These models do not run versions of OS X prior to OS X 10.7 'Lion. They officially support 8 GB of RAM, but OWC has determined that they actually support 16 GB of RAM regardless of the operating system installed, although only the 'Early 2011' MacBook Pro models are capable of running a version of Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard.'įinally, the 'Mid-2012' non-Retina Display MacBook Pro models use faster still 1600 MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMMs and likewise officially support 8 GB of RAM, but actually can support as much as 16 GB of RAM.

The 'Early 2011' and 'Late 2011' MacBook Pro models use faster 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMMs. If running a version of Mac OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard,' these models only can use 8 GB of RAM. Specifically, as discovered by OWC, the 13-Inch 'Mid-2010' MacBook Pro models (and only the 13-Inch models) - the MacBook Pro 'Core 2 Duo' 2.4 13' Mid-2010 and 'Core 2 Duo' 2.66 13' Mid-2010 identified by MacBookPro7,1 - can support up to 16 GB of RAM with dual 8 GB memory modules if they are running OS X 10.7.5 or higher, have been updated to use the latest EFI, and are equipped with proper specification memory modules. The 'Mid-2009' and 'Mid-2010' MacBook Pro models support 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMMs and officially and unofficially support a maximum of 8 GB of RAM with one odd exception. The 8Gb limit seems to be an Apple supported limit, but many people happily report getting 16Gb working fine - see the memory section in the link as well as this page for details. For another thing, we forgot to test it at 1280x800 before we returned the borrowed unit.To pick a random 13' MBP, such as this one from mid 2012:

For one thing, when we tested it at higher resolutions, it scored essentially the same as the Core i7 model (since they share the same GPU). We included the Core i5 MacBook Pro in the CPU crunch tests but left it out of the GPU tests. If you are on a limited budget, you might consider a used or refurbished 2008 or 2009 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro since its standalone GPU is stronger than the integrated GeForce 320M used in the 2010 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros. The 'mid 2010' Core i5 and Core i7 MacBook Pros are significantly faster than the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Core 2 Duo based MacBook Pros whether crunching with the CPU or stressing with the GPU. MBP 2.60 c2d 15' = 'early 2008' 15' MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz with GeForce 8600M GT (512MB GDDR3)Īll test units had 4GB of SDRAM and were running OS X Snow Leopard. MBP 2.66 c2d 13' = 'mid 2010' 13' MacBooK Pro Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz with GeForce 320M (256MB GDDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory) This MacBook was a significant improvement on the MacBook line (Mid 2009) that it replaced. There is no infrared port and the Apple Remote is not included. Instead, like the 13-inch MacBook Pro, it has a combined audio in/out port.

MBP 2.53 i5 15' = 'mid 2010' 15' MacBook Pro Core i5 2.53GHz with GeForce GT 330M (256MB GDDR3) Yet this MacBook, like its aluminum predecessor, lacks FireWire. LEGEND of GRAPHS ( RED bar means FASTEST )

Max ram macbook pro 13 mid 2010