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    How easy is it to upgrade Macbook Pros?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by bcom77, Feb 21, 2008.

  1. bcom77

    bcom77 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi all, I'm thinking of getting a macbook Pro but at this stage could only afford a base model 2.2gh 2gb RAM and 120GB hard drive but would later build it up more. How easy is it to upgrade the hard drive and graphics cards in these things? The graphics card would be a big thing for me so is this all do-able or is it cheaper just to get the next model up?
     
    bcom77, Feb 21, 2008
    #1
  2. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You cannot upgrade a GPU, though upgrading the HDD wouldn't be too difficult.
     
    Greg, Feb 21, 2008
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  3. Arquis

    Arquis Kojima Worshiper

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    Very few laptops have upgradable GPUs. If you need a PC with upgradable GPUs you need a desktop with a tower. You can't upgrade the GPU in a Macbook. You can upgrade the hard drive, but doing it yourself voids the warranty since you need to open the whole thing up. I'm not sure about the CPU, but I'm guessing it'll be difficult. If you want something that's upgradable, a laptop is simply not a good choice.
     
    Arquis, Feb 21, 2008
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  4. hollownail

    hollownail Individual 11

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    Yup, as others said, the GPU is generally not upgradeable. Even in laptops that support upgradeable GPU's, they're often VERY, VERY (think almost price of new laptop) expensive AND there is no guarantee that there will actually be an upgrade for that motherboard.

    The CPU is soldered on, cannot be replaced (at least the last I heard it was soldered on).

    The hard drive on the other hand.... I believe it does void the warranty on the MBP. But there is no way they'd know if you changed it, as long as you put the old one back in if you sent it back. It is not too bad, but if you're not at least competent and haven't dealt with fragile electronic pieces (there are very fragile ribbon cables that can easily be damaged) I would not DIY.

    I have also heard that the Apple stores will do the upgrade for free, or a small fee.
     
    hollownail, Feb 21, 2008
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  5. sulkorp

    sulkorp Notebook Deity

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    I heard that the changing the hard drive doesnt void the warrenty, but the harddrive isnt covered under the apple warrenty.

    If anything does go wrong, then just open it up, put in the old hdd and then send it off.
     
    sulkorp, Feb 21, 2008
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  6. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    Technically, changing the hard drive on the MacBook Pro does void your warranty, although some Apple technicians don't mind. Graphics card, most notebooks cannot upgrade.
     
    Sam, Feb 21, 2008
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