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Some 2008 MacBooks, MacBook Pros can accept 8 GB of RAM

by Kelly Hodgkins Mar 7th 2011 at 3:00PM

Older Core 2 Duo MacBook and MacBook Pros from late 2008 may support 8 GB of RAM, according to hardware parts vendor Other World Computer. Other World Computer discovered that a newer version of the EFI, when combined with an updated Boot ROM, would let the computer use the full 8 GB of RAM without slowdowns or crashes. EFI is the Mac equivalent of the BIOS firmware on IBM PCs.

Previous tests by Other World Computer revealed that these older Macs could accept 8 GB of RAM, but would come to screeching halt when an application tried to use the full 8 GB. The optimal RAM was assumed to be 6 GB according to tests by OWC. Despite this presumed limitation, reports circulating on the internet continued to suggest the older MacBook models could effectively use 8 GB of RAM with Snow Leopard.

OWC discovered that Apple released a new version of the EFI for these older MacBooks in 2009. This update was designed to reduce the noise from optical drives. OWC noticed that Apple modified the memory addressing in the update and did not notify anyone of these changes. OWC claims the Mac OS X software update does not recognize this latest version as new and does not prompt people to upgrade. Unbeknownst to them, most MacBook users continue to have the old code, which supports 6 GB.

After upgrading the EFI manually and installing the updated Boot ROM, OWC was able to efficiently access the full 8 GB of memory. This is good news for folks with an older MacBook as the 2 GB addition may give older models enough of a boost to stay in service for a little longer.



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Older Core 2 Duo MacBook and MacBook Pros from late 2008 may support 8 GB of RAM, according to hardware parts vendor Other World...
 

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meizlizard

Does this work booted into XP as well?

March 13 2011 at 7:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Matt Henderson

Just wanted to report that my late-2008 aluminum MacBook already had the EFI update, and is now running fine with 8GB of memory.

I was a little worried at first; after installing 8GB the computer hung when booting, but I then discovered it was because of the 4GB chips wasn't seated properly.

Thanks a lot for the tip. With my SSD, and now with 8GB, this old MacBook has a lot of life left in it!

March 09 2011 at 6:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
datniceguy

8GB kit coming tomorrow. I'll post an update when I get them installed. Inherited a 2008 MBP, so I'm amped. No need to spend tons of $$$ on a 2011 model. =)

March 08 2011 at 2:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mack

Had been using 8G RAM on my MacBook (Late 2008) Unibody since Late 2010... runs so smooth and no lags when I switch between OS X and Windows 7 VM :)

March 08 2011 at 1:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ben

I can confirm this. My late '08 15" Macbook Pro runs like a dream with 8GB.

March 08 2011 at 12:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jordan

may give older models enough of a boost to stay in service for a little longer?

For real? I'm still rocking my 2006 MBP with 1 gig of ram! It doesn't exactly fly when I've got any CS4 apps open, but otherwise it's still pretty quick compared to most of the other computers I have to use.

March 08 2011 at 11:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gillan

Doesn't everyone know this?

~__~

March 07 2011 at 6:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Gillan's comment
4nNtt

No. The specs max out at 4 GB on this machine. Everyone who has tried to put more then 6 GB in has resulted in boot time crashes. When these came out it was said that the chipset could only address 8GB and some of that address space was needed for devices like video cards. Apparently there was either bad information or Apple changed the way their kernel works to address memory for devices differently. Either way this is great news, I just ordered another 4 GB chip to bring my MBP up to 6 GB. I'd rather spend my money on MBA's or iMacs right now so increasing the service life of my MBP is great.

March 07 2011 at 7:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
4nNtt

Brought it up to 8 GB (not 6).

March 07 2011 at 7:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nicleT

What a news! I effectively bought the Late 2008 MBP with the idea to upgrade RAM to 8 Gb after awhile but when I heard that Apple had add a RAM limitation I was quite furious ! But I'll try this EFI trick to see. What about the boot-ROM, is it another download / installation?

March 07 2011 at 6:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to nicleT's comment
nicleT

It says: "MacBookPro5,1 will be updated to MBP51.007E.005"

Mine is "MBP51.007E.B05"

Should I apply the EFI ?

March 07 2011 at 6:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Anthony

What about late 2008, 24 inch 3.06 iMac??

March 07 2011 at 6:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DrivethruRecFan

I just upgraded my Early 2008 Unibody MacBook (not Pro) to 8GB, Works like a charm!!

March 07 2011 at 5:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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