All prices are based on the Apple Online Store, non-educational prices. The 13" 2.53ghz MBP is priced at ₱85,990 and has 4gb of ram and a 250gb/5400rpm hard drive. The 13" 2.26ghz MBP is priced at ₱68,990 and has 2gb of ram and a 160gb/5400rpm hard drive. Their difference in price is ₱17,000. 4gb of ram costs ₱2,800 locally. A 500gb/5400rpm hard drive can be bought for as low as ₱4,500 locally. Together, both upgrades will cost a combined ₱7,300. Add that to the cost of the 2.26 MBP and it's price will rise to ₱76,290. Spending that much will result in a computer with the following specs: A 2.26ghz processor with 4gb of ram and a 500gb/5400rpm hard drive. You also have a spare 160gb/5400rpm hard drive that you can use as an external. After upgrading the 2.26, the difference in price between that and the 2.53 model is still a staggering ₱9,700. A difference of 0.27ghz is VERY minimal and will probably give you about 1-2 seconds faster times when doing time consuming tasks such as encoding video. For most users, a real time difference wouldn't even be felt. Is the ₱9,700 really worth the negligent bump in speed? Just a bit of food for thought for those considering a 13" MBP.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP Actually you can get those items much lower. If you ask around.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP Nice comparison, im now leaning towards the 2.25gz , if only its available with our suki na.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP He hasn't been replying his PMs for a while now. It seems like he's pretty busy nowadays.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP Of course. I'm just using the prices on the Apple store to prove a simple point.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP Nice Mig. It's as if you're reading my mind . It's actually better for me because I already have the 4GB RAM. Sure, it's a processor downgrade from my current 2.4 Uni but what's more important to me is the Firewire and better screen. Can't wait for Snow Leopard to finally get the 13" MBP. If only I can sell my 2.4 Uni at 60K now hahahaha...
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP If you do the upgrade, potentially you: - void the warranty, as upgrade is now via removal of the keyboard top case (no replaceable battery anymore) - end up with a hard disk and memory module that is not covered by apple warranty - won't be able to cover the memory and hard disk with additional 2 yrs warranty if you decide to get applecare - end up using inferior quality components available in retail outlets vs. the top-quality versions provided to the manufacturers
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP waiting for my 2.26... still hesitant about the 4GB upgrade though as many seem to have complained this upgrade on the unibodies. i dunno how the new MBP 13 will do with the ram upgrades. i've taken out my 320GB HDD from my macbook before i sold it but i'm also considering going 500GB HDD just to make sure i don't run out of space. hehehe! tipidpc time. btw, upgrading won't void the warranty. as long as i'm happy, that's all cool!
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP @piedad, you mean the RAM on the new "sealed-battery" MBPs are not user-upgradeable? What about the hard disk? Re: warranty, most 3rd-party RAM have lifetime warranties, and hard disks from official dealers have at least a 3-year warranty (some up to 5 years). So they're AT LEAST equal to Applecare warranty. Also, I don't think OEM components are necessarily better than what you can get from 3rd-party suppliers. I have roughly the same failure rate of Apple-installed hard disks vs. user-installed hard disks.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP Out of curiosity, I went to look if this is true. I went to the Apple Support Site to get/download the manual/user guide for the new 13" MacBook Pro. http://support.apple.com/manuals/#portablecomputers (ATTN: CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW WILL CAUSE A PDF FILE TO START DOWNLOADING) http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_Pro_13inch_Mid2009.pdf In the Manual, Chapter 3 is entitled "Boost Your MacBook Pro" with two entries, "Replacing the Hard Disk Drive" on page 37, and "Installing Additional Memory" on page 44" There is a warning at the start of the chapter that reads Thus, I take this to mean, if you've had experience upgrading your own equipment and are confident you won't muck up your MacBook, go right ahead since you probably know what your doing. Otherwise, have the service dept of a local reseller do it for you. The rest of the chapter goes into graphic and diagramatic detail on how to replace your Hard Drive and how to add additional RAM step-by-step. So simply replacing the hard drive and RAM won't void the warranty. It's only if you mess up your MBP because you mucked up the upgrade is when the warranty is voided. In other words, nothing's changed. They've always made the same warning before and they've always shown how to do it. So don't mess up the upgrade. Hope this helps you guys.