Would upgrading the hard drive and/or ram in a 2010 15" MBP affect my applecare warranty? Assuming I don't break anything in the process of course. I'm considering upgrading to 8 gb of ram and an ssd, but I have a year left on my warranty.
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applecare and replacing hard drive and ram
- Thread starter Freyqq
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Upgrading RAM and HDD will not void the warranty, Apple even includes instructions in their User Guides for the Unibody MBP models.
MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD
the guide includes:
the guide includes:
- 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
- 1. Getting a new HDD
- 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
- 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
- 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)
Great. Just checking.
I was also wondering if anyone has any experience with the Intel G2 X25-M 160GB ssd in their MBP, as that's probably the one I'd use.
It's OKAY... but I don't know that's I'd recommend it. I just put an OCZ Agility 3 into my system and love it. People have also been racing about the Samsung 830s (I think)... And OWC makes some good SSDs.
What's wrong with that intel? It's a generation older, but the 2010 MBP only has SATA II anyway so it wouldn't benefit from SATA III on the newer SSDs.
That Intel drive is one of the most reliable drives around, just not a current model as you said. If you can get a good price on it, there is no reason not to get one.
Then only downside at all might be that a newer SATA III would be faster if you ever moved it to a new Macbook in the future. If that is not a concern... go for it.
There is no problem swapping hard drives and memory. Btw, Intel SSD are just perfect 
However, I would strongly recommend you to keep the original hard drives and memory. In case, you do not have it they might refuse to repair your machine (I had this bad experience at the genius bar).
However, I would strongly recommend you to keep the original hard drives and memory. In case, you do not have it they might refuse to repair your machine (I had this bad experience at the genius bar).
Well... every generation of SSDs gets better, speed and more importantly, reliability. Since it's at such an early stage of development (SSDs in general), each generation seems to have vast improvements. (Think early stages of iPods, DSLRs or anything really)
That being said, I only say I wouldn't recommend it (not that I'd recommend against it)... because I've used several Intel SSDs before and they weren't anything spectacular... I feel like my OCZ Agility 3 has outperformed the Intels I've used.
There is no problem swapping hard drives and memory. Btw, Intel SSD are just perfect
However, I would strongly recommend you to keep the original hard drives and memory. In case, you do not have it they might refuse to repair your machine (I had this bad experience at the genius bar).
Wait..so do you have to bring the old ram and hd with you during repairs? Confused..
No, but depends on what the problem is.. It's not uncommon to be sent back home from the Genius bar for issues that they believe are caused by your 3rd party memory or hard drive. It's just really to be able to say... "see, it even happens with all the original stuff inside".
I've been very lucky with all my Macs & haven't had any major failures. But I have gone to the genius bar a couple of times with friends. Both visits concered two different MBP's with problems.
Each of them had user installed ram & hard drives. In both cases the genius involved with repairs was courteous, easy going, and only kept the laptops for a few days.
That's excellent, especially considering how busy this large Apple store is. Just proves that AppleCare is certainly worth it.
Each of them had user installed ram & hard drives. In both cases the genius involved with repairs was courteous, easy going, and only kept the laptops for a few days.
That's excellent, especially considering how busy this large Apple store is. Just proves that AppleCare is certainly worth it.