I have a mid 2007 MacBook. The specs say it's limited to 2GB of RAM. The newer models can take as much as 4GB. Has anyone been able to up the amount of RAM in the older models? If not, does anyone know why not?
I'm currently on a mid-2007 MacBook with two 2GB chips which I had from another computer. It recognizes 4GB but only uses 3. It runs like buttah. If you're gonna buy memory, I recommend going with the 3GB kit from OWC (www.macsales.com).
is there a born on date on macs. i can't remember exactly when i got mine. i have a 2 ghz white macbook with 2 gigs ram and i think that is the max. anyway to tell?
is there a born on date on macs. i can't remember exactly when i got mine. i have a 2 ghz white macbook with 2 gigs ram and i think that is the max. anyway to tell?
If it's Core 2 Duo (which you can check in Apple menu>About This Mac it'll take 3GB. If it's only Core Duo (not "2"), 2GB is the max. If System Profiler tells you it has Intel GMA X3100 graphics, it can address 4.
It will take 4GB, but you won't be able to use it all. The older Macbook has a 32-bit memory controller, so 4GB is technically the limit, but a lot of stuff gets taken off the top of that 32-bit address space.
Essentially, every component in the computer gets a reserved part of the memory address space (this is called memory-mapped I/O if you feel like reading an incredibly boring Wikipedia article). This includes the network controller, the sound controller, etc. So only about 3.5GB out of 4 is left to be used by the OS. On top of that, the integrated graphics steals its share of system memory.
So if you were to put two 2GB memory sticks in the computer, you'd get something less than 3.5GB of that. It wouldn't hurt anything.
The maximum would be 3.3GB. If I recall correctly, the top 700MB of memory controller is reserved and thus can't be used by the RAM. Leopard shows 4GB?Tiger only shows 3GB?but it appears that only 3GB is used, not 3.3GB.
I have 4GB installed. It cost about $40 to upgrade from 2Gb after I sold my other RAM. I did it because I thought I'd be getting a new Penryn notebook, but as of right now I think I'll wait.
OWC lists some speed tests of various RAM configurations. THe 2x2GB was the fastest, but they recommend only 2Gbx1GB (3GB) if that is the max your machine can handle.
Comments
Mid 2007 MacBook (2.0 and 2.16 Meroms) can take up to 3GB of RAM.
3GB? How does that work?
is there a born on date on macs. i can't remember exactly when i got mine. i have a 2 ghz white macbook with 2 gigs ram and i think that is the max. anyway to tell?
If it's Core 2 Duo (which you can check in Apple menu>About This Mac it'll take 3GB. If it's only Core Duo (not "2"), 2GB is the max. If System Profiler tells you it has Intel GMA X3100 graphics, it can address 4.
Essentially, every component in the computer gets a reserved part of the memory address space (this is called memory-mapped I/O if you feel like reading an incredibly boring Wikipedia article). This includes the network controller, the sound controller, etc. So only about 3.5GB out of 4 is left to be used by the OS. On top of that, the integrated graphics steals its share of system memory.
So if you were to put two 2GB memory sticks in the computer, you'd get something less than 3.5GB of that. It wouldn't hurt anything.
I have 4GB installed. It cost about $40 to upgrade from 2Gb after I sold my other RAM. I did it because I thought I'd be getting a new Penryn notebook, but as of right now I think I'll wait.
OWC lists some speed tests of various RAM configurations. THe 2x2GB was the fastest, but they recommend only 2Gbx1GB (3GB) if that is the max your machine can handle.