Smarter to upgrade hardware as time goes on? or just upgrade as a whole?

[dsprimal]

Hey all, just a thought after seeing peoples posts on upgraded ram, hdd, etc. Would it be cheaper on your wallet if you were to just upgrade hardware to keep up with newer mbp's that get released? Or would it be best to just sell off your current mbp and purchase the new ones as they get released?

ps. Upgrading Ram/hdd's etc void apple care right?

Thanks

 

[Hellhammer]

You can only upgrade HD and RAM and they do NOT void your warranty. Upgrading them costs ~200$ so IMO it's worth it but depends on what you do as if your usage is CPU or GPU intensive, RAM or HD won't help.

 

[dsprimal]

Thanks Hellhammer! The most intensive thing I would be doing is gaming. So upgrading Ram + upgrading to a SSD probably wont benefit me as much as the cpu + gpu upgrades, which are out of my mind now that I wont be able to upgrade them without voiding my warranty. UGH!

 

[Hellhammer]

Thanks Hellhammer! The most intensive thing I would be doing is gaming. So upgrading Ram + upgrading to a SSD probably wont benefit me as much as the cpu + gpu upgrades, which are out of my mind now that I wont be able to upgrade them without voiding my warranty. UGH!

Even if you voided it, you can't, as both are soldered (=non-upgradeable)

 

[dsprimal]

Even if you voided it, you can't, as both are soldered (=non-upgradeable)

very true, i just remembered hearing about that in another thread.

 

[iamrawr]

Apple doesn't offer many options in buying products like the other posters said, you can only upgrade the HD and ram as the rest are soldered.

Generally, I think it's better to upgrade parts than the whole thing because you save money. I would only do a complete upgrade if things lose compatibilty with newer things and become very obsolete.

 

[dsprimal]

how long do you think the most recent mbp's (core i) will last for until a whole upgrade is probably necessary? 3-4 years?

 

[Hellhammer]

how long do you think the most recent mbp's (core i) will last for until a whole upgrade is probably necessary? 3-4 years?

Depends on how intensive your gaming is. MBP will run the games which come in ~2 years fine but after that, we don't know.

 

[OceanView]

how long do you think the most recent mbp's (core i) will last for until a whole upgrade is probably necessary? 3-4 years?

I only upgrade when I feel that my workflow will be greatly enhanced with each purchase. Also software can bog down an older system or not run at all.
So far i've been upgrading every 3 years. I think it's a good general timeframe for me.

 

[fenman]

Fundamentally its all the same. Sell old macbook, add some money, buy new macbook. Upgrade accomplished.

 

[Excluse]

After I saw how well MacBook Pros hold there value (on eBay) I realized that
1. Buying one is a great investment
2. I can easily upgrade by:

a. Sell Old-Gen as soon as soon as possible
b. Purchase New-Gen for just a little extra cash
​

 

[Gorilla Power]

Although from the perspective of the end-user, I've seen that a single SSD upgrade changes things dramatically. Expensive but worth every penny.