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Retina Pro - no upgradability? (aftermarket ram, ssd)

W

whatdoiknw

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 21, 2011
68
0
Looking at the picture of the innards. I'm guessing it follow the airs in not being self upgradable with aftermarket memory and ssd. Kind of a bummer as I'm a power user and would want 16gb ram and at least 512gb ssd but didn't want to pay the premium vs getting stuff off of newegg.

just might have to bite the bullet here. any thoughts from those also considering the retina?

performance.jpg
 
not too fussed about the ssd size as usb 3 makes it relatively cheap to add a quick external drive. Shame about the RAM but 8gb seems ok.
 
The RAM is definitely not user upgradable (most likely). Apple refers to it as "onboard memory" while for the non-retina MBP (which should be replaceable) it's just referred to as memory. Also, Retina MBP uses low voltage RAM
 
Probably going to be like the Airs- soldered everything, expandable SSD, but proprietary connector which = extremely expensive.
 
I see the SSD connector but it wouldn't surprise me if Apple made it proprietary.

With that said, it is a beautiful design.
 
My beef is why they decided not to have 16gb on the premium standard option if they're being soldered on. I would imagine that's one of the biggest things people upgrade on their own. By having this as an add on, you'll have to order custom, and wait for shipping. :( I'm just bothered by the whole soldered ram (and ssd).
 
As I have already stated, go and price up components of a SATA3 SSD and 16gb 1600mhz SODIMM on top of the non retina MB Pro, then go and price up a matching Retina model. Then come on here and tell me it's 'premium pricing' cause you won't be............

AND DO NOT REPLY UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE THIS EITHER!!
 
The SSD is not soldered.

You can see the SSD is a separate board, like on the Air. It's just below the left fan in that picture. It has a screw at the left side and a connector at the right side, so it is removable and replaceable.
 
apolloa said:
As I have already stated, go and price up components of a SATA3 SSD and 16gb 1600mhz SODIMM on top of the non retina MB Pro, then go and price up a matching Retina model. Then come on here and tell me it's 'premium pricing' cause you won't be............

AND DO NOT REPLY UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE THIS EITHER!!
Click to expand...

If you're ordering it directly from the Apple store spec'd that way, of course it's going to be similarly priced since Apple charges exorbitant amounts for RAM and hard drive upgrades.

Pricing for an aftermarket 512GB SSD ($450) and 16GB RAM ($150) is much lower and results in a reasonably priced, powerful Pro. You cannot add these parts aftermarket on a Retina Pro since everything is soldered, hence the higher price.
 
So it'd be better to get the $2199 Retina and buy the RAM upgrade from Apple and just wait for an SSD upgrade kit later?

Stetrain said:
The SSD is not soldered.

You can see the SSD is a separate board, like on the Air. It's just below the left fan in that picture. It has a screw at the left side and a connector at the right side, so it is removable and replaceable.
Click to expand...
 
RAM upgrade is $200, by the way.

Considering 16GB RAM prices on the market, I'd say... it's decent. At least for this generation, it is decent.
 
H2K03 said:
So it'd be better to get the $2199 Retina and buy the RAM upgrade from Apple and just wait for an SSD upgrade kit later?
Click to expand...

Unless you really need the storage space right away, that's probably a good idea. Better to spend it on RAM than SSD if you can only get one.
 
Yes and $180 for education/government customers.

bill-p said:
RAM upgrade is $200, by the way.

Considering 16GB RAM prices on the market, I'd say... it's decent. At least for this generation, it is decent.
Click to expand...
 
I feel like an i7 sandy bridge 17" MBP with the dual graphics cards and the option of better graphics with the express card slot would be a better option for TRUE professionals. The retina display is not an adequate trade off for expandability.
 
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