Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

Hi,
Not sure where to post this, as there's no general/hardware Mac forum, but here goes:

I'm about to order a new MacBook Pro. I have two questions regarding the hard drive.

1. Does anyone know some more details about the 128GB SSD shipped with the MacBook Pro? There are no technical specs at all on Apple's website.
2. I know that RAM is user upgradable (at least it was on our previous 2008 model). What about the hard drive? Can I buy an SSD separately and replace without breaking Apple's warranty?

Many thanks in advance.

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

I'm pretty sure whenever you open the case, you void the warranty. The SSD drives are great to have. You can probably just do some googling to find out the average seek/write times of the newer SSDs like the OCZ series. As far as the memory, I always recommend doing it yourself. Should be straight forward. Grab some anti-static wrist bands to be safe.

JS

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

Thanks John,
I was hoping to find out which brand/model of SSD was inside the latest MBP. But if hard drives are not user upgradable, I'm "stuck" with what Apple has chosen anyway, so perhaps it doesn't matter all that much ...

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

Current models are easy to replace the HD. Here's the manual. Page 37:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/...ch_Mid2010.pdf

You can also search the apple communities for the Macbook Pro with "upgrade hard disk" as in here:
https://discussions.apple.com/commun...%20hard%20disk

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

Thanks for chiming in Les. I wasn't aware of the new guidelines. Seems post 2008, hard-drives became classified as user-upgradable.

JS

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

Thanks Les, that's great news.
So any info/recommendations about built in 128GB SSD vs. purchasing separately still appreciated.

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

Warranty regulations would be specific to Israel.
Other World Computing has some MBP SSD info on their site. But I expect in actual use a user wouldn't notice a performance difference between Apple SSD and the fastest third party model. So I think for SSD and ram it's a matter of cost.
I upgraded my 2008 MBP myself. It was somewhat difficult. For my next purchase I will look at a third party company to provide an upgraded system.

Re: Hard drive on MacBook Pro
 

It certainly does not void the warranty to replace the hard drive in a MacBook Pro. Like memory it is seen as a user upgrade & Apple even show you how to do it. MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) How to install a replacement hard drive.

I upgraded my early 2008 model to an SSD which has transformed performance & given it a new lease of life but would agree that it is somewhat difficult. The current unibody MBPs are much simpler to upgrade than the previous models & just require unscrewing 10 screws to remove the bottom plate.