Mac Book Pro - Does it have soldered RAM?

[HSakols]

Does the 13 in retina Mac Book Pro come with upgradable RAM or does apple now solder the RAM onto the board? 

[Paul2660]

I believe that is the case with all the MacBook Pro retina models.

I would go with 16GB for sure.

They may offer 32 now I have not checked in a while.

Pail

[Hans Kruse]

There is a maximum of 16GB soldered. But why not just check here http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

[HSakols]

Hans I didn't mean to be redundant.  I just couldn't figure out if I could upgrade my RAM through something like OWC.  Thanks for the info. 

[langier]

Give OWC a call. They know the Mac line and are friendly to talk with.

[graeme]

Does the 13 in retina Mac Book Pro come with upgradable RAM or does apple now solder the RAM onto the board? 

I'm pretty sure that the RMBP RAM isn't upgradeable.

[Hans Kruse]

I'm pretty sure that the RMBP RAM isn't upgradeable.

The RAM is not upgradable but the SSD is for certain models and maybe the new models of today will be upgradable in a couple of years, but that's not for certain. Therefore as I wrote get 16GB of RAM and the amount of SSD you think you need. On the last part my recommendation for photographers is to take the 1TB option. 512GB easily gets too litle and you need to use external drives all the time which is acceptable for some but not convenient if you like to move around with your MacBook and not having anything hanging off it.

[Hans Kruse]

Hans I didn't mean to be redundant.  I just couldn't figure out if I could upgrade my RAM through something like OWC.  Thanks for the info. 

Older MacBooks that are not retina can be upgraded in a number of ways like RAM and HD and also the DVD drive can be replaced, but only the SSD can be upgrade on some retina older MBP's.

[NancyP]

Max it out, they don't let you do anything to the MBPs anymore. That being said, I have gotten good use out of my mid-2010 MBP -  I have been lucky with Macs over the last 24 years, buy one every 5 years or so. First one was a Centro, for any of you old-timers out there.

[Hans Kruse]

Max it out, they don't let you do anything to the MBPs anymore.

As mentioned in previous posts this is not entirely true.

[graeme]

As mentioned in previous posts this is not entirely true.

Fair enough Hans, but how easy is it to upgrade the SSD in a MBP?

I added & replaced RAM & hard drives in my Powermac & 2007 Mac Pro no problem but I wouldn't fancy trying to upgrade the SSD on my 13" retina MBP or the retina iMac I'm typing this on.

[Hans Kruse]

Fair enough Hans, but how easy is it to upgrade the SSD in a MBP?

I added & replaced RAM & hard drives in my Powermac & 2007 Mac Pro no problem but I wouldn't fancy trying to upgrade the SSD on my 13" retina MBP or the retina iMac I'm typing this on.

It's not all that can be upgraded at this time. You can see here which ones can be upgraded http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-2012-Drive-Internal-Flash
These kits come with the screwdriver for the screws on the back of the MBP and I have done it on previous models and no problem. There is a video coming with the kit that shows how to do it.

[graeme]

It's not all that can be upgraded at this time. You can see here which ones can be upgraded http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-2012-Drive-Internal-Flash
These kits come with the screwdriver for the screws on the back of the MBP and I have done it on previous models and no problem. There is a video coming with the kit that shows how to do it.

Thanks for the link Hans. It looks like the SSD upgrades are only for pre 2014 MBP's. Couldn't see any SSD upgrades for the retina iMac either ( which I thought was upgradeable at a push ).

Graeme

[Hans Kruse]

Thanks for the link Hans. It looks like the SSD upgrades are only for pre 2014 MBP's. Couldn't see any SSD upgrades for the retina iMac either ( which I thought was upgradeable at a push ).

That's right but I assume that the current MBP's will be upgradable in a couple of years. Right now I recommend to by the biggest SSD that is available. E.g. the extra 512GB from 512GB to 1 TB may seem expensive compared to SSD's on the market like 2.5" ones, but the performance of the internal one is so much higher and the convenience of not having to run an external drive all the time. I think the same goes for the iMac, however there are more options in this case since it is stationary and external drives is not so much a problem and thunderbolt external SSD's are available with high performance. See here for more information http://macperformanceguide.com/topics/topic-SSD.html