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Does this Macbook Pro have a fused HD, or can I change it?

E

eddie69

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 7, 2015
4
0
Hi,

I've never had a Mac before, and I'm interested in buying a Macbook, because Apple probably make the best laptops in the world... However, I'm a little confused.

I know there are some models where you can change the HD (voiding the warranty), and some where the HD is "fused" to the motherboard (or something).

I'm thinking of buying THIS:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/F...-26ghz-dual-core-intel-i5-with-retina-display

BTW, on my current PC, I have about 128 gig for my system partition. I do understand how small it is. But I should be able to install all the software I need.

However, I would like there to be some upgrade potential after the warranty finishes. How can I tell if this mac has the fuesd hard drive type or not?

Any help would be really appreciated. Apple don't seem to advertise the model numbers, so it's really hard to tell what you are buying. I find it really confusing.

Thanks,
 
Well, I wanted to buy refurbished, so I don't have the flexibility. Also, I'd want to upgrade the HD in 2 or 3 years time when SSDs are cheaper.

From my understanding, at the moment, you can only change the HD of a late 2012 early 2013 pro retina, and anything after this is not really possible at the moment. Is this correct?
 
Correct. Apple use a PCIe connected SSD that has a proprietary connection.

Buy the laptop with the correct spec if possible.

At the moment the only option appears to be obtaining an Apple SSD via somewhere unofficial like eBay. OWC might come up with something given time but you'll end up paying a premium over standard SATA type SSD.
 
Thanks to both of you for taking the time to reply.

Yeah, I basically wanted confirmation on this, since I was confused. Now I understand. It's about the proprietary connection. I read something about this before. So I think Samsung make the SSDs for apple, and they are pretty expensive. I'll look into getting it with a larger hard disk.

Thank you all so much!
 
eddie69 said:
Thanks to both of you for taking the time to reply.

Yeah, I basically wanted confirmation on this, since I was confused. Now I understand. It's about the proprietary connection. I read something about this before. So I think Samsung make the SSDs for apple, and they are pretty expensive. I'll look into getting it with a larger hard disk.

Thank you all so much!
Click to expand...

At the moment you CAN upgrade, but it has to be through eBay with parts pulled from other machines. Oh, and it's prohibitively expensive to do so.

If you want brand new stuff, you have to get it at purchase.
 
blooperz said:
Fused? Nope. Harddrives in all macs are user replaceable. Depending on what year your model is they may or may not be available.

Check OWC.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-2012-Drive-Internal-Flash

That one covers rmbp 2012- early 2013

550USD for a 1tb SSD isn't too bad, and OWC is a reputable seller.

Still some time before they release the 2014 version though I would think
Click to expand...
Yep, that's already been covered.
rMBPs' SSDs are replaceable, but there are no PCIe based SSDs available other then used ones being pulled from MBPs being sold on ebay. Given that we're in 2015 now and the PCIe based SSDs came out in 2013, I'd say there's less and less chance we'll see one roll out for reasons I'm unaware of
 
This has all been super useful in clarifying all the information online.

Thank you all so much.
 
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