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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

#41

Post by dhimes »

blablabla123 wrote: post #35
dhimes wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has a funny psychological effect on me that I don't understand: when I see a premium, top-of-the-line (for whatever line you are interested in) machine, and they charge a little more to get it to the extra level (16 MB RAM), I feel like it cheapens the product. It kind of makes me think of it as second-rate. I get a similar feeling when looking at a luxury car for which a stylish interior is an upgrade. I feel lik…

It's a matter of budget. When you think a 8 GB RAM Macbook Pro is cheap, maybe you should shop at sgi.com.

I understand the part about the budget. I don't understand the part about the psychological effect. I don't even know what to call it. I find it curious.

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

#42

Post by silvestrov »

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…

In advertising it is very important to keep the message simple and straightforward. Adding (too many) details makes the ad ineffective.

Most people who knows the big deal about size & weight can see it on the details page and in the movie ads.

The retina screen is what the competition can't match, not fully nor partially.

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

#43

Post by ja27 »

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…

I've read that it's structurally pretty much the same as the existing MacBook Pro matte finish screen. As a matte user, I didn't realize it, but the glossy models have an extra pane of glass covering the entire display. The retina displays drop that extra pane of glass too (but are glossy).

This picture shows the difference: http://www.notebookcheck.net/typo3temp/pics/23da9d8f6b.jpg

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

#44

Post by Steko »

LinXitoW wrote: post #18
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…

It is impressive, but considering the obvious compromises(replaceable components and ports) and the probable compromises(harder serviceability) i wouldn't quite call it a miracle. I also don't understand what the rationale is behind sacrificing Pro features for size on a laptop marked "Pro".

I can well imagine some pros who view upgrading RAM as a very important, even vital feature.

I can also view many pros who view the thinner size as far more important.

As it turns out Apple also makes a not thinner "pro" laptop you can upgrade the RAM on so what's the big deal?

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

#45

Post by huxley »

socialist_coder wrote: post #33
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…

The flash ssd is not soldered in from what I can tell. It's probably like the MBA where it has some kind of connector and is probably the only user serviceable part.

It's definitely not soldered in.

OWC says that it is similar but probably not exactly the same as the one in the Macbook Air, they are looking at providing an upgrade model like they do for the Airs:

http://blog.macsales.com/14090-not-a-lot-of-options-for-macb...

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

#46

Post by elderberry »

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…

Does the thinness of your computer really matter?

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

#47

Post by wfarr »

ioquatix wrote: post #23
nicksergeant wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, and although similar statements have been made in the past, I think 16GB shall be sufficient for at least 5 years out.

I have a current MBP with both 8GB and 16GB of memory. I found that with 8GB, performance is excellent. With 16GB, I normally have about 6-7GB free - Mac OS X normally uses the rest for a filesystem cache but it doesn't really affect performance that much in my experience. 16GB is going to be enough for quite a while...

Not to mention, the glaring problem people like to ignore when discussing this is the motherboard in the MBP is only going to support so much memory anyway (would not be surprised if it could only support 16gb), so talking about not being able to upgrade it to 32/64/whatever is common then is kind of moot.

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

#48

Post by ChrisLTD »

brudgers wrote: post #32
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.

"after few years" Apple expects consumers to replace hardware every two to three years. Often this is encouraged by their practice of only supporting a single version of their operating system and their practice of making new versions of their operating systems incompatible with hardware more than a few years old. To put it another way, Apple doesn't want you to keep your Macbook for three years because there's no mo…

MacBook Pros from 2007 (and all Macs with 64 bit Intel processors) will work fine with Mountain Lion.

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

#49

Post by uzero »

culturestate wrote: post #10
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.

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.

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

#50

Post by its_so_on »

silvestrov wrote: post #42
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…

In advertising it is very important to keep the message simple and straightforward. Adding (too many) details makes the ad ineffective. Most people who knows the big deal about size & weight can see it on the details page and in the movie ads. The retina screen is what the competition can't match, not fully nor partially.

This is exactly what I thought was happening, from the press headlines and the front page. (That it's a new macbook with retina display.)

Until I clicked the video and found out the extent of the reduction here. They have completely blown the announcement in my opinion. Even something as little as "The All-New Macbook with Retina Display" would have been enough to draw attention to it. ('all-new')

It's not everyday that something gets reengineered so thoroughly. they blew playing this up. apple fans live for these big announcements, and put up with a lot of crap that really shouldn't be press coverage but are (marginal bumps) just so they can get at the juicy unveilings. This is one of them - and should be presented as such.

it's not too late, and the front page should be changed to reflect the extent of this miraculous reengineering right in the 6-word announcement; at least add "all-new" (copout) or something more descriptive right in the blasé sentence "Introducing Macbook Pro with Retina display", which sounds like...a macbook with a Retina display.

The "It's a whole new vision for the notebook" underneath it in that ugly grey doesn't do justice to the redesign, since that's exactly what they would say about a bump to retina display with no other reengineering.

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