iMac Pro's RAM Can Only Be Upgraded by Apple or Authorized Service Provider

[ike1707]

Coming to Mac from the PC Master Race and building my own rigs, I would rather void the warranty and perform a iMac DIY teardown for repairs and upgrades than use Apple's costly and time consuming authorized dealer.

I understand the sentiment, but it doesn't cost much, and this machine doesn't differ from at least the last 5 years of iMacs. I took my 2013 27" in to my local shop with a Samsung SSD and the necessary ram to max it out and got it back for 50 or 60 bucks. Everything works perfectly and now my machine is maxed out.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

This is like buying a car with a sealed engine compartment...
And sealed everything to the point of not even being able to replace brake pads.

 

[dumastudetto]

The whole design of this thing is a show-off of why the current Apple is against the traditional Mac Pro concept. The current Apple wants to be in control of your choices and moves. The traditional Mac Pro put you in control, and Apple cannot permit that anymore. The only hope for the promised “modular Mac Pro” is that this weird thing fails like the cylinder. And still... what will the current Apple mean by “modular”?

Have they even promised a modular Mac Pro?

Apple has said they are going to replace the Mac Pro with something that is easier to upgrade. The question do they mean the customer, or easier for Apple themselves to update with newer processors and technology in future years? The redesigned Mac Pro had a lot of thermal challenges that made it very difficult for Apple to refresh with newer models. So they could easily have been referring to easier for themselves to upgrade.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Also, for a computer that costs as much as a new car, I would expect at least a 5-year warranty, plus the option to extend it another 5 years.

 

[Tech198]

This is like buying a car with a sealed engine compartment...
And sealed everything to the point of not even being able to replace brake pads.

Well, we are moving to that with all integrated computer parts these days in cars.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Another day and another thread full of people injecting one-off comments. We get it that this machine is too expensive for you. We get it that you can't comprehend why someone would need this machine. We get it that you don't understand that some things in an iMac are in-fact user replaceable.

But guess what? There are those of us that do need a machine like this and we're more than willing to pay for it (in a nano-second) and we are not bothered at all by the cost. So please quit cluttering up thread after thread with comments that are not applicable to the conversation at hand.

Back to the RAM part of this conversation. It will be interesting to see if prices come down in the next few months due to the increased demand. I for one, will be upgrading the RAM myself.

 

[sdz]

What a piece of junk.

 

[gugy]

I know the iMac is not cheap and these upgrades too but if you are making a living out of these computers you can recoup that investment pretty quickly. I am a freelance motion designer and I would not take too long to pay the investment of buying a computer that can make my work faster and more efficient. Also you can always deduct as business expense.
The normal iMac is a pretty good kick ass machine if you can't afford the Pro version.
People just love to bitch about everything. I am just happy to know Apple is still investing on the Mac platform and the displays and Mac Pro are coming next.

 

[ZMacintosh]

I don't get it; what's the reason behind this change? Surely they should make a Pro machine MORE upgradeable, not less.

they do not use so-dimm modules and have different thermal internals, so the RAM is not in the spot as the non-iMac Pro. the site has an internal graphic of the design.

I'm not sure why this would upset or bother anyone...Apple has had Pro computers, but never been pro-upgrade your stuff exclusively, some products here and there yes.

I think its a fantastic machine. the standard iMac is powerful itself, its amazing they can pack all that power into a slim bezel 5K display

 

[coolfactor]

With this machine, you DEFINITELY need to have a robust backup strategy!

 

[Plutonius]

So iMac Pro less user upgradeable then iMac? Weird choice.

You will most likely see the lack of easy RAM access in any future iMacs. The iMac Pro is just the first.

 

[Baymowe335]

People who don't want to pay $2400 for 96GB of RAM.

Again, I can guarantee you it’s DIMM factor. You won’t get 32GB on 1 DIMM so you’re comparing apples and oranges.

 

[Marx55]

Apple should stop abusing users.

 

[coolfactor]

The whole design of this thing is a show-off of why the current Apple is against the traditional Mac Pro concept. The current Apple wants to be in control of your choices and moves. The traditional Mac Pro put you in control, and Apple cannot permit that anymore. The only hope for the promised “modular Mac Pro” is that this weird thing fails like the cylinder. And still... what will the current Apple mean by “modular”?

I think it's more than that. User upgradeability involves sacrifices in space and performance. By building the machine as a single "appliance", they can optimize the internal design and layout of components to maximize performance while minimizing space requirements. Every "port", every pressure-based electrical connection causes inefficiencies to be introduced and increases points of failure. The iMac Pro aims to minimize those.

What we need is for Apple to continue to reduce the size of the electronics down to an enclosed module that is the entire computer. Swap in a new module to upgrade your computer, separately from the data storage, display and ports. But, sadly, I doubt we'll ever see that solution implemented by Apple.

 

[itsmilo]

Not sure who i hate more at this point. Greedy as bastards known as Apple who thinks people are stupid and believe that „we price by value and dont care about the money“ marketing BS or us who keep buying their overpriced stuff.

