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New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

ichilton.co.uk

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Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#101

Post by toyg »

revelation wrote: post #28

People are worried about DRAM soldered to the motherboard? I'd be much more worried about the Flash that is, just as the RAM, also permanently soldered to the motherboard. With the wear-leveling most chipsets do nowadays, these things will just simultaneously drop dead in three years. edit: Took another look: http://imgur.com/x0I9x It seems that they might indeed be exchangeable. Looked a lot like they were soldered…

Anandtech has the details. TL;DR: it's not soldered but the connector is brand-new and non-standard. http://www.anandtech.com/show/6003/the-new-macbook-air-uses-...

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#102

Post by mbm »

rayiner wrote: post #85
uzero wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My thoughts exactly. But I do think that if I would put over $2000 to a laptop I wouldn't like the fact that I'm not able to upgrade memory after few years. It's ok with devices like iPad but $2000 laptop is a device that you expect to use a bit longer.

Did anyone upgrade their Mac? Secondary market prices for Mac laptops are insanely high. Over the last several years, I've been buying a new MacBook every year. I buy at $1100 and sell around $800. $300 is less than I spend on coffee.

What's your preferred method of re-selling?

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#103

Post by biafra »

gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

The battery is easily replaceable. If you know how to use a screwdriver. Is that too much to ask?

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#104

Post by Xylakant »

cbsmith wrote: post #76
dordoka wrote: post #31

Not only RAM, SSD is SATA III, but using a different form factor and a proprietary connector, a la Macbook Air. The new Air also changed the already proprietary connector from the 2011 models, rendering unusable the existing third party SSD upgrade options. Wondering if MacbookPro SSD connector are the same as the new Air's or not...

I'm still kind of scratching my head about the use of SATA given these custom connectors. It keeps driver development simple, but at a cost in performance.

Well, not only driver development but also controller development. SATA is a standard where you can go buy the standard components. The connector probably has the same data lanes as a SATA connector, just a different form factor. Most of the space saving come from not having an enclosure like harddrives do - something which only words with SSDs since they have no moving parts and are thus dust-resistant.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#105

Post by gouranga »

biafra wrote: post #103
gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

The battery is easily replaceable. If you know how to use a screwdriver. Is that too much to ask?

Err, it's glued in which is considerably worse:

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-with-Retina-Displ...

Actually, looking through the entire teardown, I think the battery being glued in is worse than anything as levering it out is likely to cause the Li-Ion cells to blow up.

Also consider how hard it is recycling that machine!

Their summary:

1. Proprietary pentalobe screws prevent you from gaining access to anything inside.

2. As in the MacBook Air, the RAM is soldered to the logic board. Max out at 16GB now, or forever hold your peace—you can't upgrade.

3. The proprietary SSD isn't upgradeable either (yet), as it is similar but not identical to the one in the Air. It is a separate daughtercard, and we’re hopeful we can offer an upgrade in the near future.

4. The lithium-polymer battery is glued rather than screwed into the case, which increases the chances that it'll break during disassembly. The battery also covers the trackpad cable, which tremendously increases the chance that the user will shear the cable in the battery removal process.

5. The display assembly is completely fused, and there’s no glass protecting it. If anything ever fails inside the display, you will need to replace the entire extremely expensive assembly.

The whole machine is a joke. PLEASE DON'T BUY ONE!

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#106

Post by stevejabs »

powrtoch wrote: post #74
codgercoder wrote: post #51

Apple would make you buy a new machine just to install a new application, if they could. I have confidence they will figure it out, in due time. There is, after all, tremendous pressure to maintain their revenue.

I would say iOS already works like this. They push out OS updates to devices not capable of running them properly, and provide no easy path to roll back. Many non-technical users will just think their "old" phone has "gotten slow", as if that's the inevitable course that products take as they age. So they buy a new device. The App Store only makes this worse, since at any given time you can only download the most rec…

I think your logic here is very flawed.

I can name a ton of people who've owned only 1 or 2 iPhones since they've released. However that isn't even what I'm arguing about.

Apple makes (in my opinion) a very smart decision to limit some features to only newer phones. Think about when iOS4 came out, it was only fully supported for the iPhone 4 and 3GS. Backgrounding on the 3G was a nightmare to memory and performance... so they cut it. You're saying they automatically lump in apps that make the device seem slow? I think they do the exact opposite. They make smart decisions to keep even 2 year old devices running like their brand new.

Of course they want you to update to a new device every two years (every single manufacturer does, don't just blame Apple here) but they are the only company I've seen that doesn't hold a gun to your head to upgrade just to get a new OS.

One thing I can always depend on with my iPhone, I'll likely see at least 3 major OS upgrades during my ownership. My Android phone (I own both) has only seen 1 major OS upgrade and very very very few incremental upgrades as well. The only reason why I have ICS on it is because of CyanogenMod.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#107

Post by jonknee »

its_so_on wrote: post #11

The real news is that they could shave as much of the macbook off as they actually did. Did you see the video? The screen display is now 'attached directly' to the unibody with no 'glass layer'. What does that even mean? Whatever it means, it's obviously not user-serviceable. I was amazed at how much they got off the macbook in size and weight - EDIT: everywhere, off the whole machine - and they're idiots for not put…

What did you want? The smaller size is a focus of the commercial and is one of the huge text headlines on the promo page.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

You can only fit so much in a product name.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#108

Post by wensing »

gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

I've had 5 Apple laptops since 2001 and have never had to replace anything. Average time of ownership has only been 2 years, though. Because of the resale value, I've found it's pretty effective to sell the 2-year old and put it towards a new one.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#109

Post by jonknee »

baby wrote: post #59
its_so_on wrote: post #11

The real news is that they could shave as much of the macbook off as they actually did. Did you see the video? The screen display is now 'attached directly' to the unibody with no 'glass layer'. What does that even mean? Whatever it means, it's obviously not user-serviceable. I was amazed at how much they got off the macbook in size and weight - EDIT: everywhere, off the whole machine - and they're idiots for not put…

They made a huge deal out of the fan, which was exactly what I was expecting from Apple. But you're right, I read somewhere that it weighed almost as much as a macbook air. But didn't see that advertised on Apple's website. Which was for me the biggest news next to the new display.

> I read somewhere that it weighed almost as much as a macbook air.

You read some bullshit then, it's not even close to the Air in terms of weight. 4.46 pounds for the Retina and 2.38-2.96 pounds for the Air (11 or 13")

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#110

Post by hyperbovine »

uzero wrote: post #49
culturestate wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can max it out with 16GB of RAM for an additional $200. I'm not sure I can see myself putting more than that into a laptop during its useful life.

Yes I know but that wasn't the point. The point is that if I now buy the laptop with let's say 8GB because I think I don't need more than that because all I do is code. After 6 months I get assigned to doing work with BIG databases that easily eat 10GB memory. Now I'm stuck with 8GB because it's soldered and even Apple can't upgrade it.

"stuck"? Buy another brand of laptop.
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