$1000+ for 4gb RAM upgrade to my MPB?

Okay so I went into an Apple Store here in Ft. Lauderdale and asked how much will it cost to upgrade from 2gb to 4gb on my MBP.

The "genius" goes in the warehouse for a couple of minutes and when she comes back, she hits me with:

"It's going to be $1000 for the RAM, and $130 for installing"

I go:

"........"
"But at BestBuy, Newegg or any other electronics website/store, the ram is much more cheaper than that!"

She says: "Yes I know, but that's not certified Apple RAM"

I laughed and walked away. Certified Apple RAM?

I'm still laughing while I'm typing this right now.

So what do you think about that?

 

Surprise surprise, all companies want to make money.

 

You can get CL-4 PC2-5300 G. Skill RAM (4GB) off Newegg for $100 which is faster than "certified Apple memory" and $900 cheaper.

 

Rule of thumb: never, ever buy RAM from a PC manufacturer. They all rip you off! "Apple certified" is a riot! hahahaa

 

Apple will do anything to rip us off...

Anyway, Apple Certified just means Apple ripoff in my eyes.

 

hahah. 1 grand for 4 gigs. that funny

 

Well sure, it´s "companies want to make money", true. But I do still have problems with the amount of "throat-cuttingness" in that case. Can you really understand Apple´s upgrade price policy other than "Yes, our customers are dead dumb"? We´re not talking about 25-50% here after all; this is indeed 900%, gentlemen.

 

Apple's not known for selling cheap computers in the first place. Plus you'd be surprised of the markups on some things in retail stores.

 

But that's every manufacturers upgrade policy. Plus they make upgrading RAM so easy in their notebooks the only person that wouldn't be able to do it themselves would be said dumb customers, lol.

 

Didn't you guys know? It costs $800 for Apple to certify RAM ...

Yeah, I wouldn't buy RAM from Apple, or any stock manufacturer really. RAM from third parties is cheaper and easy to install.

 

It most cases it's not even very good RAM. The last MBP I saw shipped with Nanya modules.

 

hahah, I actually loled when I read this. Thank you

 

I wanted to buy one with 4GB equipped but for £450 here in the UK no way I'm going to do that. It's always cheaper to buy the memory yourself but anyway Apple really is the only maker asking for such an extremely unrealistic price.
I wish they would offer the book with only 512MB. That way I would save more money because I'm going to replace it completely with two 2GB modules anyway.

 

I just upgrated my MBP (SR) with 2x2GB sticks made by Samsung. Installation took three minutes and I didn't have any problems at all. The model I'm using M470T5669AZ0-CE6 "exceeds Apple/Intel requirements" according to some website. I'm happy and so is my MacZilla! Now I need only a fast SSD and then... my word documents will open faster!

 

Wow Apple RAM must have smoking performance if it costs $250 per gig!

 

^ haha maybe its ddr5 ._.
offtopic: @ first i was like.. mmm MPB whats that.. haha i thought its a new mac .

 

Wow ... that's a huge difference ... and totally not fair for anyone who might not be brave enough to upgrade their RAM!

However, I don't think that a whole lot of people understand what "Apple Certified RAM" actually guarantees you ... if you follow their specific directions for installing their insanely expensive RAM and manage to "accidentally" damage your logic board it's not considered "accidental damage" and will be covered under your APP (because you followed their instructions for installing a certified Apple product).

However, if you manage to damage your logic board with 3rd party RAM (even when following both the manufacturer's and Apple's instructions) it would be considered accidental damage and, therefore, not covered under your APP ... thus, VERY expensive DIY insurance!

 

Why is it only $700 on Apples website but over a grand in the store?

 

@Mattkaz629 - If you manage to damage your logic board when installing 3rd party ram, go buy like 2GB or 1GB from apple and say that you messed up your logic board while installing it, and they will never know that you actually did it using 3rd party ram.

Kind of a dirty trick but you're paying a premium for the notebook in the first place.

 

As everyone else says and recommends. Buying RAM separately is much better! And thanks for that tip there Stone825. *evil smile*

 

I doubt you need them to show the RAM module. You can tell them whatever they want to hear...

 

Hehe, even the Kingston modules special tested for Apple cost here in the Netherlands 40 euro for a 2GB module

 

$700 is when you're buying the notebook and upgrading from 2 to 4GB, $1000 is buying just the two 2GB sticks.

 

Lol gotta love the Galleria...

 

Yeah, gotta love it!

And sorry about the MPB (?). I meant to say Macbook Pro

Second time I go in, different genius, it's still $130 for the installing, but the RAM is suddenly only $700.

WTHeck?

and I told him: "your colleague, a week ago, told me that.. ehem.. "certified apple ram" is $1,000, now it's only $700?

He didn't say anything, of course. I'm starting to wonder if those geniuses down there even know what RAM is

 

TBH, I think if you take the time to read the user manual you will gain more knowledge than the entire Apple Genius Bar.

 

Lol you can get 4GB ram for less than $80 USD. Apple certified ram == Steve Jobs personally licked it.

 

suprisingly sager doesnt overcharge on ram as much as the other guys.

 

It's totally irrelevant if Apple is ripping you off or not. They aren't in it to be competitive.

Apple is notoriously 'newbie' friendly, and is well-integrated into the educational system and executive business. The latter groups will not be installing their own RAM, may get discounts, and may be buying in bulk. The former group may not be aware of the general cost of RAM and will pay whatever price upon buying their new computer (e.g. my parents), and even if they are, they may not feel proficient enough to buy and replace their own RAM. My parents barely know how to send an email or start a virus check. We're talking about people who are willing to pay a premium on their laptop anyway, 600 bucks extra is not necessarily a detterent when they're spending more than they would for a similarly specced PC.

At 700% cost, Apple only need to sell a tenth of the RAM that chaper companies charge to make the same money. They have the additional benefit of offering it as an option upon purchase, as they sell the machine as well as the additional hardware.

 

So in other words. You're totally happy that Apple ripped $700 off your parents. It *is* relevent, since Apple is EXPLOITING people who are not very PC-savy in order to make a 700% profit. It's just plain wrong, and you can't justify it by saying "well they want to make money" because that still makes them *******s about it.

 

When some memory == Cost of a mid-range computer, then something is very wrong!

 

You can buy a Mac Mini for the price of that RAM, and have money left over

 

I'm not condoning it at all, and I think you realise that.

Business is all about exploiting the consumer, pricing things at what produces the best profit for effort, and at what the consumer is willing to pay. You think it costs 30 grand more to produce a BMW than a Toyota? You think the parts really cost (at least) 3 times as much to get replaced when they go Kapoot? They don't, but a lot of BMW owners would rather have a BMW dealer put a BMW part in their car and not have to think about it, than having the local car mechanic (or their neighbour/kid) put a generic part in.

 

Furthermore, the fact that there ARE people like my parents (and the other prosumers/businesses I mentioned) is exactly the reason why Apple justifies pricing their RAM at a ridiculous price which is obviously not competitive. Morally right or wrong, that is the reason.

(sorry for the two consecutive posts guys!)

 

Do the new MBPs (the ones with the 8600M GTs) support 4 gb of memory? The apple website says that the MBP only supports up to 3gb, but that article was updated in 2006.

Getting 4 GB in an MPB would require 2x2GB sticks, right?

 

apple is not pointing a gun at the buyer to buy the $1000 memory.

they should ask for opinions if they are not computer savy.

although i doubt normal everyday users will buy the 4gb. businesses have no problem shelling that much.

 

It does support 4 GB, yes .