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You now have to upgrade to the second tier if you want to have more than 500GB hard drives or an SSD, so if you really want that you'll have to pay $300 more th

by pieter 15y ago

You now have to upgrade to the second tier if you want to have more than 500GB hard drives or an SSD, so if you really want that you'll have to pay $300 more than the base model. Too bad the hard drives in these macs are so hard to replace yourself.

JoeAltmaier 15y ago
"Too bad"? Its of course no accident that memory, drives, in fact everything cheap to upgrade on an Apple is tucked away behind "warranty void" stickers. Compare the the ease of replacing your PC laptop drive or RAM - behind a snap-off cover.
- liscio 15y ago
  That is false. RAM and HDDs in MacBook Pro machines are user-replaceable parts. No warranty is voided provided you install the proper stuff, and don't break your system in the process. I believe the manuals include detailed instructions for the replacements. The RAM is _very_easily_ upgraded in an iMac. Apple's even designed a nifty door to make this process incredibly easy. The only point of annoyance here is the HDD in an iMac. The design simply doesn't allow for the HDD to be accessed, and hence it's not user-installable. Personally, I'd never buy an iMac, and I very seldom recommend them.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
    The HDD on an iMac is replaceable if you have heavy duty suction cups ...
    - astrodust 15y ago
      The good news is these are actually inexpensive compared to other essential tech tools: http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups/IF145-023 http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups/IF145-02... ($14.95)
      - jarek 15y ago
        To replace the hard drive in my computer I need the essential tech tool, the Phillips screwdriver. I bought one for $14.95 and the UX on it is amazing.
- reitzensteinm 15y ago
  And yet to upgrade the RAM in a Mac Mini, you just screw off the bottom and it's right there. You don't even need a screwdriver. If your theory was correct, they'd have sealed it up like the original ones.
  - smackfu 15y ago
    It took a lot of model updates to the mini to get upgradeable RAM.
- rauljara 15y ago
  This is at best half correct, depending on the model. The RAM in iMacs come with tabs to help you pull them out. You do need a screw driver, but it's kind of hard to have a snap-off cover on an aluminum case, no? You are correct about the hard drives on imacs and macbooks, but on the pro machines, those are pretty easy to replace as well.
- rimantas 15y ago
  You may want to check where is RAM on iMacs "hidden", and how hard it is to access it.
- jensnockert 15y ago
  I wish it was like this, but most standard PC laptops are so hard to open up that it is not even funny. It's not the same as the iMac (which is hard to upgrade iirc), but the MacBook (Pro) is a really nice machine to upgrade, and it doesn't void your warranty. Apple even has nice instructions on how to do it. (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270 http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270)
- johnthedebs 15y ago
  That's not true. To upgrade the memory in an iMac there's 1 screw in the way. To upgrade the memory or hard drive in a MacBook, there are 10 or so screws, but as long as you don't damage your device in the process it remains under warranty. People like to make Apple out to be draconian about this stuff, but let's at least do basic fact-checking.
  - zdw 15y ago
    That said, to upgrade the hard disk in an iMac is a total PITA and requires a special sensor cable to the hard disk that is HDD vendor specific: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Hard-Drive-Replacement/1634/1 http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Hard-D... I pine for the old days of white G5's and original iMacs where they were a piece of cake to work on. That said, I don't pine for their bad capacitor problems...
    - JoeAltmaier 15y ago
      I remember those; my wife had one; had to send away for the special screwdriver invented solely to keep me out of the case. "Piece of cake"?
  - Naga 15y ago
    I have one of the first Intel iMacs and the hard drive is not easy to replace at all.
  - JoeAltmaier 15y ago
    Sorry, the mac mini on my desk had me confused I guess. With the special tool needed to pry off the friction-fit case after breaking the warranty sticker; then having to disassemble the entire stack of circuit boards to get at the memory socket.
CognitiveLens 15y ago
To clarify - this is only true for the 21.5" iMacs - the base 27" can support larger HDD + SSD.

by pieter 15y ago

JoeAltmaier 15y ago

"Too bad"? Its of course no accident that memory, drives, in fact everything cheap to upgrade on an Apple is tucked away behind "warranty void" stickers. Compare the the ease of replacing your PC laptop drive or RAM - behind a snap-off cover.

liscio 15y ago
That is false. RAM and HDDs in MacBook Pro machines are user-replaceable parts. No warranty is voided provided you install the proper stuff, and don't break your system in the process. I believe the manuals include detailed instructions for the replacements. The RAM is _very_easily_ upgraded in an iMac. Apple's even designed a nifty door to make this process incredibly easy. The only point of annoyance here is the HDD in an iMac. The design simply doesn't allow for the HDD to be accessed, and hence it's not user-installable. Personally, I'd never buy an iMac, and I very seldom recommend them.
- 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
  The HDD on an iMac is replaceable if you have heavy duty suction cups ...
  - astrodust 15y ago
    The good news is these are actually inexpensive compared to other essential tech tools: http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups/IF145-023 http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups/IF145-02... ($14.95)
    - jarek 15y ago
      To replace the hard drive in my computer I need the essential tech tool, the Phillips screwdriver. I bought one for $14.95 and the UX on it is amazing.
reitzensteinm 15y ago
And yet to upgrade the RAM in a Mac Mini, you just screw off the bottom and it's right there. You don't even need a screwdriver. If your theory was correct, they'd have sealed it up like the original ones.
- smackfu 15y ago
  It took a lot of model updates to the mini to get upgradeable RAM.
rauljara 15y ago
This is at best half correct, depending on the model. The RAM in iMacs come with tabs to help you pull them out. You do need a screw driver, but it's kind of hard to have a snap-off cover on an aluminum case, no? You are correct about the hard drives on imacs and macbooks, but on the pro machines, those are pretty easy to replace as well.
rimantas 15y ago
You may want to check where is RAM on iMacs "hidden", and how hard it is to access it.
jensnockert 15y ago
I wish it was like this, but most standard PC laptops are so hard to open up that it is not even funny. It's not the same as the iMac (which is hard to upgrade iirc), but the MacBook (Pro) is a really nice machine to upgrade, and it doesn't void your warranty. Apple even has nice instructions on how to do it. (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270 http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270)
johnthedebs 15y ago
That's not true. To upgrade the memory in an iMac there's 1 screw in the way. To upgrade the memory or hard drive in a MacBook, there are 10 or so screws, but as long as you don't damage your device in the process it remains under warranty. People like to make Apple out to be draconian about this stuff, but let's at least do basic fact-checking.
- zdw 15y ago
  That said, to upgrade the hard disk in an iMac is a total PITA and requires a special sensor cable to the hard disk that is HDD vendor specific: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Hard-Drive-Replacement/1634/1 http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Hard-D... I pine for the old days of white G5's and original iMacs where they were a piece of cake to work on. That said, I don't pine for their bad capacitor problems...
  - JoeAltmaier 15y ago
    I remember those; my wife had one; had to send away for the special screwdriver invented solely to keep me out of the case. "Piece of cake"?
- Naga 15y ago
  I have one of the first Intel iMacs and the hard drive is not easy to replace at all.
- JoeAltmaier 15y ago
  Sorry, the mac mini on my desk had me confused I guess. With the special tool needed to pry off the friction-fit case after breaking the warranty sticker; then having to disassemble the entire stack of circuit boards to get at the memory socket.

CognitiveLens 15y ago

To clarify - this is only true for the 21.5" iMacs - the base 27" can support larger HDD + SSD.