I got this to upgrade my late 2011 15" MBP (2.2g i7). I originally had 4GB, but it wasn't enough when I'm working on a lot of things have multiple Chrome tabs open, Word, Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, Spotify, and Evernote occasionally. I still had Mountain Lion and wanted to upgrade to Mavericks. Plus, a friend gave me ProTools 10 since I wanted to experiment with recording and editing some music. So, I definitely could use a memory upgrade...
Apple said that that my machine can only only be upgraded up to 8GB, until I read from others that a 16GB works. Then I went to the Crucial site, ran their memory advisor, and this kit came up on top of the result. Before purchasing, I've read some opinions that the difference between a 16GB and an 8GB is hardly noticeable. However, since I plan on eventually replacing my HD with a SSD, and just for about $60 more, I just went for this 16GB kit. Much cheaper and less hassle in the long run if you plan on upgrading to 16GB later. I don't know about you, but I prefer to have same size ram for each of the slots, which is also recommended anyway...
And did I mention it was SUPER easy to install? Just follow the instructions on the Apple site and make sure everything's properly inserted as there's kind of a trick to it (you'll hear a click/snap that tells you it's in). I guess my only advice is to be gentle from when you open the case to removing the old memory, especially on the first time. There are times when it feels like something won't budge. Instead of going full force, just gradually increase pressure and you might have to wiggle some stuff a bit. It also helps to have the right tools, especially if you don't want to void your warranty...
So, with the 16GB memory and a clean install of OS X Mavericks, my MBP runs 3/4 times faster. Adobe CS apps load within 3 seconds and there's no lag when switching in between apps. I've had the memory kit installed for about 3 months now, and I never had any problems, nor have my machine get really loud (and sometimes hot) when running intensive applications. I'm a happy panda so far!
| RAM | 8 GB DDR3^SODIMM |
|---|---|
| Memory Speed | 1333 MHz |
