MacBook Pro RAM

[.Adam.]

I want to upgrade the RAM on my MacBook Pro. It's a mid 2012 model (I think), with the CD drive. It doesn't have a retina display if that helps.

I currently have 4GB. I was looking at upgrading to 8GB.

Any recommendations on what to buy/where to buy from?

 

[Darren S]

Tricky. You could do with being a bit more specific in the MBP specs.

It's easy to see what spec the memory is in the 'About this Mac' drop down. I'm guessing that it's old enough to be prior to Apple's stupid, stupid decision to hardwire memory to their motherboards.

 

[.Adam.]

Tricky. You could do with being a bit more specific in the MBP specs.

It's easy to see what spec the memory is in the 'About this Mac' drop down. I'm guessing that it's old enough to be prior to Apple's stupid, stupid decision to hardwire memory to their motherboards.

Yeah, apologies, I am at work at the moment so don't have the specs.

I'll have a look tonight and update.

 

[Darren S]

Cool.

As an educated guess going off your description, I'd say the following should be ok. Personally, I'd remove the existing memory and swap it with two sticks of the below - rather than mix & match it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01B5SKIS4/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[Ben]

I went on the Crucial website and input all my specs for my old late 2011 MacBook Pro and it told me what I needed. I got 2 x 8GB from them also for my 5K iMac.

Have you got a solid state drive in the MacBook? That is by far the best upgrade I did to mine, it made it so much quicker.

 

[adamlstr]

I'm guessing that it's old enough to be prior to Apple's stupid, stupid decision to hardwire memory to their motherboards.

That was only a stupid move in the eyes of their consumers!

 

[Darren S]

That was only a stupid move in the eyes of their consumers!

That's just taking things too far though, imo. I'm all for them wanting to up-sell people to the next model. But allow them to upgrade in a year or two and stretch the longevity of their kit, FFS.

Very selfish. Very greedy. HP do it on some of their laptops too. :angry:

 

[R3k1355]

Quite a few places have cottoned onto that little trick.

 

[adamlstr]

That's just taking things too far though, imo. I'm all for them wanting to up-sell people to the next model. But allow them to upgrade in a year or two and stretch the longevity of their kit, FFS.

Very selfish. Very greedy. HP do it on some of their laptops too. :angry:

Most other tier 1 vendors give you a dimm slot for expansion though.

 

[Darren S]

Ye

Most other tier 1 vendors give you a dimm slot for expansion though.

Yep, they do. I just think things like that are underhanded when it's long been an established practice for expansion and upgrades at a later date. Hopefully it won't catch on too well and quickly die out.

 

[.Adam.]

Thanks for the responses chaps and apologies for the delayed reply.

I've attached a screenshot. Hopefully this helps.

@Darren S @adamlstr @R3k1355 @Ben-

 

[Darren S]

Probably not the cheapest, but Crucial memory would be a good shout...,

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/compat...e/macbook-pro-(13-inch-and-15-inch,-mid-2012)



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Darren S]

Or Kingston stuff through Amazon...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...l=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=KCP316SD8/8



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Daz...]

I used the crucial website last year and put 16gb in mine, cost about £60 at the time.

Same spec MacBook as yours @.Adam.

Edit - just seen it's doubled in price!

 

[Darren S]

I used the crucial website last year and put 16gb in mine, cost about £60 at the time.

Same spec MacBook as yours @.Adam.

Edit - just seen it's doubled in price!

It will be following the traditional 'U' pricing of memory. Starts off expensive, then plummets and is clearly back on the expensive climb as the memory spec gets older and less likely to be produced.

 

[.Adam.]

Is RAM the right way to go, or am I better opting for an SSD?

My MacBook isn't slow as such, it would just be nicer to be a bit nipper when I have multiple Safari tabs open, documents etc.

 

[Daz...]

I would go with both if you can. I'm going to be sticking a SSD in mine soon.

 

[Darren S]

Is RAM the right way to go, or am I better opting for an SSD?

My MacBook isn't slow as such, it would just be nicer to be a bit nipper when I have multiple Safari tabs open, documents etc.

Yeah - as Daz says - go with both if you can. An SSD not only provides much quicker access times - but it's lighter than a standard spindle drive and also uses less battery.

 

[Ben]

I'd recommend this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00P736UEU/?tag=cliospnet01-21

You could get a cheaper version - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F9G43WU/?tag=cliospnet01-21

Or spend a little more and get a higher capacity, i.e. 480 GB.

And you'll need a fairly large USB to create an OS install to be able to install the OS on the SSD, fairly straight forward to do. There's loads of guides around and it'll probably take a few hours for the fitting and install. I went for a fresh install and didn't back up from time machine when I did mine, I just copied over the files I wanted to keep on a USB stick afterwards.

Here's my spec and it feels just as quick, if not quicker than my 2016 5K 27" iMac with 24 GB ram and 1 TB fusion drive (i5 processor).

 

[.Adam.]

Brilliant. Thanks for the information guys.

I think I will take the plunge on both SSD and RAM when funds allow. I had a little look at some guides as you said and seems relatively straightforward.

 

[Daz...]

It's a very easy to do, just take it slow if you've never done anything like it before.