 60W which are apparently hard to come by. Apple seems to have made it extremely difficult to determine what charger to get for your computer. I am trying to find the correct charger for my Late 2009 online and it's proven to be quite difficult. I am a Mac noob and have checked several websites but haven't been able to find anything with any certainty.

When its all said and done I will report back with tales of greatness. Thanks again and any links for to a reputable sight for chargers would be great. I used pigoo's link and got 8 gigs from OWC.

tester1 said:

Thanks again gentlemen. So I've installed the 8 gigs but haven't been able to boot it up due to the fact that I don't have a charger. I thought I could use other peoples for the time being until I got everything straightened out but my 2009 requires a 60W which are apparently hard to come by.

Click to expand...

Odd, the Apple Store by me had a bunch of them, the old style even.

You can use an 60W or 85W with the L-shaped plug or the really old straight one. You can't use the "MagSafe 2" style. You can use a 45W to charge it powered off (slowly), but it won't reliably be able to charge if the Mac is powered on.

So really you can use any charger that will actually plug in.

Everything is up and running! Thank you all. I went with the 8 gigs and it is running Xcode fine for now. Awesome help here.

Congrats. A happy computer = a happy owner!

- Nick