Computers, Laptops & Tablets > Apple MacBook Upgrade Guide Upgrade Your 2006-2015 MacBook By Tom Nelson Tom Nelson Facebook Twitter Writer Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 2, 2020 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Find Your MacBook Model Number RAM Upgrades for MacBooks Storage Upgrades for MacBooks Early 2006 MacBook Late 2006 and Mid 2007 MacBooks Late 2007 MacBook 2008 Polycarbonate MacBook Late 2008 Unibody MacBook Early and Mid 2009 Polycarbonate MacBooks Late 2009 Unibody MacBook Mid 2010 Unibody MacBook Early 2015 12-inch MacBook With Retina Display Pre-2010 MacBooks are some of the easiest Macs to upgrade with more memory or a larger hard drive. The only disappointment is that the MacBook has only two memory slots. Depending on the model, you can add a maximum of 2, 4, 6, or 8 GB. You may also need to acquire small Philips and Torx screwdrivers to complete the upgrades. Check the user guide for your model, via the links below, for the screwdriver sizes you'll need. If your MacBook is a newer model (i.e., 2015 and later), then your upgrade path is restricted to external devices, such as additional external storage space. Find Your MacBook Model Number The first thing you need is your MacBook model number. Here's how to find it: From the Apple menu, select About This Mac. Click the System Report button. Click More Info in older versions of the Mac operating system. The System Profiler window opens, listing your MacBook's configuration. With the Hardware category highlighted in the left column, make a note of the Model Identifier entry. Close the System Profiler. 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 Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit