New MacBook Pro laptops and RAM.
June 14, 2012 6:19 AM Subscribe
Do the new mid 2012, non-Retina Display, MacBook Pro laptops have user replaceable/upgradable RAM and Hard Drives? I can't find a source stating for sure one way or the other.
I came in to say what davextreme and procrastination said, then spotted that you said non-Retina models. Ha.
In that case, they do indeed. 16GB RAM (1600MHz, rather than the previous 1333MHz, I think), and whatever standard SATA hard drive/SSD you can get your hands on.
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 6:31 AM on June 14, 2012 [3 favorites]
In that case, they do indeed. 16GB RAM (1600MHz, rather than the previous 1333MHz, I think), and whatever standard SATA hard drive/SSD you can get your hands on.
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 6:31 AM on June 14, 2012 [3 favorites]
They're considered to be the least user-upgradeable or -serviceable laptops ever made.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:45 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by zombieflanders at 6:45 AM on June 14, 2012
The Apple Support Manuals should confirm what jaffacakerhubarb is saying above, but for some reason the two for the Mid 2012 models are corrupted when I try download them. Maybe someone else can give this a shot?
posted by jroybal at 6:45 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by jroybal at 6:45 AM on June 14, 2012
Response by poster: jroybal I downloaded the quickstart guides and they made no mention of upgrading anything it's more of a "Here's what software Apple has included." The full manuals, if they include the info, haven't been posted online yet.
posted by Science! at 6:47 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by Science! at 6:47 AM on June 14, 2012
The iFixit teardown guides are a pretty good source for this sort of info.
They seem to suggest that it is possible to replace the ram in the non-retina ones, although it's not exactly easy. but at least the chips aren't soldered in.
posted by Wretch729 at 6:49 AM on June 14, 2012
They seem to suggest that it is possible to replace the ram in the non-retina ones, although it's not exactly easy. but at least the chips aren't soldered in.
posted by Wretch729 at 6:49 AM on June 14, 2012
If you have an Apple Store nearby with display models, one way to check is to look at the screws. The Geniuses should also know. If they are regular Phillips, then there are user-serviceable parts inside. If they're Pentalobe (like on the Retina model), then no.
For what it's worth, the immediate predecessor model has a user-serviceable hard drive and RAM, and the design does not appear to have changed with the recent Ivy Bridge models.
posted by jedicus at 6:59 AM on June 14, 2012
For what it's worth, the immediate predecessor model has a user-serviceable hard drive and RAM, and the design does not appear to have changed with the recent Ivy Bridge models.
posted by jedicus at 6:59 AM on June 14, 2012
You're getting conflicting advice here, mostly because people think you're talking about the new retina laptop. Unless they radically changed the inside of the normal MBP (which I doubt), they absolutely do have user replaceable hard drives and RAM. I've replaced both the hard drive and RAM in mine, and although it isn't a new one, the guts look just like the guides Wretch729 posted. The replacement was a pretty simple affair, as long as you have the right screwdriver. iFixit sells everything you would need.
posted by deansfurniture5 at 7:54 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by deansfurniture5 at 7:54 AM on June 14, 2012
Yeah, I totally read the question wrong. Ignore my answer.
posted by procrastination at 8:10 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by procrastination at 8:10 AM on June 14, 2012
The Apple support page for installing memory in a MacBook Pro does indicate that the Mid-2012 models have user-replaceable memory.
Apple historically hasn't considered MacBook Pro hard drives to be user-replaceable - the hard drives in Apple's "pro" laptops have been somewhat to very difficult to replace ever since the introduction of the titanium PowerBook. As such, it will be difficult to get positive confirmation from Apple regarding the viability of user replacement of the drives in the 2012 non-Retinas. I would be surprised, however, if there was a major change in the way that hard drives were connected or secured in the 2012 non-Retina units, but to be sure, you should ultimately wait for the iFixit teardown to be released.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:15 AM on June 14, 2012
Apple historically hasn't considered MacBook Pro hard drives to be user-replaceable - the hard drives in Apple's "pro" laptops have been somewhat to very difficult to replace ever since the introduction of the titanium PowerBook. As such, it will be difficult to get positive confirmation from Apple regarding the viability of user replacement of the drives in the 2012 non-Retinas. I would be surprised, however, if there was a major change in the way that hard drives were connected or secured in the 2012 non-Retina units, but to be sure, you should ultimately wait for the iFixit teardown to be released.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:15 AM on June 14, 2012
Apple historically hasn't considered MacBook Pro hard drives to be user-replaceable - the hard drives in Apple's "pro" laptops have been somewhat to very difficult to replace ever since the introduction of the titanium PowerBook.
The Unibody Pros are pretty easy to get into, and the drive is considered by Apple to be user-replaceable. It requires removing about a dozen screws. A little tedious, but comparable to most PC laptops. Frankly I wish they'd stuck with the access panel on the 2008 Unibody Macbook, but oh well.
The pre-Unibody Pro design: ugh, yes. Changing the drive required Phillips and Torx screwdrivers, removing about two dozen screws, and fiddling with fragile cables.
posted by jedicus at 8:27 AM on June 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
The Unibody Pros are pretty easy to get into, and the drive is considered by Apple to be user-replaceable. It requires removing about a dozen screws. A little tedious, but comparable to most PC laptops. Frankly I wish they'd stuck with the access panel on the 2008 Unibody Macbook, but oh well.
The pre-Unibody Pro design: ugh, yes. Changing the drive required Phillips and Torx screwdrivers, removing about two dozen screws, and fiddling with fragile cables.
posted by jedicus at 8:27 AM on June 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
I've changed the drive in a pre-unibody MBP. It's certainly tedious, but not really as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I wouldn't want to do it every day, but if you've got a real need to do it and you're reasonably handy with electronic innards, I wouldn't shy away from it. They're just screws.
posted by Caviar at 9:25 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by Caviar at 9:25 AM on June 14, 2012
Yes, you can upgrade both the RAM and HD (see last picture).
posted by inviolable at 11:48 AM on June 14, 2012
posted by inviolable at 11:48 AM on June 14, 2012
So - in my opinion - no Mac laptops have any "user-replaceable" components.
I've been upgrading PC laptops for decades - never a problem. (Heck, just last weekend I stripped a Dell XPS down to it's components, and put it back together again without a single problem...)
When I got my first MacBook Pro last year, well... Let's just say that my fat-fingers were too much for it... I ended up having to pay an independant Mac-repair specialist to fix everything... (broken drive cable, broken power cable, ummm... shorted motherboard...)
So - now in the next couple of weeks, when I finally do go to SSD drives - the first thing I am going to do, is call-up my Mac-repair specialist before I go poking around again...
posted by jkaczor at 8:35 AM on June 17, 2012
I've been upgrading PC laptops for decades - never a problem. (Heck, just last weekend I stripped a Dell XPS down to it's components, and put it back together again without a single problem...)
When I got my first MacBook Pro last year, well... Let's just say that my fat-fingers were too much for it... I ended up having to pay an independant Mac-repair specialist to fix everything... (broken drive cable, broken power cable, ummm... shorted motherboard...)
So - now in the next couple of weeks, when I finally do go to SSD drives - the first thing I am going to do, is call-up my Mac-repair specialist before I go poking around again...
posted by jkaczor at 8:35 AM on June 17, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by davextreme at 6:25 AM on June 14, 2012