8gb memory upgrade for macbook(2008)?

[spriggan]

Thinking of upgrading my 2008 model macbook (default 2gb) which is apparently now capable of using 8gb due to bios update. My only concern is will it affect battery life significantly or should I just go with 4gb instead?
I use it mostly for school work and some mid-heavy photo editing work with lightroom and photoshop.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

You won't see any changes in battery life from RAM upgrade.

I'd just upgrade it straight to 8GB just to get it over with since RAM prices are pretty cheap now.

 

[gmaster456]

If you can get it cheap why not. But unless you can utilize all of it. It will be a waste.

 

[SAWYER]

I also have an 08 Macbook Pro, what kind of ram do i need to look for?

 

[Kmax82]

I could be wrong, but I didn't think the '08 Macbook Pro's supported 8GB. I thought they topped out at 6GB and the '09 Unibody was the first to support 8GB.

Found this from barefeats:
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp11.html

They confirm that 8GB of RAM in the late '08 model has issues.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Depends on the bootrom version. Look online. There are some MacBook pros like mine that don't officially support 8gb but have no problem even in lion.

 

[umrigar]

13-inch white plastic Late 2008 model MacBook4,1 can support 6 GB of RAM.

13-inch Aluminum Late 2008 model MacBook5,1 can support 8 GB of RAM.

the 15-inch Late 2008 Macbook Pro, model MacBookPro5,1, can support 8 GB of RAM.


http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/index-macbook.html
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/index-macbookpro.html

 

[Eug]

The early 2008 15" MBP is DDR2 I believe. DDR2 SODIMMs are expensive.

The late 2008 15" MBP is DDR3 I believe. DDR3 SODIMMs are cheap.

For my 2009 13" MacBook Pro I just went to 4 GB. Crucial 2x2 was quite cheap locally, but 2x4 (Samsung or Crucial) was about 3 times as much. I didn't trust the OCZ or Corsair stuff which was cheap, because I've had problems with them in the past on Macs.

However, I don't do heavy stuff often on my MBP. For mid-heavy Lightroom and Photoshop, I'd said definitely go 8 GB if your laptop can take it (without issues).

 

[alfa147x]

I'm sitting at 6GB on my MBP and my hackintosh. Can't decide if I want/need more :\

 

[gmaster456]

I'm sitting at 6GB on my MBP and my hackintosh. Can't decide if I want/need more :\

If you genuinely needed more. You'd know in a heartbeat. Its always nice to have some headroom though.

 

[mmntech]

Wonder if I should slam 8gb into mine. Laptop DDR3 has really come down in price.

 

[Emulex]

definitely vmware loves it

 

[alfa147x]

definitely vmware loves it

Ah right. I never use it but I will this semester :\

 

[Emulex]

yes my core2duo 17" runs at native speed with vmware 3.8GB to win7ultimate and the rest to osx (with ssd). no slowdown at all on either side

 

[sjwaste]

I'm still using 4GB on my Macbook 5,1 (the original unibody aluminum model). No real issues, but I only rarely run VMWare and even then, its only XP.

Plus, I upgraded to an SSD - that made the biggest difference.

 

[r0k]

I have 4 GB in my Macbook 4,1 with a "hybrid SSD" and it runs fine.