MacBook – 32gb of RAM on a 2011 or 2012 15/17-inch MacBook Pro using Crucial’s 16gb single DIMMs

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As far as I can tell, that appears to be the correct RAM for the MBP, correct?
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC3L-12800-SODIMM-CT204864BF160B/dp/B0123BRIDK

Has anyone tried this 32gb option on their 2011 or 2012 15-inch MacBook Pro?
IIRC the two higher-tier Early 2011, Late 2011, and Mid 2012 Unibody 15-inch (and 2011 17-inch) models support 32gb theoretically.

For example, the processor specs suggest 32gb over two slots is possible, but I'm not sure if the logic board would pose a limit or not…Apple says 16gb is the max, but I think much of that material was created before a single 16gb DDR3l DIMM existed.
https://ark.intel.com/products/52227/Intel-Core-i7-2820QM-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

Best Answer

I doubt it would work. Macs are picky about RAM, and the RAM you listed isn't what is specified by Apple. Apple requires DDR3 RAM. You have listed DDR3L RAM. It's an easy mistake to make. DDR3L is low-power RAM, requiring 1.35V instead of 1.5V. It is very possible that the RAM will not be compatible.

Also, officially, Apple says that the MBP only supports 8GB RAM. However, it is widely recognized that the MBP can support 16GB RAM.

Why wouldn't it support 32GB? Because while 16GB DDR3L RAM sticks are available, 16GB DDR3 RAM sticks don't exist. There is no such thing as a 16GB RAM stick that matches Apple's specifications (PC3-12800 DDR3 1600 MHz type 204-pin RAM).

Edit: Although crucial says that the 16 GB RAM stick can be used in place of DDR3, it says it is not compatible with the Mac: enter image description here