MacMost Now 234: Upgrading the Memory on Your Mac

Learn how you can update the memory in your Mac. Check out where you can buy memory and how to figure out what type of memory your Mac needs. Then find out where you can get instructions on how to install new memory.

You can also watch this video at YouTube (but with ads).

Video Transcript: On today's episode, let's take a look at how you can upgrade the memory on your Mac.
So whether you've got an old Mac that you want to give a little speed boost to, or you have a new Mac that came with the base amount of memory, and you want to add more, you can add the memory to any Mac yourself. Some Macs are easier than others, however. 
Let's take a look at where you can get memory and how you can figure out how to install it.
Now you can go to apple.com or an apple store and buy more memory there, but you usually pay top dollar. I've gone to third party websites in the past. There's a tonne of them out there. So I'll just show you a few that I've used and ordered memory from.
The first one is crucial.com. And crucial has, at the very top a menu item for Mac Memory and a system for finding out which memory you need according to which Mac that you have.
Another site I've ordered from is thechipmerchant.com and they also have a special section for apple memory and for quickly figuring out whatever memory you need.
After you find that exact type of memory you need using one of these two sites, you can usually shop around for price. So you can go to amazon.com for instance and look to see if anybody has the exact same memory there, even cheaper. Although, I usually end up ordering from either Crucial or theChipMerchant. 
Now, by getting third party memory, apple always suspects that third party memory of any problem your Mac may have. So if you ever have any problems with your Mac in the future, the first thing you need to do is, go in, remove the third party memory, see if you solve the problem, and then if you take it back to apple for something, make sure you don't even mention that you had third party memory in it. Just show them the memory that came with the machine and you won't have any issues with your warranty.
So now the question is, you've got new memory, how do you install it in your Mac? 
Well, the first thing you want to do is check the web and you can actually check apple's own website. I find a quick way to do this is to do a google site search -  site:apple.com and look for install memory. And you can see right away there's some links to official guides to how to install memory. For instance, the very first one is how to install memory in a MacBook Pro. And here you've got all sorts of information from apple about how to do it. 
Now you can also search all over the internet for tutorials and even videos of people changing the memory in their Macs. You can usually find a video tutorial for your specific model. Its useful to watch these to gauge whether or not you think you can do it. There are some models that are just so easy like for instance the MacPro, and there are other models like some of the MacBooks, or the Mac Mini where you actually have to do quite a bit of work, maybe even get a tool or two before you try.
Of course its always good to have somebody local in your network of friends that knows how to change memory if you're shy about doing it. Invite them over, buy them lunch and have them install the memory for you.
So by buying your own third party memory at one of these sites and installing it yourself you're going to save alot of money. As a matter of fact, at many times, its a difference of either installing more memory or not doing it at all.
Of course the advantage of having more memory in your machine is more speed and responsiveness from your Mac. So, its usually something you do pretty cheaply. Sometimes, some of these memory upgrades could be done for as little as USD 50. So, you may want to look into it. 
Till next time, this is Gary Rosenzweig with MacMost Now.

Comments: 3 Responses to “MacMost Now 234: Upgrading the Memory on Your Mac”

fifeman58

16 years ago

Hi,

That was very useful. Thank you, I have been considering upgrading my memory for some time. I may even upgrade the memory of my MacBook, too ;-))

Also, maybe you get that dog in the background near the end his own show!!

Vicki B.

12 years ago

Do you still have to "ground yourself" when installing memory? I used to work at Microsoft, as a peon. But anyway, the guy who put in my memory always attached something to his wrist and then picked up the memory thing with a tweezer that was attached to the unit and then installed the memory.
When I asked what the world he was doing, he said you have to ground yourself, I think so you don't get shocked.
Do you still have to put that thing around your arm and use a clip to apply the memory?

Gary Rosenzweig

It is a good idea to do that whenever working with any electronics. Static electricity could cause a spark and damage things.

Comments Closed.

MacMost Now 234: Upgrading the Memory on Your Mac

Comments: 3 Responses to “MacMost Now 234: Upgrading the Memory on Your Mac”

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