[noig]

Hello all
I have a MBP and work a lot in Fusion(XP). Due to this I would like to boost the memory on the MBP.
Machine:
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.28f2

Bought this in Aug 2008
Is there a chance to expand on the memory? Is it worth it? Can it use all the memory if upgrading to 6GB(or possibly more?)

Thanks

[shifuimam]

Crucial.com says the max ram is 4GB.

While there are 4GB SO-DIMMs on the market now, I'm betting that it's new enough technology that a machine from mid-2008 won't even recognize a 4GB stick.

If you use Windows a lot, you may want to consider dual-booting with Boot Camp so that you can dedicate the full 4GB RAM to XP.

[AKcrab]

Your machine will take a max of 6GB: 4GB + 2GB

[EndlessMac]

Even if you upgrade your RAM you shouldn't give XP too much because it will slow down overall performance if Mac OS X doesn't have enough for itself. I only have 4 gigs of RAM total also. I give XP only 1 gig RAM and my computer is running great using Fusion. It was a lot slower when I gave XP too much RAM in Fusion. I try not to give Windows more than a 1/3 of my total RAM in order to keep both sides running smoothly. You can experiment for yourself but that works for me. Unless you are doing something intense in Windows or multitasking you really don't need to give it so much RAM. Also don't give Windows more than 1 Core since you only have two.

If you are using a software that requires a lot of RAM from Windows then it's better to boot into Windows with Boot Camp. If you don't want to do that and this is important to you then try maxing your RAM so that you can give more to Windows in Fusion or upgrade your computer to one that doesn't have a low RAM limit.

[Simon]

The answer to your questions is at the very top of the sticky thread on RAM upgrades.

The max upgrade for your MBP is 4+2GB. You need DDR2 SO-DIMMs (PC2-5300, 667 MHz, 200 pins).

4GB for $110 shipped

[ghporter]

noig, welcome to our forums!

As Simon has pointed out, we've covered RAM for Apple notebook computers very thoroughly and have put all of that information in a sticky thread at the top of the forum. We try to keep commonly needed, very important information like this all nicely packaged so that users don't have to start new threads to ask questions we've already answered; this is one subject that we've done that for, but there are a bunch of others.

Again welcome to our forums!