There is a crazy, ridiculous sale on 8GB of RAM this weekend on Amazon, so I thought about picking it up! Unfortunately, my 15" MacBook Pro only officially supports 4GB of RAM.
I thought I heard that you can unofficially install 8GB of RAM inside of these models. Is this true? If so, any secrets I should know, or do I just pop the DIMMs inside and boot it up?
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Is it possible to install 8GB of RAM into a 15" MacBook Pro unibody (Core 2 Duo) from mid-2009?
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While I do not have a mid 2009 model, I have a 1st gen (2008 model) Unibody MBP 15inch.
I followed the "Checklist" from
blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-0...
to make sure my system was compatible. I checked my boot rom version for Boot ROM Version: MBP51.007E.B05. (this can be found by clicking the apple icon at the top left corner and choosing "About this Mac" from the drop down menu and clicking on "More Info..." at the bottom of the pop up window. From there, the Boot Rom information is on the "Hardware overview" panel (first screen) 10th line.
I had the correct Boot Rom version, so I followed up by checking with my friend who's a resident tech handyman. He said to check for CAS Latency 7.
I just checked OWC, and according to their ram sales page, they list CL=7 as the supported timing for the 2009 model you mentioned as well.
--> eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/...
I've been using 8gb for a while now. The only time it's really mattered to me was in using Parallels (Mac OS, Win 7, Winxp all open at the same time) but I've also noticed that general usage was snappier (it used to bog with lots and lots of browser tabs open, this doesnt seem the case anymore)
Good luck!
Cliffnotes:
1) Make sure your Operating System is updated to Mac OS X v10.6.6.
2) Read this: blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-0...
3) Check Boot Rom (Apple-about this mac-more info)
4) Find ram (2 x 4GB RAM Chips / 1066MHz / 204-pin / SODIMM / Unbuffered / CL = 7 / 1.5V)
5) Confirm RAM is CAS Latency 7 (in the case above, it says CL=7)
6) Install RAM:
For mid-2009 model:
www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro...
or choose your model here (2008 model like mine is listed here):
www.ifixit.com/Browse/MacBook_Pro_15%22
7) Confirm 8gb ram from the apple menu (see step 3) and/or using "Activity Monitor" and clicking the "System Memory" button.
8*) Obligatory ??????????
9*) Obligatory Profit!
* = knowyourmeme.com/memes/profit
I followed the "Checklist" from
blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-0...
to make sure my system was compatible. I checked my boot rom version for Boot ROM Version: MBP51.007E.B05. (this can be found by clicking the apple icon at the top left corner and choosing "About this Mac" from the drop down menu and clicking on "More Info..." at the bottom of the pop up window. From there, the Boot Rom information is on the "Hardware overview" panel (first screen) 10th line.
I had the correct Boot Rom version, so I followed up by checking with my friend who's a resident tech handyman. He said to check for CAS Latency 7.
I just checked OWC, and according to their ram sales page, they list CL=7 as the supported timing for the 2009 model you mentioned as well.
--> eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/...
I've been using 8gb for a while now. The only time it's really mattered to me was in using Parallels (Mac OS, Win 7, Winxp all open at the same time) but I've also noticed that general usage was snappier (it used to bog with lots and lots of browser tabs open, this doesnt seem the case anymore)
Good luck!
Cliffnotes:
1) Make sure your Operating System is updated to Mac OS X v10.6.6.
2) Read this: blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-0...
3) Check Boot Rom (Apple-about this mac-more info)
4) Find ram (2 x 4GB RAM Chips / 1066MHz / 204-pin / SODIMM / Unbuffered / CL = 7 / 1.5V)
5) Confirm RAM is CAS Latency 7 (in the case above, it says CL=7)
6) Install RAM:
For mid-2009 model:
www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro...
or choose your model here (2008 model like mine is listed here):
www.ifixit.com/Browse/MacBook_Pro_15%22
7) Confirm 8gb ram from the apple menu (see step 3) and/or using "Activity Monitor" and clicking the "System Memory" button.
8*) Obligatory ??????????
9*) Obligatory Profit!
* = knowyourmeme.com/memes/profit
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I can't imagine why not. I've been using 8GB RAM in my 13" Unibody Aluminum MacBook A1278 (before it was promoted to "Pro") for over 2 years now. Spec sheet says 4GB RAM max. Doesn't seem to matter. The Nvidia (nVidia?) 9400M chipset supports upto 8GB RAM. That's what matters.
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Can you post a link to the memory on sale at Amazon?
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I have 8GB of RAM in my 13" 2.53GHz 2009 MacBook Pro so don't see why it wouldn't work in yours.
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I have the same MacBook pro and I recently installed 8th of ram no problem.
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