Resolved Upgrading Late 2008 Unibody MBP

[NightFlight]

I'm looking for some advice from the experts here. Even after searching I didn't find much in the way of answers to my exact questions, it would be greatly appreciated if I could get some help as this community has helped me (greatly) in the past.

So, I am going to upgrade both my original 250GB 5,400RPM drive to a 500GB 7,200RPM drive. Also, I am going to upgrade the original 2GB of ram to the maximum allowable amount.


Here are the two questions:

1. RAM

I've done some research, and found out that the maximum allowable amount of ram for my late-2008 unibody MBP as per Apple is 4GB. I remember reading that it might support more than this amount though, and that is what I am here to find out.

Are there any success stories with reliably adding more than 4GB in the same machine as mine? If so, what is the brand and type that you used in your machine?

If the answer is no, can you please recommend a quality brand from Newegg.com?


2. Hard Drive

I am looking to upgrade my HDD to this 500GB 7,200RPM WD drive from newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=Mac&Page=1

I am 99% sure that this will work with my machine, but any advice or feedback with this exact HDD is always appreciated.

Also, should I go with a clean sheet install or clone my current drive with Carbon Copy Cloner? If I decide to go with a clean sheet install, will I be able to pull all of my files/programs off of my backup external HDD that has been backed up with Time Machine? Do I just plug the external drive back into my machine, and the OS will take care of the rest?

I've never done anything like this before, so I have absolutely no idea of what I am doing.



Thanks in advance for your help! I am still somewhat new to the Mac world and still loving it!

 

[alust2013]

You can reliably use up to 6GB in it (1-4GB chip and 1-2GB chip), and I believe you can get up to 8GB with some brands, such as crucial (which I recommend), but I'd read up a bit more on the 8GB, as it can get funky.

As far as HDD, that one will work great, and I have the 320GB version and love it. What I would do is do a complete fresh install, then once you get to the initial setup stuff after the install, it will ask you about moving data to the computer (A clean install puts it through that initial setup stuff from when you first got it), and select Time Machine backup, and restore your stuff from there.

 

[NightFlight]

Okay, well that is great news that it can use more than just 4GB!

I was under the impression that it was best to run equal amounts of memory in each of the holders (2/2 or 4/4). Will this still perform better than 4GB of 2/2? Any other opinions here? I'll look out for some of the Crucial RAM.

Anyone else have any input on running 6GB (4/2) in my machine? Is it a good idea, was it reliable? The last thing I want is for my machine to start acting wonky or crashing on a daily basis. It makes me wonder why Apple would set the maximum at 4GB even though it can handle more...

Thanks again!

 

[NightFlight]

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Anyone have any input on the 6GB of RAM or can you share your experiences? I was hoping to purchase both of these today and wanted to make sure I am making the right decision.

 

[NightFlight]

Guys, I need a rapid response here. PLEASE help me out here.

Can someone please recommend a good brand of DDR3 RAM that works with my machine? A link to the exact RAM would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea of what I am doing here. Also, is there a huge difference in speed between DDR2 and DDR3?

How is HyperVelocity™ DDR3-1066MHz for my machine from macramdirect.com? It is $78 for 4GB (2x2)

Side note, I just ordered the drive that I linked above, newegg already shipped it! Talk about fast!

EDIT: How many darn pins does my computer have? 200 or 204?

EDIT #2: Will this Crucial RAM work with my system? It is 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-8500

http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT2KIT25664BC1067