Kingston Apple 4GB Kit
Apr.18, 2010 in
Apple
- Time Warranty
- 100% Tested fοr Reliability
- Free Technical HеƖр
- Simple tο Follow Installation Instructions
- Designed tο Meet οr Exceed Industry Standards fοr Performance аחԁ Reliability
Product Description
Kingston’s KTA-MB667K2/4GR іѕ a 4GB Kit (2pcs οf 256M X 64) Non-ECC 667MHz 200-pin Unbuffered SODIMM (SDRAM-DDR2, 1.8V, CL5, FBGA, Gold). Tһіѕ memory іѕ designed fοr tһе following systems: iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 17-inch CD (Late 2006), iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 20-inch (Mid 2007), iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 24-inch (Mid 2007), MacBook Pro 15.4-inch 2.2GHz/2.4GHz/2.6GHz, аחԁ MacBook Pro 17-inch 2.4GHz/2.6GHz…. More >> Kingston Apple 4GB Kit
April 18th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
This is high-quality RAM and it may well make a significant difference to your machine. If you find that you’re running many programs at once or by some more demanding programs like Photoshop this RAM will give you a bit of an edge. Read some of the reviews here and you’ll see that.
But do note, this RAM is for the mid-2007 iMacs and MacBooks. The latest generation, the ones unrestricted in 2008 with Intel Core 2 Duo processors can still use it, but will do better with a slightly quicker RAM. This is PC5300 RAM and is 667MHz. What you really want for the latest generation of Macs is MC6400 RAM running at 800MHz. It’s not going to be a nighttime and day difference, but it’s about the same price and you may as well get the right stuff.
To find the stuff you should get, quest for this here at Amazon: KTA-MB800K2/4G. That is the Kingston part number and will turn up the one you want. Rating: 5 / 5
April 18th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Bought this RAM for my Core2Duo MacBook Pro and it works perfectly. Simple to install, you just need a tiny jeweler’s style screwdriver and much, much cheaper than Apple’s ridiculous price.
I don’t know why Steve Jobs needs to sell machines with two RAM slots by 2×1GB chips, especially when he wants Apple to be seen as “environmentally friendly.” Nobody savvy is going to pay Apple’s RAM upgrade extortion prices, so why not offer a 1×2GB option for extra, leaving one RAM slot free, so the customer can buy a single, additional 1×2GB chip elsewhere? Apple gets extra money from the 1×2GB fee, the single additional chip is cheaper for the end user and it saves two 1×1GB chips from going in the garbage. Rating: 5 / 5
April 18th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
I installed the 4GB in my 24 inch iMac. and it works perfectly. Simple to install and now I can load all the apps I need! Rating: 5 / 5
April 18th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
There’s an ancient adage in the notebook world: “Buy more memory — it’s cheaper than therapy.” This upgrade kit is the exemplification of that!
Open your Activity Monitor, and try out your System Memory — if you’re starting to see “Page Outs” greater than 20% of your “Page Ins” during habitual use, you should consider this ultra-cheap remedy! For those folks who want the ultimate in performance and consider this price to be “pocket change”, if you’re seeing *any* Page Outs, go for it!
To make sure this is the right memory for your Mac, open your System Profiler and look at your existing “Memory” entry to make sure that your system will use the 667MHz DDR2 RAM. Paying extra money for RAM that’s spec’d quicker than your system can take advantage of may not be the best use of your money!
The installation is a breeze on a MacBook like ours. Power down, remove the battery, remove 2 (really small!) screws and the shield they hold in place, pop your ancient memory out by the two levers, then reverse the process with your new memory. Power on, and try out it out! Get back into Activity Monitor to see your RAM usage, or try out with System Profiler to make sure it’s all there.
You should be careful handling the RAM — don’t touch the metal contacts, only pick it up by the edges, and always make sure your other hand is in contact with the metal in your MacBook when handling these SoDIMMs to prevent any static jolts to the chips.
Pop out, plug in, and rock on! Rating: 5 / 5
April 18th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Background information:
——————–
13 inch, white Macbook
Mac OS X Tiger (10.4)
1 GB RAM memory
Store intensive apps:
- Parallels Desktop with Windows Vista OS
- Adobe Photoshop and InDesign CS 4
- The GIMP (open-source)
- Scribus (open-source)
- Citrix Remote Client
I bought the 4 GB Kigston RAM for my 13 inch white macbook because I was tired of running a sluggish Parallels set-up with Vista that would freeze both systems. Also, my macbook was extremely slow when running Photoshop and InDesign CS4. Running one of these three applications was asking for a total system freeze.
Parallels would take about 5-7 minutes to load and would not restart properly if paused. Photoshop was a disaster as the application would become unresponsive when loading InDesign as well.
The Solution
———-
I chose to upgrade my laptop’s RAM by purchasing the Kingston product. The installation was very simple. All you need is a screwdriver small enough to remove the metallic strip protecting the RAM compartments. Once I replaced my original RAM with these 2×2GB thunder horses and place everything back in its place, I immediately started my macbook.
The Results
———-
The results were immediate. Loading Mac OS X is quick enough but with the new RAM it’s twice as quick. Running Parallels with Vista now takes 2 minutes and there are no problems when pausing the application and restarting it later. Photoshop and InDesign are both running at the same time and there is no lag at all. I can even run all three apps and the system still works very effectively.
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the results. The Kingston 4GB kit is reasonably priced and user-friendly. It sure beats the outrageously expensive upgrades from the Apple store (~$400). I’ve been able to maximize the utility of my laptop even for job-related tasks that had me chained to my iMac desktop while also extending the notebook’s life a few more years.
Product has been used for 2 months now.
Notes
—–
3 out of the 4 GB are used by the Mac OS X Tiger system. This is a limitation of the laptop’s hardware and not the product manufacturer’s fault. I can only imagine how quick the system would be if it would be able to use all 4GB. But, with Mac OS X Snow Leopard coming out later this year as a 64-bit system the problem should be flat with some more hardware upgrades.
Video playback becomes somewhat unstable while it is streamed online. I believe this is due to hardware compatibility issues. No noticeable problems with DVDs or large h264 or mkv video records. Rating: 5 / 5