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OWC introduces 8 GB RAM modules for 2011 MacBooks

by Chris Ward Mar 10th 2011 at 7:00AM

OWC RAM

If, like many who've just purchased one of the brand new MacBook Pros released last week, you still have US$1,600 rattling around in your change purse, OWC have just the thing for you - a pair of 8 GB SODIMMs.

A 16 GB memory upgrade is just what you need to give your shiny new MacBook the oomph it really needs. Even though Apple says the new machines have an 8 GB upper memory limit, OWC says its testing confirms the MacBooks can use 16 GB of RAM.

Larry O'Connor, founder and CEO of Other World Computing said, "Our initial confirmed results, using the same 'diglloydMedium' CS5 testing parameters employed by macperformanceguide.com, reveals a nearly 50% performance improvement with 16 GB of RAM installed vs. the factory maximum of 8 GB. This upgrade truly lets owners of the latest MacBook Pro models unleash the power of their machine with performance approaching that only previously available in Apple desktop and tower models."

Those with slightly shallower pockets can go for the 12 GB upgrade, a mere $879.99.

[via MacStories]



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If, like many who've just purchased one of the brand new MacBook Pros released last week, you still have US$1,600 rattling around in...
 

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samsonsu

16GB RAM.. man. i remembered i spent $400 or something like that on 16MB for my first PC in 199x. and the guy who sold me the 16MB stick told me i would never need that much memory in my life.

March 10 2011 at 5:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

@leftnotracks Intel may be understating max memory on that site. My Dell M6500 has an i7-920XM and 16 GB RAM but Intel's site says Max 8GB.

March 10 2011 at 4:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dagamer34

Use cases for this: opening a 9GB Photoshop file or editing uncompressed HD video. And while 99% of the time, you'll be connected to power while doing this, it's a heck of a lot more portable than a iMac or Mac Pro.

March 10 2011 at 10:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ianlive

I'd rather spend a tiny bit of that cash swapping my SuperDrive out for an SSD boot drive. It would blown the pants off a RAM upgrade for most tasks.

March 10 2011 at 10:22 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brandt Kurowski

In my experience OWC's testing leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to upgrading RAM beyond Apple's specs.

They said that the first unibody 15" MacBook Pros could take 8GB of RAM, but it turns out they were unstable with more than 6GB. I'm glad that OWC refunded me, but I didn't appreciate being their beta tester while being told I was buying an upgrade kit that was supposed to be verified to be compatible with my machine.

I'll pass on this upgrade until there's some third party confirmation that these machines really do work with 16GB.

March 10 2011 at 9:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bistrojack

Upgraded to 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) for $88. Haven't had any of the memory constraints as with an older Macbook that had a mere 2 GB. MB Pro runs well with Time Capsule and other memory hogs (multiple browsers, SpiderOak, and Mail.)

In a year's time the 16 GB will cost $77.

March 10 2011 at 8:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Justin

That is a lot of RAM. It doesn't seem all that long ago that 1GB was "quite a bit" of RAM. I'm hoping we'll start seeing more than 512MB in tablets/smartphones soon.

March 10 2011 at 7:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Justin's comment
Justin

And yes I realize that there probably are some, I should have said iPhones/iPads.

March 10 2011 at 7:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
iBearTouch

Like, wow

March 10 2011 at 7:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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