Identify my MacBook, win a prize!

July 15, 2009 by Dr. Macenstein
Filed under: Free Stuff, MacBook 

[OK, I am giving the prize to James, because he was the first one to actually give me the real model number and RAM capacity in a convincing manner, but thanks to all of you who were nice enough to try to help me. For money. Oddly, the prize is going to cost me almost as much as the RAM.]
:)
OK, normally I don’t like using the mighty power of this site to just ask a self serving question of my readers, but I am well and truly stumped. I am trying to buy RAM for a November 1st, 2007-purchased, 2.0 GHz white MacBook, and for the life of me I cannot figure out which model I have. It currently has 2 GB, and I would like to bump it to 4 GB if possible. I will outline the information I have below, and the first person to convince me of the model I have will win a $20 iTunes gift certificate.

I am planning to buy the RAM through Crucial.com. As you can see below, they list the MacBooks mainly by their Part numbers (although 1 white models has no number).

The odd thing is, I bought this MacBook direct from Apple online, and while I still have the box (complete with 2 dead spiders on it), it lists the Part number as Z0F90000X, where as every other Apple product I have ever bought, including my new MacBook Pro, AirPort Extreme, and even my original iSight camera all list the “MLA” number on the box. A quick Google of Z0F90000X turns up nothing, as does a search for it on Apple’s site. (I suppose if nothing else, at least there now WILL be a Google result for “Z0F90000X”). There is no other part number visible on the device, or under the battery.

The Apple system profiler shows me this:

So we know it is the model MacBook3,1. I used the free utility MacTracker (suggested by faithful Macenstein reader Jay) and it unfortunately turned up 2 results for the white MacBook3,1 model – models MB061LL/B AND MB062LL/B.

The problem is, under “memory and graphics” in Mactracker’s listing on that machine, it says the Maximum RAM is 6GB (Actual) and 4 GB (Apple).

I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but on Crucial.com, 1 of those models says it holds 2 GB of RAM maximum, the other says 4 GB.
Apple-History.com says the late 2007 MacBook can handle 4 GB of RAM, but makes no distinction between any model numbers.

I did a Google search for the MacBook model Z0F9, and came up with an expired MacMall page which lists the tech specs at 4 GB max.

A search on Apple’s support site for Z0F9 returns 1 relevant result, which shows that the Z0F9 model DID exist, and is certified for Snow Leopard, but that’s it.

So, knowing all this, what MacBook do I have, and which RAM selection from Crucial’s drop down will work, if any? Again, I have 2 GB currently, and am hoping to upgrade to 4 GB (if not that mythical 6 GB Mactracker mentioned?)

(Oh, I only can do US iTunes certificates, so if you are from across the pond or such, I guess I’ll just PayPal you $20 for your trouble).

Thanks.

- The Doc

Tags:

Comments

37 Comments on Identify my MacBook, win a prize!

  1. Justin on Wed, 15th Jul 2009 11:19 pm

    2. Looks like you need this one http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=MacBook%202.0GHz%20Intel%20Core%20Duo%20%2813-inch%20White%29

    2.0 GHz White with no model number, Matches the DDR 5300

  2. Paul on Wed, 15th Jul 2009 11:23 pm

    3. I don’t know the model number, but it’s the 2.0 ghz with Intel graphics, then it needs DDR2 800 ram, 4gb. I went with GSkill from Newegg in my mini, and it worked great.

  3. hans ning on Wed, 15th Jul 2009 11:25 pm

    4. when you bought it, was it the top end macbook, or was it on the cheap side? if it was the cheap one, it likely can be upgraded to 4 gb. If you bought an upgraded one, it is likely to have been maxed out already.

  4. Brad on Wed, 15th Jul 2009 11:27 pm

    5. don’t worry about the model number just worry about the ram type it’s PC2 5300 also known as DDR2 667 (Protip: 667 is the frequency that the ram runs at)

  5. Anonymoose on Wed, 15th Jul 2009 11:42 pm

    6. The 800MHz system bus points to the MacBook (13-inch Late 2007) which supports a maximum of 6GB.

  6. Jordan on Wed, 15th Jul 2009 11:51 pm

    7. As Brad said, I think you only need to be sure the RAM is PC 5300 notebook ram, the ram used by apple isnt any different between the models that you may have. As far as up to 6 gigabytes is concerned I think that Apple has an artificial stop at 4 gig. Rather then pay for a four gig stick and a two gig stick its probably wiser to get two 2 gig sticks so they can run in parallel (matched pairs.) Good luck shopping!

