Similarly excited readers have pointed out that older MacBooks and certain other Macs are also easy to upgrade… but at least one Mac (surprise: the Mac mini) is not. Last week, buoyed by (finally!) reasonable SSD prices and a desire to try a DIY project, I walked through the steps to replace a prior-generation iMac’s hard drive with an SSD. Now I’m seeing five times the hard drive speeds, apps are loading instantly, and my iMac feels as responsive as the MacBooks and iPads that beat it to the SSD game. Even with 400GB of available space, OS X Yosemite’s constant hard drive accessing had brought my quad-core, 3.4GHz Core i7 machine to its knees. After installing a solid state drive (SSD) with no moving parts, the drone of my iMac’s hard drive and fans has given way to such an absence of sound that I only hear the high-pitched squeal of my office lights. Knowing what’s possible or in your case, what’s not possible before you make a purchasing decision is the best way to avoid a disheartening surprise down the road.My Mac is now silent.

Upgrading can generally extend the life of an older computer for years since most users spend most of their time on the Internet. Not only can it increase the amount of storage you’ll have available, but it can also significantly improve the speed, especially on older units that have older hard drive technology.

The single most important device that you want to be able to upgrade is the hard drive, preferably with a Solid State Drive (SSD). No matter what you think you need today, it’s very likely you’ll need more in the future. I recently wrote about this issue when it comes to All-In-One computers ( 4 Reasons to Avoid All-In-One PCs.) When a hardware component fails, if you can’t cost-effectively replace that specific component, you’re faced with a repair bill that can be close to buying a new computer. Question: I just found out that my MacBook Pro’s hard drive can’t be upgraded because it’s soldered in! When did this change happen on Macs?Īnswer: A couple of things everyone buying a new computer should always consider is both the upgradeability and reparability of the unit.

Cost to replace mac pro hard drive