MacBook Pro. 4GB to 8GB Upgrade.

Question

MacBook Pro. 4GB to 8GB.
Introduction
"Cost-Benefit Analysis"
Features
Boot Time: Is it affected by the upgrade?
Applications
Conclusion
1. Introduction
Greetings, today I am going to discuss the positive and negatives aspects about the
upgrade that many are tempted to perform, before during and after the purchase of an Apple
Personal Computer i.e. MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac and so on.
I am going to use my first and recently bought MacBook Pro as a "guinea pig" today
by performing and reviewing the upgrade from 4GB of Random-Access Memory (RAM) to 8GB.
I hope you all enjoy it and that this review is useful to you as a guide to aid your decision
to upgrade or not.
Well let's get started shall we?
2. "Cost-Benefit Analysis"
We all know how expensive Apple Computers are for the vast majority of the population,
however I am sure if you are here you do appreciate, like me, the reasons why such cost,
but this is another discussion. Let me focus.
The first option we have right off the bat is to do the upgrade as we purchase the machine,
which is offered to you when you order online, through the phone or buy it directly from an
Apple Store.
I did consider upgrading directly with Apple for the obvious reasons but unfortunately
I wasn't able to this time, the £160.00* upgrade price was a little too high for me, not overpriced,
just a little too high for me. (* or $200.00 USD)
So here is what I have done: I have acquired the part from a third part company which
offered the so called upgrade for £59.99. So I decided to give it a go, before you ask my
warranty will not be voided as RAM and any user replacable parts DO NOT void your
equipment warranty as stated by Apple®.
As you can see the specifications of the product match perfectly what is already inside
a MacBook Pro. But obviously still won't be as good as the 8GB from Apple.
Now to the benefits. rest assured that this upgrade will not be noticed by all of you, and
what I mean by that is: If you only use your Mac for browsing the web or office suites, you do
not need this upgrade, however if you do heavy video or image processing or anything that
requires that little bit extra, you will notice the difference in performance baring in mind that
this model of MacBook Pro has no dedicated graphics card therefore upgrading is a fantastic
way to avoid "paging" and I think for 60 bucks that is a bargain.
3. Features
RAM is constantly used by the system, obviously, serving as temporary storage and
working space for the operating system and its applications.
You may or may not know that most computers use something called "virtual memory"
is a method that consists of a portion of the system's hard drive being set aside for use as
a paging file that extends ram capacity. I.e. 4GB of RAM + 1GB of Paging file gives a system
a total of 5GB of memory available. Obviously upgrading from 4GB to 8GB will enable you to
have more memory without "sacrificing" a part of your hard drive.
RAM is used in numerous others ways on a computer.
3.1 Boot Time: Is it affected by the upgrade?
| To be updated soon. |
3.2 Applications
     | To be updated soon. |
4.0 Conclusion
| To be updated soon. |

Answer 1

3.1 Boot Time: Is it affected by the upgrade?
I did not notice any differences, maybe some miliseconds more or less.
3.2 Applications
        Applications it's a hard one to speak about, it seems to me that the system is coping more easily with tasks that require that little extra. Video and Photo editing and so on.
4.0 Conclusion
         Is it worth it? The truth is for some people yes, for some definitely NOT. If you are looking for that little extra performance just to feel good about it, definitely do it! However if all you do is browse the web and the odd word processing and a few presentations a month, it may not be that beneficial for you. I believe that if you truly want some serious performance, look for the power processing first i.e. Get a 15'' or a 17''; even though they are a bit more expensive they are recommended for video editing and tasks that require high speed and performance.
          In terms of where to buy it from, I found that buying from the third party company Crucial was no different than what would have been from Apple itself, it is EXACTLY the same memory, I compared them both side a side and all the specifications and manufacturers where the same on the 4GB and the 2GB unit.
          Few things though guys:
Please be sure to use a good quality Phillips #00 Screwdriver, you DO NOT want to damage those screws and you want to have ease on opening the machine.
Please only install quality RAM.
Please discharge yourself of any static by wearing a Static Bracelet or touching a metal surface inside the computer.
Please be sure to turn OFF the computer "Shut Down", I repeat do NOT put it to sleep, SHUT IT DOWN.
Please be patient; do not rush things.
          That's it for my adventure  Upgrading my MacBook Pro RAM, guys I hope you enjoyed, sorry about the delay and enjoy your 8GB MacBook Pro, I certainly will.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
Walter.