  7. Jason on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 12:05 am

    8. http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html

  8. james on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 12:19 am

    9. they reason why there is a “Z” model is because you customized it when you purchased it

    the MB061LL was the 1099 and the MB062LL was the 1299 at the time.
    so choose everone of the those options on the list they will give you the
    your max is 4gb thats all.

    im almost positive that no mac laptop ever supported 6 gigs (they went straight to 8)
    PC2 5300

    I WIN

  9. james on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 12:21 am

    10. they reason why there is a “Z” model is because you customized it when you purchased it

    the MB061LL was the 1099 and the MB062LL was the 1299 at the time.
    so choose one of the those options on the list with either of those model numbers they will gave you.

    your max is 4gb thats all.

    im almost positive that no mac laptop ever supported 6 gigs (they went straight to 8 )
    PC2 5300

  10. bc on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 12:35 am

    11. perhaps try OWC, they also have some upgrade info on these Macbooks

    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/DDR2/

  11. bc on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 12:47 am

    12. p.s. the note there says:

    “**MacBook 1.83GHz*** and 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Models (May/2007) support maximum of 4.0GB memory installed, MacBook 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo ‘Santa Rosa’ (Nov/2007) models support maximum of 6.0GB memory installed.”

    I believe you have the Santa Rosa Core2Duo machine.
    http://lowendmac.com/macbook/macbook-santa-rosa-2007.html
    this also says 6GB max

  12. Phil on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 1:23 am

    13. Intel Core = 2GB, you have Intel Core Duo – up to 4GB as stated here:

    http://www.macmemory.com/mbib.asp

  13. ZxieuS on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 1:54 am

    14. Hi Doc. i believe you have model “Apple MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (13-inch White) MB061LL/B” which supports 4GB of RAM which you bought about the same time as i bought my 2.2GHz Black MacBook which i almost immediately upgraded to 4GB and is a MacBook3,1 as well

  14. Anonymoose on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 1:59 am

    15. The system profiler screenshot clearly shows core 2 duo… :-/

  15. straff on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 2:03 am

    16. go to support.apple.com/specs/#macbook then in search tech specs put in your serial number then that will take you to your specific technical specifications and will give you the model number

  16. straff on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 2:06 am

    17. searching that shows yours is a MB061LL/B as it is a 2.0ghz with an 80gb SATA Drive, A MB062LL/B is a 2.2Ghz with a 120gb HD easy as!

  17. straff on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 2:08 am

    18. also yours should have a combo not a superdrive (unless upgraded) your max is 4gb of 667Mhz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) support.apple.com/kb/SP12

  18. Stupod on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 2:30 am

    19. If you download the Crucial system scanner tool it will correctly identify your machine and show you the ram available for it:
    http://images.crucial.com/drivers/CrucialMacScanner.dmg

    Now, hand over that gift card!

  19. JamesC on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 4:05 am

    20. Stupod has beaten me to the best answer – the scanner works really well and links you straight to the correct product. Highly recommended.

  20. James on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 4:35 am

    21. Yo Doc,

    I just bought 2GB ram for my MacBook Pro for £23 from Crucial, used the scanner Stupod mentions, installed this morning, perfectomundo, now split that voucher!

    :-)

  21. Matthijs on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 4:41 am

    22. http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=MacBook%202.0GHz%20Intel%20Core%202%20Duo%20%2813-inch%20White%29%20MB061LL/B&pl=Apple&cat=RAM

    third screen shot check the order number, it matches one of the numbers at the website.

    it will bring you to a 2gb of ram witch matches all the other data of the ram curently in the laptop

    Module Size: 2GB
    Package: 200-pin SODIMM
    Feature: DDR2 PC2-5300

  22. Stef on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 5:48 am

    23. Doc,

    It’s an Intel “Santa-Rosa” chipset MacBook, which was the first MacBook to be able to support 4GB RAM (the chipset specs support 6GB theoretically, but the rest of the MacBook’s internals can’t handle it and can only address 4GB max.)

