Customer Reviews

Kingston Apple 4GB Kit (2x2GB Modules) 667MHz DDR2 SoDimm iMac and Macbook Memory (KTA-MB667K2/4GR)

5 star:		(260)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There's an old adage in the computer world: "Buy more memory -- it's cheaper than therapy." This upgrade kit is the exemplification of that!

Open your Activity Monitor, and check your System Memory -- if you're starting to see "Page Outs" greater than 20% of your "Page Ins" during normal use, you should consider this ultra-cheap remedy! For those folks who want the ultimate in performance and consider this price to be "pocket change", if you're seeing *any* Page Outs, go for it!

To make sure this is the right memory for your Mac, open your System Profiler and look at your existing "Memory" entry to make sure that your system will use the 667MHz DDR2 RAM. Paying extra money for RAM that's spec'd faster than your system can take advantage of may not be the best use of your money!

The installation is a breeze on a MacBook like ours. Power down, remove the battery, remove 2 (really small!) screws and the shield they hold in place, pop your old memory out using the two levers, then reverse the process with your new memory. Power on, and check it out! Get back into Activity Monitor to see your RAM usage, or check with System Profiler to make sure it's all there.

You should be careful handling the RAM -- don't touch the metal contacts, only pick it up by the edges, and always make sure your other hand is in contact with the metal in your MacBook when handling these SoDIMMs to prevent any static jolts to the chips.

Pop out, plug in, and rock on!

I installed the 4GB in my 24 inch iMac. and it works perfectly. Easy to install and now I can load all the apps I need!

Bought this RAM for my Core2Duo MacBook Pro and it works perfectly. Easy to install, you just need a tiny jeweler's style screwdriver and much, much cheaper than Apple's ridiculous price.

I don't understand why Steve Jobs needs to sell machines with two RAM slots using 2x1GB chips, especially when he wants Apple to be seen as "environmentally friendly." Nobody savvy is going to pay Apple's RAM upgrade extortion prices, so why not offer a 1x2GB option for extra, leaving one RAM slot free, so the customer can buy a single, additional 1x2GB chip elsewhere? Apple gets extra money from the 1x2GB fee, the single additional chip is cheaper for the end user and it saves two 1x1GB chips from going in the garbage.

This is high-quality RAM and it may well make a significant difference to your machine. If you find that you're running many programs at once or using some more demanding programs like Photoshop this RAM will give you a bit of an edge. Read some of the reviews here and you'll see that.

But do note, this RAM is for the mid-2007 iMacs and MacBooks. The latest generation, the ones released in 2008 with Intel Core 2 Duo processors can still use it, but will do better with a slightly faster RAM. This is PC5300 RAM and is 667MHz. What you actually want for the latest generation of Macs is MC6400 RAM running at 800MHz. It's not going to be a night and day difference, but it's about the same price and you may as well get the right stuff.

To find the stuff you should get, search for this here at Amazon: KTA-MB800K2/4G. That is the Kingston part number and will turn up the one you want.

Background information:
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13 inch, white Macbook
Mac OS X Tiger (10.4)
1 GB RAM memory

Resource intensive apps:
- Parallels Desktop with Windows Vista OS
- Adobe Photoshop and InDesign CS 4
- The GIMP (open-source)
- Scribus (open-source)
- Citrix Remote Client

I bought the 4 GB Kigston RAM for my 13 inch white macbook because I was tired of running a sluggish Parallels set-up with Vista that would freeze both systems. Also, my macbook was extremely slow when running Photoshop and InDesign CS4. Running one of these three applications was asking for a total system freeze.

Parallels would take about 5-7 minutes to load and would not restart properly if paused. Photoshop was a disaster as the application would become unresponsive when loading InDesign as well.

The Solution
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I decided to upgrade my laptop's RAM by purchasing the Kingston product. The installation was very simple. All you need is a screwdriver small enough to remove the metallic strip protecting the RAM compartments. Once I replaced my original RAM with these 2x2GB thunder horses and put everything back in its place, I immediately started my macbook.

The Results
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The results were immediate. Loading Mac OS X is fast enough but with the new RAM it's twice as fast. Running Parallels with Vista now takes 2 minutes and there are no problems when pausing the application and restarting it later. Photoshop and InDesign are both running at the same time and there is no lag at all. I can even run all three apps and the system still works very effectively.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the results. The Kingston 4GB kit is affordable and user-friendly. It sure beats the outrageously expensive upgrades from the Apple store (~$400). I've been able to maximize the utility of my laptop even for job-related tasks that had me chained to my iMac desktop while also extending the computer's life a few more years.

Product has been used for 2 months now.


Notes
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3 out of the 4 GB are used by the Mac OS X Tiger system. This is a limitation of the laptop's hardware and not the product manufacturer's fault. I can only imagine how fast the system would be if it would be able to use all 4GB. However, with Mac OS X Snow Leopard coming out later this year as a 64-bit system the problem should be fixed with some more hardware upgrades.

Video playback becomes somewhat unstable while it is streamed online. I believe this is due to hardware compatibility issues. No observable problems with DVDs or large h264 or mkv video files.

Bought this to upgrade a white MacBook (non-UniBody).

Was previous running 10.6.2 with 1 GB of RAM. Also ran Windows XP (SP3) via Bootcamp.

Installing the RAM took no time as it is easy to upgrade the MacBook (although you will need to remove the battery and 3 screws).

Performance showed a drastic improvement. Including app launching, boot time, running multiple apps and files with no slow downs.

Now running 10.6.3 with no trouble at all. Everything is very fast. Got the 4GB module and the MacBook is maxed out.

Didn't get a chance to run full RAM test, but I didn't get any kernel panics.

This RAM does not work with ANY OF THE UNIBODY Macs. Remember this runs at 667MHz. The newer Mac's RAM run at over 1000 Mhz. Just letting you guys know.

Recommended purchase.

P.S. Also Kingston has very reliable warranty policy. So if anything goes wrong, you can always get free replacement from them (assuming if you send them your broken RAM).

I bought this ram upgrade for my penryn macbook and I've been very pleased with its performance. My computer seems to load a little faster, as well as improving the speed at which it manages multiple programs running at the same time.

This is a much less expensive option compared to buying the ram through apple. Installation is easy as long as you have the right tool (small screwdriver) and you can even watch tutorial videos on the apple website or youtube.

Usually MacBooks with Leopard or Snow Leopard will run great with 2GB of RAM. But if you use Virtual machines (Parallels, VirtualBox, Fusion) or work with big Photoshop files, increasing the memory of the Mac could improve performance.

I knew the applications I run would benefit from additional memory so I decided to look for reliable options. I did my homework and determined that Late 2006 and Mid 2007 (macbook2,1) would accept 4 GB of RAM in the form of 2 sticks of DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) SO-DIMMs. Due to limitations in the hardware of these machines, of the 4GB of RAM the system will only use 3.2GB.

After installing the new RAM, the machine recognized the 4GB but could only use 3.2 as expected. I started my virtual machines and everything was faster.
This kit is outstanding. It includes a pair of matched memory compatible with my Mac, seems to be high quality, it is much cheaper than apple options. It allowed me to maximize the performance of my system at a good price.

A final comment, my laptop worked just fine with 3GB of installed memory (1 stick of 1GB and another of 2GB, from this kit), but having matched memory sticks will result in a bit faster video, recommended for people paying games in the MacBook. Also my machine would not boot when using DDR2-800 memory, so for this model in question, use DDR2-800 memory at your own risk.

I have a MacBook 13.3 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo that I purchased May 2008. I recently decided, after reading the excellent reviews on this memory, to update my RAM from the original 2GB to 4GB with this kit. They were very easy to install. The only problem I had with installation was pressing the new chips in.

Note: When pressing the new chips in, it is probably more efficient to press the left side in first (on the end where the groove is) as you press on the right side. It took me about 20 minutes to install because I was trying to apply equal pressure on both sides. However, if you apply more pressure on the left side (groove side) first, the chips are easier to push in.

Once installed, I put everything back and turned my Macbook on. The screen took some 30-45 more seconds to load than usual, I guess because the computer had to recognize the new RAM chips. After the load, I check About This Mac to see if the chips were being recognized and THEY WERE!!! Immediately afterwards, I upgraded my Mac OS X 10.5.4 with the new Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 operating system and my Macbook seems to operate more smoothly.

At any rate, You Can't Beat This Price! Apple charges too much! Thanks again Amazon, this was a great buy!

P.S. You can get a screwdriver, for the screws in the battery compartment at any hardware store. I got my from ACE HARDWARE.

I used this kit to upgrade my MacBook's (Early 2008 Model) 2GB to 4GB. I just swapped out my old and I was done. MacBook recognized the new memory, and I am now able to have many more applications open at the same time.