$150 for 512 Mb RAM on a Mac Mini?!

[mcmillan]

I bought a nice 1.25 Ghz Mac Mini with 256 RAM more than a month ago. Suddenly, I started realizing that it needed more RAM. "512 Mb seems enough" I though, so I started saving money for RAM, and also AirPort and Bluetooth. The online store said it costed $75 for 512 Mb RAM, and $100 for an Airport+Bluetooth combo. So it seemed clear to me that it was going to cost $150 plus an installation fee. I took my Mac Mini to the Clarendon Apple Store in Arlington, VA. A young guy, which seemed new, told me that the Airport+Bluetooth combo costed $100 (which was what I expected), but then hi told me that the 512 Mb RAM was going to cost $150 plus $30 (installation fee). I was like "what the f*ck???!, but on the online store it says $75 for 512 Mb RAM". His explanation was that when you order online they keep the 256 Mb RAM, but in the store they return you the old RAM. I walked out the store very sad, his explanation made sense, but still... $280 for RAM, AP, and BT, that's too much, it's more than half the price of the computer, and all the magazines that I've read say that 512 Mb cost $75.

I have though about some alternatives, please, somebody tell me which is the best one.

a. Call a different store, and check if that was the right price.
b. Buy a 3rd party memory (~$60) and install it by myself (I have no experience on installing memory, and... is it going to breake the warranty?) I would have to take the Mac Mini to the store anyway to have BT and AP installed.
c. Pay $280 as the guy said.

If you have any other suggestion, please tell me.

Thanks on advance.

 

[Patriotsv4]

I think it would be possible for you to buy your own memory and then take it to the Apple Store and ask if they can install it.

 

[mcmillan]

I think it would be possible for you to buy your own memory and then take it to the Apple Store and ask if they can install it.

I suggested that, but the same guy said no (Again, since he looked new, he might have been wrong)

 

[Sun Baked]

Yes, it is $75 if you BTO the machine -- but neither is Apple obligated to offer you the same price if you decide to upgrade the memory much later.

 

[wordmunger]

Here's a good article on how to upgrade the Mini's RAM. Doesn't seem to hard to me--easier, say, than upgrading the HD on a cube. But everyone has their threshold of what they're willing to do. If it was me, I'd do it myself (note from the article: better to do it BEFORE getting internal bluetooth!)

 

[budaapple]

salesman is correct

Apple uses a high quality ram and therefore it is priced accordingly. You can buy an altenate and take it in and there is a small charge which I believe is $30. If you buy ram from the store as far as I know there should never be a charge to install it. DO NOT attempt to do it yourself for it is nowhere near as easy as it is on a laptop or PM. Good Luck!

 

[mkrishnan]

Apple uses a high quality ram and therefore it is priced accordingly. You can buy an altenate and take it in and there is a small charge which I believe is $30. If you buy ram from the store as far as I know there should never be a charge to install it. DO NOT attempt to do it yourself for it is nowhere near as easy as it is on a laptop or PM. Good Luck!

While this is true to some extent, it's also simply true that Apple uses memory as a profit driver. Memory from good sources is available at less than half that price. Now I don't have a Mini, but looking at that article, and having done enough hardware installation to kinda know, I totally agree with budaapple that if you have never installed RAM, the Mini is *not* the place to start.

However, if you have a friend who is familiar with doing this sort of thing, getting her/him to do it for you with the help of the website posted above is probably quite feasible. I bet buying a putty knife and buying them dinner will cost less than paying for installation!

 

[JzzTrump22]

Just send it out to apple. That way you only have to pay the 75$

 

[Abstract]

I'd buy the RAM, take it to the Apple Store, and get the BT plus Airport combo and nicely ask them if they could just install the RAM while they're in there. They're probably nice enough to do it for free, but if they don't, its just a small charge.

I think they'd do it for free, because the only other alternative is for them to look you in the eye, put the lid back on the Mini, and tell you "NO!"

 

[grapes911]

I think they'd do it for free, because the only other alternative is for them to look you in the eye, put the lid back on the Mini, and tell you "NO!"

And if you put on a puppy dog face (or a ***** cat face in this case) they can't say no.

 

[zap2]

thsi same thing happened to me when i bought my gig of ram,and i could not have a larger harddrive installed,but no waiting time

 

[ellisongs]

I upgraded the hard drive and Ram in my mini. It was a pretty quick and easy job. All you need is a small screwdriver and a thin putty knife. I can't remember where I ordered my memory from but I only paid $136.00 for 1 Gig and it has had no issues in the month plus that it has been in use.