I wish them to flop like for real. They need a reality check but unfortunately it does not seem to happen, ref point 2

 

[Burger Thing]

I'm curious - do you really believe that you know more about the market for these machines than Apple? Do you think your anecdotal and most likely biased evidence has more weight than the millions of dollars of market research Apple has invested into this machine?

If what you're saying is true, why would Apple intentionally release a $5k machine that doesn't suit the market it's aimed for? The answer is simple: they wouldn't.

Every time Apple releases a new device, whether it be an iPhone, MacBook, iMac Pro, or anything else, people on MR predict The End Times™. It seems no one can get past their own opinions. "It isn't right for me, so it isn't right for anyone". And every time that happens, the device breaks all records and outsells everything else on the market - proving that Apple knows exactly what they're doing, and the MR community doesn't represent the Apple consumer base. One would think the MR community would learn from this, but they don't - it's the same story for everything Apple releases.

We had similar discussions here on MRs after Apple launched the "Can't innovate my a$$"-nMP. In short: no, Apple did probably not do a millions of dollars research prior to that, and if they did, they probably hired the wrong company to conduct it for them. And no, Apple didn't know, what they were doing because the device didn't sell in record numbers.

So personally I find it reasonable to discuss about the fact that Apple decided to make the RAM upgrades so cumbersome.

 

[2010mini]

Seriously if you have the means to purchase this. Then paying for upgrades is no big deal.

 

[Daniel Reed]

I opened up my previous generation (2012) iMac to replace a failed HDD... took 10 minutes to get the display off and then 10 to clean the adhesive residue and replace the adhesive strips.

A $25ish iMac work kit w/ cutter and glue strips gets it done super easy. The only challanges I foresee are related to the elaborate cooling solution placement, and what measures apple has implemented to limit CPU and non-apple SSD upgrades.

Best to wait for an iFixIT teardown and orher third party technical breakdowns.

Eitherway, video card will be extremely hard to replace and may even require a different motherboard if not a custom apple card pcb cut.

If one has to order this year, make sure to get the Vega64 16GB option.

 

[cppguy]

$2400 extra for 96 gb more of RAM? What are they? Nuts?

These machines rely on ECC RAM, not the normal variant that 99% of the world uses. The idea is that it's more protected against random bit flips, which may be important for mission critical applications. For almost all of us, the iMac Pro is an overkill. I would personally prefer a more consumer-oriented power tower, like what typical Hackintosh builders put together.

 

[cube]

What a piece of junk.

iMac has always sucked for upgrades.

 

[shaunp]

I guess that's better than no upgrade at all, but Apple's pricing for RAM is way too much. I bought 128GB non ECC RAM last year and it was around £1000. It's a bit more now, but even so $2,400 to upgrade from 32GB is daylight robbery.

 

[Mousse]

I think its a fantastic machine. the standard iMac is powerful itself, its amazing they can pack all that power into a slim bezel 5K display

Imagine what Apple engineers can do if their hands weren't tied. Now they're at the mercy of the design team (thinner, Thinner, THINNER) and have to make compromises (less power, exotic thermal dissipation). They could create a beast of a machine (liquid cooling, multiple GPU's, built in RAID), if they didn't have to fit everything in a pizza box.
It's just like the joke about the gynecologist who became a mechanic joke.

 

[alfonsog]

I highly doubt the modular Mac Pro will be upgradeable... but you can always add another module for $5K...

 

[Macman8472]

I find a lot of people who would prefer to use the iMac Pro clueless of what more RAM will do and clueless. There a lot of "getting older" consumers in the of users for this machine. I do agree, though, that it should allow the consumer of the product should be able to make the upgrade themselves. Additionally, I also agree that a good deal of people will just buy it maxed out if they need that much - which many don't. The price difference from doing it yourself (if you could) and buying it from start won't be much different.

It takes less than 30 seconds to open the RAM door, another 10 seconds per RAM slot. Close the RAM door, total time 2 minutes. Time to local Apple dealer 30 minutes, and 30 mins back, price of time £100, plus travel costs, plus parking, plus loss of productivity priceless. Apple overcharges for everything nowadays, especially RAM. Way to go Apple.

 

[Music Ambulance]

Just bought one today. (Though perhaps "ordered" is the correct term) I'm pretty excited as I've been waiting for a pro-workstation class desktop from Apple for years. I've noticed two kids of commenters here: Those who complain "It's too expensive... waaaa" and those who are more objective and say "It seems fair for the components ... let the dollar votes count" - as a pro I can say that my dollar votes are trying to incentivize Apple to make as many pro-oriented choices as they can in the near future.

What do I do? I develop, perform cyber security research, and play games when I'm not banging my head against a difficult problem. My requirements for a computer are extensive, and this machine meets my expectations for my budget. According to my calculations, the machine will pay for itself in one year (break even at least, all profit after that or resale for the modular).

My specs: 18 Core, Vega 64, 128 GB ECC, 1 TB SSD (I don't need more space than that on the main drive).
Bring on the hate.

Pretty sound reasoning to me.

I just wish there wasn’t a screen attached to it. I’m an eizo man