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I hear this sentiment all the time that "pro users need the ability to upgrade" but not once in a decade of my professional programming career have I _ever_ see

I hear this sentiment all the time that "pro users need the ability to upgrade" but not once in a decade of my professional programming career have I _ever_ seen a computer at a workplace upgraded. They get purchased, they get repaired, they get retired or they trickle down to "lesser users", but I've never seen anyone get additional RAM or a drop in CPU replacement on an employer-owned machine. If you needed a better computer all I've ever seen is a new computer purchased.

ksec 9y ago
Yes, it may seem counter intuitive, but most Pro are the ones who dont want to fiddle around with their computers.
Vadoff 9y ago
By the time a top of the line PC needs an "upgrade", an entirely different CPU/RAM architecture will probably be top of the line anyways.
greggman 9y ago
well since we're sharing anecdotes I have seen machines get upgraded at work. working on a game. PVS calc took lots of memory and lots of time. Everyone's machines got a 6x upgrade in ram so they could be used at night to compute the PVS. another anecdote. friend in another game found rebuilding assets on SSD was several X faster. Since the entire team was often waiting hours for asset builds to finish all machines got upgraded to have SSD. this is especially true in GPU related fields. new gpus enable new things
- evilduck 9y ago
  I'm sure it happens in many industries, but my point is that I don't think it makes this an "amateur" computer. Plenty of professional employees will want one, get one, and will be completely unaffected by the design. Plenty of people will be on the other side of that too.
appleiigs 9y ago
I've seen increased RAM and changed video cards to get multiple screens. The company I work for buys 1 standard setup, then upgrades depending on who's using it.
sangnoir 9y ago
Counter anecdote: my workplace performed SSD + RAM upgrades for everyone and that fit well within that year's budget. The alternative would have to wait another year (or more) to replace all the laptops at a much greater cost.
bkdbkd 9y ago
I've been a 'pro' software engineer for a couple decades and the large place's I've worked have actually upgraded machines that actually could be upgraded: with more ram, better video, etc. I did a couple years as an IT Consultant and every single small shop, contractor, developer, video editor, recording studio, who are also 'Pros' by the way, I've ever worked with has always looked to upgrade their hardware before buying again. At $4k - $17k a machine, it's simple math. The machine's not dead, but its time for a new gpu, or hard drive, or more ram. The pc platform is designed for upgrading, from mouse to motherboard. It takes work to make it not. Thinking about it, Apple's genius has been finding this line: "How closed can we go, how disposable can we make them and maximize churn, while not slowing down buying. We can even create a desire for churn [it's September, time for a new $600 phone, anyone?] Its exactly like the one you have, only different." As others have pointed out here, the dog and pony show they put on recently, by inviting a select group of reporters (market influencers) into their hq was damage control when several magazines/sites called them out for crossing this line. New machines with lower specs than older machines, gaming battery life tests, irrational pricing, and selling 5 year old spec machines as 'Pro'. I might recommend reading the reporting of the meeting, it's a textbook example of high-end one-on-one selling, impressive location, the appearance of insider-access, sealed with a personal commitment from the leaders. Meanwhile, they don't have a 'pro' product line, and though they have enough cash on hand to buy every pro team in every sport in the U.S. they haven't made any investments or advancements in pro pc technology in a decade. And that's cool, if apple doesn't want to fill the gap, someone will fill the space eventually. And I concede that the headphone jack is fine, it;s a combo, first glance i assumed just output. That works.
- vacri 9y ago
  Apple clearly think that the segment of the 'pro' market that desires upgradability is smaller than the reach they get from having 'all-in-one'.
mrblue182 9y ago
I worked briefly in IT and a large part of my job was to go around and upgrade the RAM on people's machines. Not saying it's common across the industry but it is done.

ksec 9y ago

Yes, it may seem counter intuitive, but most Pro are the ones who dont want to fiddle around with their computers.

Vadoff 9y ago

By the time a top of the line PC needs an "upgrade", an entirely different CPU/RAM architecture will probably be top of the line anyways.

greggman 9y ago

well since we're sharing anecdotes I have seen machines get upgraded at work. working on a game. PVS calc took lots of memory and lots of time. Everyone's machines got a 6x upgrade in ram so they could be used at night to compute the PVS. another anecdote. friend in another game found rebuilding assets on SSD was several X faster. Since the entire team was often waiting hours for asset builds to finish all machines got upgraded to have SSD. this is especially true in GPU related fields. new gpus enable new things

evilduck 9y ago
I'm sure it happens in many industries, but my point is that I don't think it makes this an "amateur" computer. Plenty of professional employees will want one, get one, and will be completely unaffected by the design. Plenty of people will be on the other side of that too.

appleiigs 9y ago

I've seen increased RAM and changed video cards to get multiple screens. The company I work for buys 1 standard setup, then upgrades depending on who's using it.

sangnoir 9y ago

Counter anecdote: my workplace performed SSD + RAM upgrades for everyone and that fit well within that year's budget. The alternative would have to wait another year (or more) to replace all the laptops at a much greater cost.

bkdbkd 9y ago

I've been a 'pro' software engineer for a couple decades and the large place's I've worked have actually upgraded machines that actually could be upgraded: with more ram, better video, etc. I did a couple years as an IT Consultant and every single small shop, contractor, developer, video editor, recording studio, who are also 'Pros' by the way, I've ever worked with has always looked to upgrade their hardware before buying again. At $4k - $17k a machine, it's simple math. The machine's not dead, but its time for a new gpu, or hard drive, or more ram. The pc platform is designed for upgrading, from mouse to motherboard. It takes work to make it not. Thinking about it, Apple's genius has been finding this line: "How closed can we go, how disposable can we make them and maximize churn, while not slowing down buying. We can even create a desire for churn [it's September, time for a new $600 phone, anyone?] Its exactly like the one you have, only different." As others have pointed out here, the dog and pony show they put on recently, by inviting a select group of reporters (market influencers) into their hq was damage control when several magazines/sites called them out for crossing this line. New machines with lower specs than older machines, gaming battery life tests, irrational pricing, and selling 5 year old spec machines as 'Pro'. I might recommend reading the reporting of the meeting, it's a textbook example of high-end one-on-one selling, impressive location, the appearance of insider-access, sealed with a personal commitment from the leaders. Meanwhile, they don't have a 'pro' product line, and though they have enough cash on hand to buy every pro team in every sport in the U.S. they haven't made any investments or advancements in pro pc technology in a decade. And that's cool, if apple doesn't want to fill the gap, someone will fill the space eventually. And I concede that the headphone jack is fine, it;s a combo, first glance i assumed just output. That works.

vacri 9y ago
Apple clearly think that the segment of the 'pro' market that desires upgradability is smaller than the reach they get from having 'all-in-one'.

mrblue182 9y ago

I worked briefly in IT and a large part of my job was to go around and upgrade the RAM on people's machines. Not saying it's common across the industry but it is done.