Thoughts on upgrading a late 2013 retina MBP?

[oxband]

I have a late 2013 MBP retina I use as a backup. Aside from the fact the battery needs replacing, it runs fine. But I'm wondering if updating the memory or hard drive might make it a touch faster or better running.

Any thoughts?

Right now, it's memory is 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, the processor is a 2.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, and the hard drive is, I believe, a SSD drive.

 

[mikzn]

Not much to upgrade - memory is maxed out - i7 processor and SSD - about the only thing you could do is add a larger SSD but proabably will not make it any faster that than the SSD you have now unless you need the extra storage?

and of course the battery

Still a great rMBP - IMHO

 

[oxband]

I'm tempted to try the ifixit battery change, but that's not usually my wheel house and the directions look daunting.

 

[mikzn]

yeah I am facing the same dilemma with my 2015 15" rMBP - not too keen on removing all the components and unglueing the battery

There is a mac repair shop near me and I am thinking of letting them do it for me

 

[nothingtoseehere]

yeah I am facing the same dilemma with my 2015 15" rMBP - not too keen on removing all the components and unglueing the battery

There is a mac repair shop near me and I am thinking of letting them do it for me

I would recommend this. Apple changed my battery on my 2015 rMBP this year, great results. This product isn‘t vintage yet, so do not wait too long.
[automerge]1596007383[/automerge]

I'm tempted to try the ifixit battery change, but that's not usually my wheel house and the directions look daunting.

Sometimes, one has to cross the line... I watched several YouTube-Tutorials about changing the battery. They gave me a better impression of the task than iFixit only. But as mentioned, I shied away from doing this myself.

Concerning an SSD upgrade, you surely have had a look at here?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-2013-2014-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/

​

 

[Audit13]

I changed the battery in a mid-2014 13" and it was not really difficult. Rather than heating and using liquids to dissolve the adhesive, I used nylon string and slid it down between the battery and top case in a sawing motion to "cut" the adhesive.

Apple Canada charges $250 + tax to change the battery. Granted, they change the entire top case but the top case on my 2014 was perfect so I bought a 3rd party battery from Amazon. I know 3rd party batteries can be hit and miss but mine's been fine so far, saved me money, and I learned how to change the battery in a quick manner.

 

[profcutter]

The problem is that Apple doesn’t do 2013 models at the set rate anymore, at least in the US, maybe Canada is different. A new battery from Apple now would probably be around 5-700 dollars.

I changed the battery in a mid-2014 13" and it was not really difficult. Rather than heating and using liquids to dissolve the adhesive, I used nylon string and slid it down between the battery and top case in a sawing motion to "cut" the adhesive.

Apple Canada charges $250 + tax to change the battery. Granted, they change the entire top case but the top case on my 2014 was perfect so I bought a 3rd party battery from Amazon. I know 3rd party batteries can be hit and miss but mine's been fine so far, saved me money, and I learned how to change the battery in a quick manner.

 

[Audit13]

The problem is that Apple doesn’t do 2013 models at the set rate anymore, at least in the US, maybe Canada is different. A new battery from Apple now would probably be around 5-700 dollars.

I know Apple Canada still does the late 2013 because I asked in the store.

Mac Repair and Service - Apple Support (CA)

Need to repair your Mac? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.

support.apple.com

The USA site lists the cost as being $199 for the 13 Pro with Retina (https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service) but doesn't say which 13" models are covered. I know the late 2013 to 2015 all use the same battery and parts from the 2013 and 2014 are completely interchangeable.

 

[profcutter]

I know Apple Canada still does the late 2013 because I asked in the store.

Mac Repair and Service - Apple Support (CA)

Need to repair your Mac? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.

support.apple.com

The USA site lists the cost as being $199 for the 13 Pro with Retina (https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service) but doesn't say which 13" models are covered. I know the late 2013 to 2015 all use the same battery and parts from the 2013 and 2014 are completely interchangeable.

Yeah not so much anymore. I just had to replace the battery on my late 2013 15", and I was quoted 700 dollars from the apple store. I had it done locally for 200, but that didn't include the whole top case as it would have if apple had done it. The parts may appear to be the same, but if apple won't do it, they won't do it. Do they have the same part numbers? Not that that would help you, they were quite adamant that mine was "vintage" and not eligible for a 200 dollar battery repair.