    How do I know? It has also almost identical specs to mine, but I got the 2.2GHz one (the 2.0 was the low end, mine was the 2.2 middle, the black was the 2.2 high end):

    Model Identifier: MacBook3,1
    Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
    Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz
    Number Of Processors: 1
    Total Number Of Cores: 2
    L2 Cache: 4 MB
    Memory: 4 GB
    Bus Speed: 800 MHz
    Boot ROM Version: MB31.008E.B02
    SMC Version (system): 1.24f2
    Serial Number (system): W8*********
    Sudden Motion Sensor:
    State: Enabled

    Ars did a review of the black model when they came out:
    http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2007/12/santa-rosa-macbook-review.ars

    More on the chipset:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino#Santa_Rosa_platform_.282007.29

    Good luck with the 4GB.

  23. Mike on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 5:56 am

    24. Forget 6GB – get two identical 2GB PC2 5300 sticks so that you’ll enable the dual channel capabilities of the chipset.

  24. Mikkel on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 6:02 am

    25. Easy-peasy:

    You have the information already.

    Your model is the MB061LL/B that MacTracker mentioned, since the MB062LL/B is 2.16 GHz, and yours is a 2 GHz.

    So you have to choose the “MacBook 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo (13-inch White) MB061LL/B”-option.

    There. I actually answered the question as posed. :-)

  25. Marian Minarik on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 6:27 am

    26. This is your MacBook, it supports 4GB of RAM according to Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/SP12

    If you trust OWC and I suggest you do, it actually supports 6GB:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/5300DDR2S6GP/

  26. Shaun on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 6:32 am

    27. Like someone suggested, maybe you could give OWC a try. I find their process to be very simple when it come to choosing ram.
    I just bought an additional 2GB 2 days ago to upgrade my iMac, and shopping was a breeze.

  27. Marian Minarik on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 6:34 am

    28. Also, to clarify, the part number Z0F90000X suggests it is an Eastern European model, the current MacBook 2.13 White with Slovak keyboard layout has PN: Z0H1000UT/SL

  28. Matt on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 6:53 am

    29. The Z0F9 model number means that the system was a custom build (i.e. you customized either the hardware or software during the order process). This is true for any model number beginning with the letter Z. There’s not too much else you can learn from it.

    All of the MacBook3,1 models use the same RAM, so the previous posters got it right in that respect. DDR2 667MHz SO-DIMM 2×2GB.

  29. brnmbrns on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 7:40 am

    30. Get the kind that goes in your MacBook.
    I win.

  30. Paul on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 7:44 am

    31. I bought the exact same MacBook. You can see my purchase order here (http://www.peejstudio.com/temp/order.jpg) listing the memory. The first thing I did was buy additional 2×2GB 667 DDR2 from NewEgg.

  31. erik on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 8:16 am

    32. MEMORY
    Total Included 1 GB (2×512)
    Maximum Amount 4 GB
    Slots 2
    Matched Pairs recommended (for improved graphics performance)
    Form SO-DIMM (200-pin)
    Speed PC2-5300 – DDR2-667

    http://support.apple.com/kb/SP12

  32. Shawn on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 8:17 am

    33. I never used anything but OWC memory and have never had problems.

    Memory Upgrades for Your Apple MacBook 2.0GHz (13.3-inch Intel Core 2 Duo “Santa Rosa”) – Late 2007:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?sort=pop&model=279&type=Memory&TI=1125&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

  33. victor on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 8:19 am

    34. pc5300 667mhz yeah its just an apple part no. for saying that it was custom configured, all black and white macbooks use this same ram, even the newer ones…

  34. Stupod on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 11:44 am

    35. Did I win or what?

  35. Michael Müller on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 8:48 pm

    36. Use https://www.memory-up.com/ Service ROCKS and they deliver fast and everywhere in the world. PLUS, the search method for a specific memory is awesome.

  36. Stupod on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 5:45 am

    37. Waiting………….

  37. Andrew on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 9:41 am

    38. MB061LL/A is the model you need.

Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!





Contests

Advertisement

  • Categories:

    • Advertisement

    Advertisement