16 GB RAM upgrade for MBP 2011 17 inch

I have a mid-2011 MBP 17 inch and i had upgraded the RAM in the apple store to 8 GB when i purchased it. I now understand that it can handle 16 GB of RAM. I have the following questions:

1. What would be the affect of upgrading the 16 GB RAM on battery life, and hard disk life, and general system stability?

2. Do i install another 8 GB of RAM on my laptop, or do i install 16 GB RAM and discard the 8 GB RAM that my laptop came with?

3. Any suggestions on which manufacturer's RAM i should purchase?

Thanks for reading my post and looking forward to reading your advice and suggestions.

 

Its probably 2x 4gb sticks in there, so yes, you need 2x 8gb to get to 16gb.

There is no effect on battery life and hard disk, no stability issues.

Whatever fits the bill, I usually purchase samsung (which apple uses alongside hynix) and kingston, but the idea is to get any 1333mhz DDR3 sodimm ram that you can find cheapest.

 

Thanks MR MM. I am curious why Apple did not give the 16 GB RAM option at the time i purchased my laptop (July 2011).

 

Dunno, but I wouldnt upgrade the ram as a BTO option, its just too expensive to buy from them. 16gb can be found for less than 100

 

Mr MM, any comments on this:
MacBook Pro 2011 15 & 13 16GB RAM upgrade story - MacRumors Forums

 

he should have run memtest to verify the memory, there was some strange thing going with the modules. or the mobo.

 

The OP in that post mentions a brand I've never heard of. As long as you stick to ones that are well known (Mushkin, G.Skill, and Crucial are among the best), you'll be fine.

 

went to the local apple store first (genius bar). they said they can upgrade the RAM in my MBP mid-2011 to 16 GB. But they also said that while the service charge is free (since i had purchased Apple Care) i would have to pay $800 for the RAM. Really ridiculous and i am so disappointed with Apple for doing this to their loyal customers. The guy at the Genius Bar suggested that i go to a nearby computer store called Micro Center. The guys at Micro Center made me purchase a Crucial 16 GB Kit ($119.99 + tax), and did the installation of the RAM on my MBP for me for $29.99. They said that since my laptop is booting fine, i am good to go. If it would have been a defective RAM my laptop would not have booted properly. What about memtest? I asked. They had never heard of memtest. I made my purchase and went back home hoping i would have no problem but...

I am at home now and am running memtest on my computer now ( MemTest for Mac OS X Tests your RAM) and these are the preliminary results:

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John-Does-MacBook-Pro:bin Doe$ memtest all 2

Memtest version 4.22 (64-bit)
Copyright (C) 2004 Charles Cazabon
Copyright (C) 2004-2008 Tony Scaminaci (Macintosh port)
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 only

Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) running in multiuser mode
Memory Page Size: 4096
System has 8 Intel core(s) with SSE
Requested memory: 13200MB (13842042880 bytes)
Available memory: 13200MB (13842042880 bytes)
Allocated memory: 13200MB (13842042880 bytes) at local address 0x0000000101000000
Attempting memory lock... locked successfully
Partitioning memory into 2 comparison buffers...
Buffer A: 6600MB (6921021440 bytes) starts at local address 0x0000000101000000
Buffer B: 6600MB (6921021440 bytes) starts at local address 0x000000029d866800

Running 2 test sequences... (CTRL-C to quit)

Test sequence 1 of 2:

Running tests on full 13200MB region...
Stuck Address : ok
Linear PRN : ok
Running comparison tests using 6600MB buffers...
Random Value : ok
Compare XOR : ok
Compare SUB : ok
Compare MUL : ok
Compare DIV : ok
Compare OR : ok
Compare AND : ok
Sequential Increment: ok
Solid Bits : ok
Block Sequential : ok
Checkerboard : ok
Bit Spread : ok
Bit Flip : testing 183 of 512

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0xfffffffbffbfffff, BUFB Data: 0xffffffffffbfffff

Walking Ones : testing 1 of 128

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0xfffffffbfffffffe, BUFB Data: 0xfffffffffffffffe

Walking Zeroes : testing 32 of 128

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0xfffffffb80000000, BUFB Data: 0xffffffff80000000


Test sequence 2 of 2:

Running tests on full 13200MB region...
Stuck Address : testing 2 of 16

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local address 0x000000014eea5610
Actual Data: 0xfffffffab115a9ef

Linear PRN : testing 1 of 16

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local address 0x000000014eea5610
Expected Data: 0xe6b8309ed5a3f505, Actual Data: 0xe6b8309ad5a3f505

Running comparison tests using 6600MB buffers...
Random Value : ok
Compare XOR :

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0xfe687dc079020695, BUFB Data: 0xfe687dc479020695

Compare SUB :

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0x9b790eea99975a98, BUFB Data: 0x9b790eee99975a98

Compare MUL :

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0x3d44b1482ecf1488, BUFB Data: 0x27b639782ecf1488

Compare DIV : ok
Compare OR :

FAILURE! Data mismatch at local BUFA address 0x000000014eea5610, BUFB address 0x00000002eb70be10
BUFA Data: 0x7dd4d82047f21fb3, BUFB Data: 0x7dd4d82447f21fb3

Compare AND : ok
Sequential Increment: ok
Solid Bits : ok
Block Sequential : ok
Checkerboard : ok
Bit Spread : setting 2 of 128

-------
What do i do now? Take the RAM back to Micro Center and ask them to replace it?

 

another observation: my MBP has started giving off incredible amounts of heat when memtest is being run on it. Activity Monitor shows that almost all the RAM is being utilized. I am guessing my MBP will be giving off significantly more heat with 16 GB RAM installed rather than 8 GB.

 

memtest works that way, it pushes some parts of the system, and yes your ram is going to be utilizes fully.

I would return the ram, you overpaid it, and are you running in single user mode? sometimes memtest gives that error when not using that mode.

 

This logic is pretty painful to read. You need to do scientific comparison testing without changing more than one variable at a time. Then, the conclusions that you draw need to come from the results of that testing. In this case, you've changed two variables, and then drew a conclusion that disregarded the fact that one of those variables was changed. Otherwise, if you see birds migrating south for the winter, you might decide that all birds only fly south.

If memtest gave you errors, you should replace the memory. I would return it to microcenter. I don't think you'll be able to recover the funds for the service of installing the memory, but you should consider doing it yourself next time, regardless. It takes about 80 seconds. You remove the screws from the bottom plate, take off the plate, swap out the memory, put the plate back on, and replace the screws. It's insanely easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzDxAXKCRHo

 

as per what i read just now increasing the RAM should typically not result in heat increase (unless the RAM is defective):

Heat Control Problems with 16GB Ram? - MacRumors Forums

thanks for the youtube link.

 

no i was not running it in single user mode. will do so soon. thanks for the suggestion.

 

this is just a clarification.
Generally speaking the memory sap your battery per the stick, not per GB. So 2x2GB would be consuming more juice than 1x4GB. That said for dual DDR not having a compatible pair will have a reduce in performance. Most computers now a day do take(if not required) dual DDR. There is also some exception to this, some memory will require little more or less voltage than another. So yes, you should take a notice on them before buying, but if you are buying one from place that is cater toward Mac, it would normally be in similar spec and safe.

 

the computer store is at quite some distance from my place and i really don't want to bother going there again. its $104.62 on amazon.com (i.e. $15 less than what i paid for it).

Also, i tried running memtest in single user mode and this time there were no errors. Thanks.

 

Is there any benefit with 1600 mhz ram on a mid 2011 mbp.

 

depends, are you going to use the HD 3000 to play something? if so, yes; if not, no.

 

And that's not gonna be a significant different, and as far as the system performance goes, it's very depend on whether Apple lock it in the Open Firmware or not.