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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

#81

Post by Shivetya »

Steko wrote: post #44
LinXitoW wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

when the maximum is 16g I really do not see the issue here. They charge the same price to upgrade the memory in the Retina Mac Pros as the regular ones.

Considering the for $400 more over the price of a standard Mac Pro notebook you get the new screen, 4g more memory, light weight, and SSD, it really comes off as a good deal in the scheme of Apple pricing. Yeah you lose the DVD, which I cannot recall when I last used one.

My suggestion is just order it maxed out in memory, if the $200 is something to quibble about in a $2200 laptop the you should not be buying one in the first place.

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

#82

Post by taligent »

freehunter wrote: post #30
ioquatix wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate the kind of perspective you have, but I own 3 MBP and I use the ethernet about once a year - normally when doing an initial Time Machine backup. Wireless is sufficient for all day to day tasks in my experience. * Finally, if it really is a problem, buy the Thunderbolt to GigE adaptor.

Well for a pro laptop... my pro laptop (Thinkpad) is hooked into a docking station right now. My external monitor, some USB drives, and ethernet are plugged into the dock. When I undock, I'm going mobile so I don't need an external monitor, USB hard drives, and I can work on wifi. In my ~3000 person office, this is by far the norm. Access to some systems are locked down on an IP address basis, assuming you'll be plug…

You just need to understand that you have become an edge case. The 1%.

People just aren't using Firewire, Optical Drives and Ethernet like they use to. And compromising the entire computer just to satisfy a minority isn't good business. And absolutely isn't Apple's style.

Most things are more expensive when you aren't buying the mainstream option. In your case having to buy the Superdrive, Firewire and GigE adapters.

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

#83

Post by huxley »

eugenejen wrote: post #64
Xylakant wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can always buy the standard macbook pro which does offer all that you wish for (regular ram, GigE, serviceable harddisk) at about the same price point but at an additional 400g weight. I currently use a Macbook Air which does not offer a GigE port either and I'm doing just fine.

This is not true for all new MacBook pro. All ram modules are soldered even for non retina display.

You got incorrect info, non-Retina Macbook Pros have upgradeable memory and you can already buy it from suppliers like Crucial and OWC.

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

#84

Post by gouranga »

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 sitting in one component waiting to fail and considering the warranty is a year (or 3 if you are extorted for even more cash by Apple for their expensive AppleCare service).

First it was the batteries - now no longer replaceable by mere mortals, then the SSDs were brought in with proprietary interfaces, now the RAM is soldered on the board.

In the average 5 year life span of a computer, I have found that you will need to replace the battery between 1-2 times, the memory will need to be upgraded at least once and the disk will need to be upgraded. These are observations but rational ones.

I'm now sitting on a Lenovo T61 which is 5 years old. EVERY component in this machine can be replaced for literally nothing and very rapidly.

Sorry but stuff like this is just pandering to consumerism if it is disposable by design.

The design is retarded.

EDIT: It appears the battery is GLUED in so that's not replaceable any more either, even with the aid of a screwdriver.

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

#85

Post by rayiner »

uzero wrote: post #7
nicksergeant wrote: post #3

How is this news? I think it's well known that the new Retina-MBPs have made some hardware-upgradeability sacrifices in exchange for portability.

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.

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

#86

Post by keeperofdakeys »

joelhaasnoot wrote: post #4
jurre wrote: post #2

I kind of expected this as the Airs have the same, can anyone that knows a bit more about hardware maybe tell if this is because of space concerns?

RAM slots are big pieces of plastic and connector pins. Especially if you have two slots it just wouldn't fit in a laptop with that height.

The original Samsung Series 9 is about 10% thinner and had two DIMM slots; the battery did take up a bit less space though. I'm sure it would have been possible to fit two SODIMM slots, it would just have cost more in terms of design and sale price.

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

#87

Post by masklinn »

netcan wrote: post #37
LinXitoW wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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".

My guess is that this isn't a macbook pro. Not for long. A fuckup or a compromise, but either way a departure from Apple's normally impeccably simple naming & branding of product lines. This is just a macbook. If all goes well and Apple can get prices down there might not be pros or airs anymore, just macbooks. In three sizes. I think Apple have somewhat of an aversion to having price be the only or main differentiat…

> My guess is that this isn't a macbook pro. Not for long.

It most definitely is, they're going to deprecate the older design over time. Just look at the specs, CPU and GPU are the same between old-style and Retina, but only the Retina gets a 16GB RAM option (with 8 base, versus 4 base for old-style), a retina display, Retina gets HDMI (and a second TB, which is the future as far as Apple's concerned), an updated Magsafe design.

The old-style remains to clear inventory and to wait for the cost of making/buying retina panes to get lower.

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

#88

Post by taligent »

LinXitoW wrote: post #62
rhysk wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not certain what constitutes a pro these days, but I do some pretty intensive tasks (building large scala projects, data aggregation, etc) and I think this MacBook is just what I need. With thunderbolt I'll be able to dock the laptop to disk arrays, an external monitor/keyboard/mouse, and Ethernet with a single connector. And being thinner and lighter, I won't think twice about taking it on the road.

Single connector, but not single adapter. Daisy chaining also seems error prone. If all the adapters you have to take with you weigh 400g, you haven't really gained anything. Also, having to reattach everything all the time seems like a hassle if you have a lot of external devices to connect(is there a Macbook dock?). This ad satire is about the Air, but i think it sums up me reservations perfectly: http://www.youtub…

Thunderbolt express dock:

http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/releases/uploads/BelkinThund...

Firewire, USB, HDMI, Audio, Ethernet.

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

#89

Post by masklinn »

Steko wrote: post #44
LinXitoW wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

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

For this laptop? 16GB likely is the maximum the chipset can handle (in hardware) and Apple offers the BTU option. BTU RAM is considered a sucker's games for individuals, pros have much lower a reason to care.

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

#90

Post by masklinn »

uzero wrote: post #7
nicksergeant wrote: post #3

How is this news? I think it's well known that the new Retina-MBPs have made some hardware-upgradeability sacrifices in exchange for portability.

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.

> I wouldn't like the fact that I'm not able to upgrade memory after few years.

You wouldn't be able to either way, depending on the chipset's hardware limitations. 2010 MBPs won't recognize 16GB RAM for instance.

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