Macbook pro RAM upgrade

[jaeminyou]

Hello geeks, nerds & gamers

Recently, I've thought about upgrading my early 2011 Macbook Pro, because 4GB RAM wasn't sufficient enough.

I've done some research on which specs on RAMs I need:

-1333 MHz

-8DDR3

-1.5V

And I've found it (change the language to English on the right hand corner): http://www.lazada.co.th/gskill-ram-notebook-ddr31333-16-chip-8gb-6087901.html

I'm not familiar with the brand,G.Skill, so I'm not sure whether I should purchase it or not...

What do you guys think? Do you think it's reliable in terms of quality and performance?

Thanks!

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

looks fine. gskill is a big brand. Also that is a single stick, so id get 2 to get 16gb of ram

[jaeminyou]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

looks fine. gskill is a big brand. Also that is a single stick, so id get 2 to get 16gb of ram

Yikes, that'd mean I have to save up more. I think 12 gb will be enough for me, because I will upgrade it to Alienware 15 next year..

[Guest lilbman]

1 minute ago, jaeminyou said:

upgrade it to Alienware 15 next year..

Highly recommended.  I suggest stress testing ASAP to see if you got one with a messed up heatsink.  You can tell if it's messed up if you have high core temp differences.  Don't wait until your return period is up to do it.  That's what I did and I got a messed up one. It's fixed now though  

 

They'd have it under control by next year, I'd imagine.

[jaeminyou]

4 minutes ago, lilbman said:

Highly recommended.  I suggest stress testing ASAP to see if you got one with a messed up heatsink.  You can tell if it's messed up if you have high core temp differences.  Don't wait until your return period is up to do it.  That's what I did and I got a messed up one. It's fixed now though  

 

They'd have it under control by next year, I'd imagine.

Noted.

It seems like you own the latest Alienware 15! How do you like it? Any pros and cons about this fantastic device? 

[Guest lilbman]

1 minute ago, jaeminyou said:

Noted.

It seems like you own the latest Alienware 15! How do you like it? Any pros and cons about this fantastic device? 

I absolutely love mine! It's probably the best decision I've ever made

 

Pros-

Great battery life-8-9 hours with all power saving settings on. 4 on high performance mode.

 

Keyboard-Fantastic.  Probably the closest to a desktop keyboard I've ever used on a laptop.

 

Lighting-Absolutely beautiful (pictures below).  The lights on the sides look like lightsabers and ITS SO COOL.  It brings out the inner 12 year old in all of us

 

IO-Everything you'll ever need.

 

Trackpad-Nice soft touch buttons.  A joy to use.

 

Eye tracking-Windows Hello is nothing but awesome.  SOO much faster than a password.  You can use it with games as well.

 

Temps-Fantastic on models without the screwed up heatsink.  I fixed mine, and I get around 60 degrees celcius when gaming.

 

Upgradeability-Can have up to 3 M.2 SSDs and a normal HDD.

 

Fan noise-doesn't sound like a jet engine.

 

Build quality and materials-built like a f*cking tank.  There is so little flex it's not even funny, especially on the keyboard, cuz it's reinforced with steel.  Feels dense and stuffed with goodness, which it is.

 

Looks-this is pure opinion, but it's a beautiful and eye catching machine.  It's professional, yet insanely cool.

 

Cons-

The heatsink.  I had to fix it, but it should be good.

 

Speakers-Not TERRIBLE, but pretty loud.  They don't distort at the highest volumes.  I'd say the speakers are a pro/con mix.

 

Wrist rest-Gets dirty(I'm a clean freak).  I ordered a skin, which should stop it.

 

Weight-a little over 7 and a half pounds.  This is a heavy SOB, but it's worth it.

[Daveeede]

Keep in mind that your Macbook Pro probably  has 2x2GB of ram installed. Buying a single 8GB stick will let you go to a max of 10GB (2GB + 8GB). Either way 8GB should be more than enough, but I just thought you should know. 

