1600MHz RAM on a Late 2011 MacBook Pro?

Hey Rudolfensis,

I realise this is an old thread but I was considering a RAM upgrade, I have a 13 inch i7 late 2011 model macbook pro. Should 1600 DDR3 RAM be compatible with my gear from your experience?

I can confirm that the OWC 1600 DDR3L memory kit works just fine. Any nonsense about the memory down clocking is just misinformation. The machine gets about 14% faster memory on Geekbench and about 3 % on overall system performance. It will also run a tiny bit cooler. Given that I would not have bought 1600 mhz memory just for the fun of it. I only bought because I had a stick of the 1333 go bad.

Thanks for the update on this. I was doing Geekbench benchmarks and found this profile:

https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/1046173

Notice the 2133 MHZ RAM installed on that unit. Clearly, he's able to boot and run his Mac and run all Geekbench 4 tests.

So given the 32GB theoretical limit of the i7 processor (http://ark.intel.com/products/53474/Intel-Core-i7-2760QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-t o-3_50-GHz?q=2760QM, real-life data that 2133 MHZ will work in a Late 2011 MBP, and that 1600 MHZ offers about a 2% overall system performance increase, I wonder what kind of performance increase a 32GB 2133 MHZ RAM upgrade would give the late 2011 MBP, especially the 17" (post GPU thermal issue fix).

I'm tempted to test it out and TOFTT, but I can't find where to buy that 2133 MHZ 204-pin RAM. Any suggestions?

A relevant thread I found:

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/269473/32gb-of-ram-on-a-2011-or-2012-15 -17-inch-macbook-pro-using-crucials-16gb…

Hm..

https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/01/macbook-pro-16gb-32gb-ram/

I know this thread is 5 years old, but wanted to add this link that shows what performance increase can be expected by upgrading. The link refers to the 2011 MacBook pro with 1333mhz ram. It has been noted elsewhere in the thread that using 1600mhz adds 2-3% performance, obviously negligible for most users. I ran the 16gb 1600mhz for a while in my 2011 i7 2.4ghz and have gone back to my 8gb 1333mhz and see no difference except in large file Photoshop work, [which I rarely do], so the 16gb will go in the next 2012 pro I buy. Here is the link: http://www.macworld.com/article/2034655/lab-tested-the-ramifications-of-addition al-memory-on-a-mac.html

Putting my money where my mouth is.....

Can anyone here help me with this https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6884995 ?

Its kinda urgent. Your response will be much appriciated.

Thanks.

The specifications for a 2011 MBP RAM are: 204-pin PC-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM. It may not be seated correctly or it simply is incompatible with your MBP due to the frequency mismatch,.

Ciao.

Hello,

I found the solution, the MacBook Pro is not around 2011, but Mid-2009 ... bought in feb 2010.

The RAM may not be compatible with the MDP.

Thanks,

Arnaud

<Link Edited By Host>

It would certainly help if you could learn how to use the quote button, it's really quite simple. It's not any more difficult than the spell checker.

There is a 20% increase in memory speed, but that does not translate into a 20% overall speed increase, maybe a 3% increase in overall speed wil result, and that is virtually invisible.

I am running 16GB of 1600 MHz RAM in a late 2011 17" MBP since Oct-2012 with no issues.

Soon we should be seeing 32GB in these MBPs too!

http://www.intelligentmemory.com/dram-modules/ddr3-so-dimm/

Nope, the late 2011 17" MBP at 2.4 GHz (2760QM) is capable of 32 GB RAM!

http://ark.intel.com/products/53474/Intel-Core-i7-2760QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-t o-3_50-GHz?q=2760QM

Bring it, as you know, RAM prices fall over time -- new options for previous hardware is always a nice suprise!

I have it on good word that OWC is looking into this too! 😉