Find Your MacBook Model Number
The first thing you need is your MacBook model number. Here’s how to find it:
RAM Upgrades For MacBooks
Upgrading a MacBook’s memory is generally one of the easiest upgrades you can do. All MacBooks have two RAM slots; you can expand RAM to as high as 8 GB, depending on which MacBook model you have.
Storage Upgrades For MacBooks
Thankfully, Apple has made replacing the hard drive in most MacBooks an easy process. You can use just about any SATA I, SATA II, or SATA III hard drive in any of the laptops. Be aware that there are some storage size restrictions: 500 GB on most of the plastic 2008 and earlier MacBook models and 1 TB on the more recent 2009 and later models. While the 500 GB restriction seems to be correct, some users have successfully installed 750 GB drives. The 1 TB restriction may be artificially imposed, based only on currently available notebook hard drive sizes at the time they were built.
Early 2006 MacBook
Model identifier: MacBook 1,1 Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 200-pin PC2-5300 DDR2 (667 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 2 GB total. Use matched pairs of 1 GB per memory slot. Hard drive type: SATA I 2.5-inch hard drive; SATA II drives are compatible. Hard drive size supported: Up to 500 GB Early 2006 MacBook User Guide MacBook Battery Replacement Guide Memory and Hard Drive Installation Video
Late 2006 and Mid 2007 MacBooks
Model identifier: MacBook 2,1; late 2006 and mid 2007 models Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 200-pin PC2-5300 DDR2 (667 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 3 GB total. Use matched pairs of 2 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 2 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA I 2.5-inch hard drive; SATA II drives are compatible. Hard drive size supported: Up to 500 GB. Late 2006 MacBook User Guide Mid 2007 MacBook User Guide MacBook Battery Replacement Guide Hard Drive Replacement Guide Memory and Hard Drive Installation Video
Late 2007 MacBook
Model identifier: MacBook 3,1; late 2007 Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 200-pin PC2-5300 DDR2 (667 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 6 GB total. Use matched pairs of 4 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 4 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA I 2.5-inch hard drive; SATA II drives are compatible. Hard drive size supported: Up to 500 GB Late 2007 MacBook User Guide MacBook Battery Replacement Guide Hard Drive Replacement Guide Memory and Hard Drive Installation Video
2008 Polycarbonate MacBook
Model identifier: MacBook 4,1; polycarbonate case models 2008 Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 200-pin PC2-5300 DDR2 (667 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 6 GB total. Use matched pairs of 4 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 4 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA I 2.5-inch hard drive; SATA II drives are compatible. Hard drive size supported: Up to 500 GB 2008 Polycarbonate MacBook User Guide MacBook Battery Replacement Guide Hard Drive Replacement Guide Memory and Hard Drive Installation Video
Late 2008 Unibody MacBook
Model identifier: MacBook 5,1; polycarbonate case models 2008 Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 204-pin PC3-8500 DDR3 (1066 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 6 GB total. Use matched pairs of 4 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 4 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA II 2.5-inch hard drive Hard drive size supported: Up to 1 TB Late 2008 Unibody MacBook User Guide Hard Drive Installation Guide Memory Installation Video
Early and Mid 2009 Polycarbonate MacBooks
Model identifier: MacBook 5,2; polycarbonate case models 2009 Memory slots: 2 Memory type (early 2009): 200-pin PC2-5300 DDR2 (667 MHz) SO-DIMM Memory type (mid 2009): 200-pin PC2-6400 DDR2 (800 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 6 GB total. Use matched pairs of 4 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 4 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA I 2.5-inch hard drive; SATA II drives are compatible. Hard drive size supported: Up to 1 TB Early 2009 Polycarbonate MacBook User Guide MacBook Battery Replacement Guide Hard Drive Replacement Guide Memory and Hard Drive Installation Video
Late 2009 Unibody MacBook
Model identifier: MacBook 6,1; polycarbonate case models 2009 Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 204-pin PC3-8500 DDR3 (1066 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 6 GB total. Use matched pairs of 4 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 4 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA II 2.5-inch hard drive Hard drive size supported: Up to 1 TB Late 2009 Unibody MacBook User Guide Hard Drive Installation Guide Memory Installation Video
Mid 2010 Unibody MacBook
Model identifier: MacBook 6,1; polycarbonate case models 2010 Memory slots: 2 Memory type: 204-pin PC3-8500 DDR3 (1066 MHz) SO-DIMM Maximum memory supported: 8 GB total. Use matched pairs of 4 GB per memory slot. Apple officially supports only 4 GB of RAM in these models. Hard drive type: SATA II 2.5-inch hard drive Hard drive size supported: Up to 1 TB Mid 2010 Unibody MacBook User Guide Hard Drive Installation Guide Memory Installation Video
Early 2015 12-inch MacBook With Retina Display
Model identifier: MacBook 8,1; aluminum unibodyMemory slots: none (8 GB RAM soldered to motherboard)Maximum memory supported: 8 GB total. Drive type: PCIe Flash storageDrive size supported: 256 GB, 512 GB
