With Apple’s new machine releases, we’re hard at work in the OWC Test Labs seeing just how fast we can make the machines go.

Our first machine that we’re looking at is the October 2009 2.26GHz MacBook.  This machine is pretty tight on the inside – meaning there isn’t much extra unnecessary space inside.  Like the iPod and iPhone, conservation of space seems to be a high-priority of Apple’s design teams.  So even though the machine is lighter and sleeker, it does pose some drawbacks in upgrading.  This Macbook has no problem running either a 5400rpm, 7200rpm or SSD drive for the fastest speeds, however; the physical height of the drive is limited to the 9.5mm form factor.  The 12.5mm drives are too tall to fit in the space provided.

I should reiterate that point.  The drive doesn’t officially fit.  Sure, we were able to cram it in, and screw the cover closed (with a little bowing of the bottom) but we don’t suggest or will support actually running the drive this way.  Too much physical pressure on a drive can certainly contribute to early drive failure – it’s just not worth risking your data or the expense of a warranty compromised drive.

We’re pleased to announce our findings that our OWC brand memory certainly takes the cake in these machines!  While Apple lists 4GB as the maximum amount of installable memory, our 8GB memory kit OWC8566DDR3S8GP is now tested and fully certified for the full 8GB utilization – a real performance benefit for memory intensive application loads. While we were at it, we also tested another brand 8GB memory kit and found it consistently caused kernel panics and non-boot issues. Now to be fair, we didn’t go deep into troubleshooting and determine if one or both of the other brand’s modules had a bad chip, pin, etc. What we’re stressing here is even if tech specs are the same, we recommend you make sure the product you are buying does list complete specs and testing parameters, including performance benchmarks, so you can make the best informed purchase decision.

When we talk about how OWC brand memory meets or exceeds all Apple requirements for memory, it’s not just idle chatter or marketing-speak. Our on-premise testing lab enables us to physically confirm this fact for every machine listed in our compatibility charts.  Then, we back our quality assurance with a lifetime warranty.  How can you go wrong?