So my macbook came with the standard 512MB of RAM. I decided I would try it out and see if I needed to upgrade expecting that I probably would. I’ve had the machine for 3 months and decided that the upgrade was a good idea. So, on the recommendation of a co-worker I got me a pair of G.SKILL 1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM Notebook Memory from the good people at newegg. Total was $198 with 4-day delivery.
As you can imagine, as soon as I got the RAM I was pretty eager to get it into my machine. I flipped over the macbook popped out the battery and attempted to unscrew 3 tiny screws which held a thin metal plate over the RAM and hard drive. My first problem was that the screws are really tiny. My tiny screwdriver was too big. The next day I stopped at Radio Shack and picked up a set of 5 tiny screwdrivers (for $5) only to discover that one of the screws was completely stuck. I checked online and it seems that stuck screws is a bit of a problem. Luckily, I borrowed a pair of pliers from Cheryl to get a better grip on the screwdriver. With enough pressure I managed to loosen the screw. After that, zero problems.
The RAM was recognized immediately and the performance has been better than I expected. Things like dashboard and expose are much more responsive as is swapping between large apps. So I totally recommend the hardware especially considering it was less than $200.
i want to do the same thing–what are you going to do with the old ram?
wait a month or so, just in case something happens. and then try and sell it on craigslist or at work.
That was my big debate with getting less the 2GB on the MacBook. Who can you sell two 256MB sticks too if you upgrade? It seems pretty much uselses.