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP I have been upgrading the ram and hard disk of my mac portables ever since I can remember. I did my own hard disk and memory upgrade to both of my Wallstreet G3 Powerbook and my Tibook G4 Powerbook. When their LCD failed I took them in for repairs in Apple repair centers in both Japan and Hong Kong, never had a problem with warranty service. Even with the sealed battery, upgrading the RAM and HD of the sealed Macbook Pros is much easier and defintetly user upgradable. Also take note, Apple also gets its RAM and Hard Disk from third party suppliers. Just look at the brand of their hard disks - you get fujitsu, toshiba and Samsung (for their SSD). No difference in quality if you buy the same brand separately. Also for the unibody Macbook/Pros you do not need to take off the keyboard to do hard disk and memory upgrades. Even with the sealed battery versions. Its all down there at the bottom.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP It seems to be a gray area - user replacing hard disks and memory. I notice that when I sent my MacbookPro for repair via PowerMac, they installed "warranty void if seal broken" stickers at the areas which you need to touch to open up the machine. If you upgrade the machine yourself, you risk accidentally damaging or misaligning or failing to reconnect something that can cause a problem. When you then ask Apple warranty to check, they will blame your upgrade activity, and it will be hard to argue against that. Heck, even after 6 months or so after your upgrade, if it was obvious, they can still argue that it was because of the upgrade which was not done by them. Hassle to resolve, at the very least. Patrick, from a top executive of a hard disk manufacturer, we learned about the different quality control levels they apply, and about how the ones that meet or exceed their highest tests goes to the OEM manufacturers, the lower ones going to the commercial distributors, and the even lower ones going to the public spot market. It is not a guarantee that one will fail less than the other, but your risks are higher for the ones that have lower passing marks.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP It seems that the only gray area here is Powermac's service. I remember reading in another thread that they said the same thing about ugrading on your own and they charge you for the upgrade if you didn't buy your Mac from them. Had a similar experience with them when I went to have my then week-old Macbook (that I didn't buy from them)serviced. And no, Apple OEM parts are not necessarily superior in quality compared to buying 3rd party parts as long as you know what to look for.
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP i think i missed out on the RAM upgrade issues on the unibodies, what were the problems?
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP so if your planning to upgrade the memory and hard disk what would be the best time to replace it?is there any possibility that apple warranty or apple care can handle hard drive and memory upgrades?
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP - Its still through the bottom case, actually. - Memory and hard drives, when bought brand new, are always covered with manufacturer warranty. I've not seen a reputable memory dealer who doesn't offer lifetime warranty anymore. Hard drives are also covered 3-5 years. - You won't need to have them covered as they'll be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. In some cases, the warranty of the ram/hard drive will even be longer than AppleCare. - Have you got any proof to back this up? As with the earlier statement, have you got any proof to actually back this up? I personally think it'd be pretty hard for them to blame, for example, a logic board problem to your hard drive/ram upgrade. Unless there's physical damage in the ram or hard drive slots, I doubt they would actually do that. Anyway, this is faaar from my point already. I'm just saying the 2.26 provides better value for money than the 2.53 one. Personally, I think it'll be okay to replace the memory as soon as you get your computer. The warranty on memory is often lifetime, so it'll be covered no matter when you use it. With the hard drive, I suggest only replacing it when you actually need the space already. This maximizes the warranty on it as most drives are covered 3-5 years. You might even end up with an out of warranty computer but with a covered hard drive!
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP in short,if your gona do the upgrade yourself just do it properly and buy a good ram and hd
Re: Buying a 13"? A Case for the 2.26 MBP If that's the case, it sure doesn't show, at least in my experience. Either way, bottom-line is make sure to backup, since all hard drives eventually fail @rafaelc378, thanks for the clarification. So nothing has changed with the new unibody MBPs with built-in batteries -- upgrading RAM and hard disk won't void the warranty, as long as you're careful I agree with mig, 3rd-party RAM and hard disk upgrades are a great way to go. You certainly don't lose anything as far as warranty is concerned -- as long as you buy from legitimate sources.