[jaeminyou]

4 minutes ago, Daveeede said:

Keep in mind that your Macbook Pro probably  has 2x2GB of ram installed. Buying a single 8GB stick will let you go to a max of 10GB (2GB + 8GB). Either way 8GB should be more than enough, but I just thought you should know. 

Oh right! My bad, I forgot that it had 2 slots. Thanks for reminding! 

[Sauron]

G.Skill is fairly well known, nowhere near as much as Kingston or Corsair but they should be trustworthy enough.

 

Be aware that Macs are known to have some compatibility issues with certain ram sticks, and it doesn't seem to follow a pattern. There are certified sticks that do not run this risk.

[jaeminyou]

8 minutes ago, lilbman said:

I absolutely love mine! It's probably the best decision I've ever made

 

Pros-

Great battery life-8-9 hours with all power saving settings on. 4 on high performance mode.

 

Keyboard-Fantastic.  Probably the closest to a desktop keyboard I've ever used on a laptop.

 

Lighting-Absolutely beautiful (pictures below).  The lights on the sides look like lightsabers and ITS SO COOL.  It brings out the inner 12 year old in all of us

 

IO-Everything you'll ever need.

 

Trackpad-Nice soft touch buttons.  A joy to use.

 

Eye tracking-Windows Hello is nothing but awesome.  SOO much faster than a password.  You can use it with games as well.

 

Temps-Fantastic on models without the screwed up heatsink.  I fixed mine, and I get around 60 degrees celcius when gaming.

 

Upgradeability-Can have up to 3 M.2 SSDs and a normal HDD.

 

Fan noise-doesn't sound like a jet engine.

 

Build quality and materials-built like a f*cking tank.  There is so little flex it's not even funny, especially on the keyboard, cuz it's reinforced with steel.  Feels dense and stuffed with goodness, which it is.

 

Looks-this is pure opinion, but it's a beautiful and eye catching machine.  It's professional, yet insanely cool.

 

Cons-

The heatsink.  I had to fix it, but it should be good.

 

Speakers-Not TERRIBLE, but pretty loud.  They don't distort at the highest volumes.  I'd say the speakers are a pro/con mix.

 

Wrist rest-Gets dirty(I'm a clean freak).  I ordered a skin, which should stop it.

 

Weight-a little over 7 and a half pounds.  This is a heavy SOB, but it's worth it.

Thank you very much!

 

[jaeminyou]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

G.Skill is fairly well known, nowhere near as much as Kingston or Corsair but they should be trustworthy enough.

 

Be aware that Macs are known to have some compatibility issues with certain ram sticks, and it doesn't seem to follow a pattern. There are certified sticks that do not run this risk.

Yes, I saw unboxtheraphy''s video and I've listed the requirements which are apt for the laptop.

[TheBestUserName]

I've got 8GB I'll sell you that came from a MB Pro. 

[jaeminyou]

1 hour ago, TheBestUserName said:

I've got 8GB I'll sell you that came from a MB Pro. 

It'd be great to order it outside of US, but my main concern is delay and long process duration for it to arrive to my door step... International shipping won't be a great idea

[jaeminyou]

20 hours ago, Daveeede said:

Keep in mind that your Macbook Pro probably  has 2x2GB of ram installed. Buying a single 8GB stick will let you go to a max of 10GB (2GB + 8GB). Either way 8GB should be more than enough, but I just thought you should know. 

I ordered my components just now. Is it true that the performance will be different if the 2 slots aren't equal? I'm intending to put 8GB and 2GB in each slots.

[Daveeede]

2 hours ago, jaeminyou said:

I ordered my components just now. Is it true that the performance will be different if the 2 slots aren't equal? I'm intending to put 8GB and 2GB in each slots.

Well take take advantage of "dual channel" performance the ram sticks should be identical in capacity and latency. But it won't make a noticeable difference in regular use.

[jaeminyou]

6 hours ago, Daveeede said:

Well take take advantage of "dual channel" performance the ram sticks should be identical in capacity and latency. But it won't make a noticeable difference in regular use.

I changed my order to dual 4GB RAM with 1.35V for less pressure on the CPU. Hopefully, that'd work perfectly fine!