Unstream Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 So I've been thinking of upgrading my RAM from 2GB to 4GB for my Macbook, and I was just wondering if anybody knows where I can get some RAM at a relatively cheap price. Also, does it matter what kind/model of chips I get? I don't know if a Macbook needs any specific model or kind of RAM. Like maybe something to do with size? I'm not very good with hardware. All I know is what I've read on the internet, so sorry if I sound like an idiot x_x Right now I have 2x1GB modules, and I'm looking for 2x2GB modules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noog Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I'm also on a quest to upgrade my computer. :) I found this site called okmemory.com that shows you what kind of memory card you can get and links to purchase them. You can find your model of macbook on the site or let the site scan your computer. EDIT: You have to download a file to do the scan though and I do not know how trustworthy this website is other than the fact that it gets through my Trend Micro internet security. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behati Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 :< newegg.com they have sales often and they carry hardware for both macs and pcs. I am very pleased with how they handled my orders (built an entire computer from scratch). Most items shipped within 3 days (despite taking the cheapest shipping). Their return policy is easy to deal with and yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noog Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Behati's suggestion may be good. A piece of advice after some more searching: Once you know what you're looking for, check for cheaper prices. I've found a "$90" 4GB card for half the price on other sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unstream Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Here are some specs that might be helpful to answer my upcoming possibly stupid and obvious questions. Maximum RAM ------------------- 8.0 GB (Actual) / 4.0 GB (Apple) Type of RAM Slots ------------- 2 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM This is what it says on this application I got called Mactracker, which pretty much just lists all of the specs that various Macs come with. okmemory.com looks like a cool site, but I'm not sure if it's trustworthy. Have you bought anything from it before? Also, I'm guessing the 204-pin is regarding the size of the chip? So the ones I keep finding that say 240-pin probably wouldn't work, right? Would this one work well? Oh, and one last thing. I'm not sure what it means with the maximum RAM. Is it that only 4.0 GB of RAM can be used, even though 8.0 GB can be stuffed in? That's kind of the only thing I can think of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xepha Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Click on the Apple Menu. Then on About this Mac. Then on More infos... Under Material, you need to click on Memory. You will be able to see exactly the type of RAM that is installed on your mac and your empty sloths. You need to buy the same type of memory or it won't fit your computer. For instance, I need DDR2 SDRAM for my imac. I currently have 1 GB and the maximum I can put is 2 X 2GB. Helpful link from Apple. I can't recommand you a place where to buy RAM online because I never tried to order any... xD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unstream Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Okay, I think I found the one I'm looking for. I just decided to get the one here. Hopefully it'll be the right kind (looks like the right size). Thanks for all of your help, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noog Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 It seems like that's exactly what you want. For future record, I have never dealt personally with okmemory.com but their method of deciding what kind of memory you need is correct. You can mostly use the website to find WHAT you need, then go to amazon to get it. Also a tip from a friend: You will most likely NEVER need 4 GBs of RAM...he's a tech geek and currently runs an epic computer that has never gone over 20% usage, so I guess he knows what he's talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unstream Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Too late, already bought it :P But seriously, it's just that my computer gets really bogged down when I'm working with some graphics (my computer definitely can't run Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator at the same time) or playing games. I figured more RAM would help that out a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Depending on the nature of the applications in question, I'd probably peg your CPU and/or graphics card as the main bottleneck. That said, memory pressure and forced swapping will absolutely destroy a system's performance if it starts to occur, so having additional memory is rarely a bad thing. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unstream Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 My processor is good, at least from what I've seen from the internet (2.4 GHz Dual Core), but it could be my graphics card. Macs have rather weak graphics cards (mine's only 256 MB of VRAM), but unfortunately it's integrated into the motherboard, so there's no way to replace/upgrade it. I dunno, I guess we'll find out whether or not the RAM helps in about a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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