Buying RAM for a MacBook (black)

[James Bond]

I recently got one of the black MacBooks. I'm not sure exactly what model it is, but it has a Core2Duo and the magnetic charger, etc.

Where's the best place to get RAM? I've got 2GB now and would like to upgrade to 4GB for VM's.

PS: I noticed that it won't let me use Aero theme in 7... What's with that? Is it because of my video card?

 

[mmntech]

Depending on the model, it either uses DDR2 800 or DDR2 533. You can get that from Newegg.com

If you click the Apple menu and select "About this Mac", it will tell you what memory speed you have.

 

[James Bond]

So any generic laptop RAM will work?

 

[speg]

Yeah.

 

[Eug]

So any generic laptop RAM will work?

Not always.

Apple tends to be very specific about the RAM timings, so slower RAM timings often won't work.

Also, if you buy faster clocked RAM, it may not work either. Macs often won't boot even if you have faster RAM installed, if the SPD settings it's looking for are not programmed into the memory's firmware.

For example, I bought DDR2-800 OCZ RAM for one of my 667 MHz Macs. It wouldn't boot. I then returned the RAM and got DDR2-667, and it worked fine.

 

[Parasitic]

Don't buy memory with heatspreaders on them- they won't fit in the Macbook. I think some of the GeIL's laptop stuff has them for some reason.

I've used brands like Corsair, Kingston and Trendscend, and PQI...those work fine and they're not much more expensive over the "house brand" generic stuff you can get at places like Fry's.