 

[Audit13]

Yeah not so much anymore. I just had to replace the battery on my late 2013 15", and I was quoted 700 dollars from the apple store. I had it done locally for 200, but that didn't include the whole top case as it would have if apple had done it. The parts may appear to be the same, but if apple won't do it, they won't do it. Do they have the same part numbers? Not that that would help you, they were quite adamant that mine was "vintage" and not eligible for a 200 dollar battery repair.

I didn't actually go through with the battery replacement so maybe the Apple rep was mistaken. Regardless, I'm not spending $300 cad for a battery replacement on such an old MacBook.

 

[profcutter]

Yeah, I like the retinas, and so far it’s kept me from buying a 16”, so I’ll keep this one going a bit longer. But the prices they’re asking for are basically telling you: upgrade now.

 

[mikzn]

I changed the battery in a mid-2014 13" and it was not really difficult. Rather than heating and using liquids to dissolve the adhesive, I used nylon string and slid it down between the battery and top case in a sawing motion to "cut" the adhesive.

Apple Canada charges $250 + tax to change the battery. Granted, they change the entire top case but the top case on my 2014 was perfect so I bought a 3rd party battery from Amazon. I know 3rd party batteries can be hit and miss but mine's been fine so far, saved me money, and I learned how to change the battery in a quick manner.

Ok - your post got me thinking why not try it on my mid 2015 rMBP - ordered a battery on amazon for $80 - tried your floss idea - but it kept breaking - so used a plastic spoon (like the kind at macdonalds lol) and it came out very easily 👏 👏

took less than an hour start to finish - and I was slow and careful - thanks for your post - it pushed me into trying it - all is well that ends well 👍

 

[Audit13]

Ok - your post got me thinking why not try it on my mid 2015 rMBP - ordered a battery on amazon for $80 - tried your floss idea - but it kept breaking - so used a plastic spoon (like the kind at macdonalds lol) and it came out very easily 👏 👏

took less than an hour start to finish - and I was slow and careful - thanks for your post - it pushed me into trying it - all is well that ends well 👍

Rather than using floss, I used a very thin piece of braided, nylon string

Glad it worked for you. It would have cost me $250 Canadian to let Apple change it on my mid-2014 13". No thanks!

 

[mikzn]

Rather than using floss, I used a very thin piece of braided, nylon string

Glad it worked for you. It would have cost me $250 Canadian to let Apple change it on my mid-2014 13". No thanks!

yeah you did not say floss ( my bad) - it was what I had handy - but the plastic spoon was really great

yeah much less $$ and more important to me was time to take to a repair shop and wiping and / or swapping the drive before taking it there etc

I can't believe how much the batteries were swollen - once I removed the cover there was no way that cover was ever going back on - the space between the cover and the case was bigger than the length of the screws

so thanks again 👍 - if I had not fixed it - it probably was going to damage the mother board, keyboard and trackpad if I had not done something soon

 

[Yebubbleman]

I have a late 2013 MBP retina I use as a backup. Aside from the fact the battery needs replacing, it runs fine. But I'm wondering if updating the memory or hard drive might make it a touch faster or better running.

Any thoughts?

Right now, it's memory is 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, the processor is a 2.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, and the hard drive is, I believe, a SSD drive.

Your RAM is maxed out (as in your system chipset is incapable of supporting more than the 16GB you already have). It's also soldered to the logic board and not upgradable. So, no on that.

The storage medium is, indeed, an SSD. You only need to replace the boot drive if you're either running out of space and want more internal storage capacity or feel like the drive might be failing. Otherwise, you're likely not getting greater performance from any other SSD that you could pop into that computer. If you've been upgrading from one release of macOS to the next up until current (so from 10.9 to 10.10 to 10.11 and so on up until 10.15), doing a back-up of your data, and then wiping the machine to do a clean installation with a manual restoration of your data (via drag and drop copying instead of using the Migration Assistant or a Time Machine restore) ought to help increase performance. But if you've been good about that already, then you're probably already doing all that you can.

I'd definitely replace the battery now while Apple will still produce parts for that machine (as the battery is the same part as the top case and not available separately). You're supported for macOS Big Sur and likely a release or two thereafter, so I would say that, as long as everything is still working and you're not needing more performance and/or finding your needs not being met by it, you probably don't need to replace it anytime soon.