2015-02-09

Upgrading RAM in a MacBook

Surprisingly, upgrading the RAM in MacBook Pro is as painless as upgrading the RAM in pretty much anything else.  No trip to ifixit, no heating/hammering/drilling/exposure to gamma radiation, and no special tools required (except a very small screwdriver).

If your older model is a bit sluggish and you're still rocking 4GB (2x2GB), consider dropping $60 to upgrade to 8GB (2x4GB) or even 16GB (2x8GB), if your model supports it. Make sure you get RAM that is explicitly Mac-compatible.  Note that Apple's published specs on RAM capacity are garbage; use EveryMac to look up your specific model for the real, experimentally-determined capacity.

Many older machines are RAM-limited, so adding extra RAM can help you squeeze a little more usable life out of a machine before it's inevitably discarded as e-waste.