Memory upgrade for old Macbook Pro

[penia]

Hello there, I'd like to ask this simple questions but I don't know if this is the right section, even though I see others users post here, so here we go.

 

My friend has this Macbook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2012) which comes with 4GB of RAM. As everyone knows, nowadays it's not that much (I consider 6GB should be a minimum) and it's starting to be noticed. Tasks she used to carry out normally (such as Photoshop, AutoCAD, light gaming like CS:GO or LoL) started to feel like a bit of a heavy load for the system, so I suggested her a RAM upgrade.

 

The thing is, I wrongly assumed her laptop would have just one stick of 4GB, but after digging out a little, turns out it has two modules of 2GB each running on dual channel. So, my concerns are:

 

1. Would any good 4GB (1600 MHz) module work with her laptop or does she need a specific brand/model for it to work? Because I don't know if Apple requires that.

2. Given that any module works, would there be any problem if she runs two different sticks? At least for a while, maybe she's getting another 4GB stick in the future.

 

In my experience, in a normal PC/Laptop there is no problem, but you know, it's Apple... Which btw, I have no experience with their laptops/computers and this would be the first time I upgrade one.

[Haro]

4 minutes ago, penia said:

Would any good 4GB (1600 MHz) module work with her laptop or does she need a specific brand/model for it to work? Because I don't know if Apple requires that.

For the most part. A normal ddr3 / ddr3L so dimm should work. 

 

4 minutes ago, penia said:

Given that any module works, would there be any problem if she runs two different sticks?

Like two different brands of so dimm as long as the voltages are the same and the timings are same there shouldn't be a problem. Though mix and matching ram is never guaranteed to work. It could and it could not. 

Though check if this is ddr3l (1.35v) or ddr3 ( 1.5v)

Edited July 14, 2020 by TofuHaroto

[penia]

6 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

For the most part. A normal ddr3 so dimm should work. 

 

Like two different brands of so dimm as long as the voltages are the same and the timings are same there shouldn't be a problem. Though mix and matching ram is never guaranteed to work. It could and it could not. 

Thanks for answering

 

That's good enough for me. I will try to get something as identical as possible to what comes in there.

 

Btw, I have RAM installed on my main pc with different timings and so far it works, even tho it's wrong

[5x5]

RAM won't really help that MacBook, sadly. You're better off cleaning it or even selling it and opting for either a newer MacBook Pro or just going to a proper windows ultrabook

[Haro]

Just now, penia said:

That's good enough for me.

Just as I said. Check if the original so dimm is ddr3l or normal ddr3. 

[penia]

Just now, 5x5 said:

RAM won't really help that MacBook, sadly. You're better off cleaning it or even selling it and opting for either a newer MacBook Pro or just going to a proper windows ultrabook

Hmm, not even a little? In my experience it did. For example in my crappy laptop I used to have 6 GB and all would be super fine. For some reason a module stopped working and I had to replace it. Now with 4GB it feels ugly, even just running Spotify and Notepad++ alone.

 

Also, in here laptops are way too expensive, due to our economy + lots of taxes.

[5x5]

1 minute ago, penia said:

Hmm, not even a little? In my experience it did. For example in my crappy laptop I used to have 6 GB and all would be super fine. For some reason a module stopped working and I had to replace it. Now with 4GB it feels ugly, even just running Spotify and Notepad++ alone.

 

Also, in here laptops are way too expensive, due to our economy + lots of taxes.

MacBooks are far more optimized for low resource use doing menial tasks. So you're likely either running into heat issues (which is very common) or the CPU is at its limit (it's an 8-year-old low end dial core CPU after all)

 

And for gaming, the iGPU in Ivy Bridge is too shit for any amount of ram to make any difference

[penia]

12 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

MacBooks are far more optimized for low resource use doing menial tasks. So you're likely either running into heat issues (which is very common) or the CPU is at its limit (it's an 8-year-old low end dial core CPU after all)

 

And for gaming, the iGPU in Ivy Bridge is too shit for any amount of ram to make any difference

I see. Yea well, then I wouldn't like to make her spend money on something that might not work. So, could it be dirt that's also affecting it? I bet that macbook was never opened at all.

[5x5]

Just now, penia said:

I see. Yea well, then I wouldn't like to make her spend money on something that might not work. So, could it be dirt that's also affecting it? I bet that macbook as never opened at all.

Most likely. MacBooks are well known for running extremely hot and any dust will easily push it into overheating territory.

[5x5]

Replace the thermal paste and clean the laptop. All I can suggest. And be careful not to kill it in the process

[penia]

Hmm, just saw a youtube tutorial of how to change its thermal paste and while it doesn't seem that hard, I'd rather not in case I fuck it up since it's not my laptop. Maybe I could clean it but still, probably the problem will persist.