Upgrading the MACBOOK RAM to 1GIG in the Apple Store, but don't want to pay $200?!?

[Kidman13]

So I understood from another thread that if I want to upgrade the MACBOOK RAM to 1gig in the Apple Store it will cost you $200 instead of $100 (online). This is because they give you the 2x 256MB sticks that they pull out.

Now this is my problem:

I will be in the states for exactly 1 week when I was planning on purchasing the macbook.

Because I live on a pretty remote Island in the carribean right now where it's really hard to get companies to ship to (and when they do the shipping prices are freaking high), I can't order RAM online at any store.

But I really wanted it with 1Gig RAM, but I really don't want to pay $200 and plus those 2 extra sticks I get won't be any use to me what so ever (and would be very hard to sell at $50 a piece). So my question is that there is any other way?

Don't they have Macbook in the Apple Store that come preloaded with 1Gig of RAM?

Or could it be possible to call the Apple Store I will be visiting in the States and maybe ask them to order one for me, and I will pick it up there? (i will be in the states from 5 July till 12 july)?????

 

[Peace]

If you're going to be in the states for one week order the RAM from a different place online thats cheaper and make sure they ship it to your US addy FedEx overnight or something.

 

[Zman5225]

I would do like Peace suggested and order the ram online and get them to ship to your address in the states. This might require you to make a phone call to order it though. If you already know where you are staying (ie friends place) just order it now so that it arrives well in advance so you don't have to pay any additional overnight shipping charges or anything. Then when you get over here, your ram will be here, and you can take it to the store with you, do your upgrades while you're at the store so you can also check for dead pixels, or anything else like that you might not want.

 

[Copland]

Alternatively, while you're in the US you could purchase Ram at a Best Buy or CompUSA or something, and then install it yourself.

 

[Acehigh]

Or could it be possible to call the Apple Store I will be visiting in the States and maybe ask them to order one for me, and I will pick it up there? (i will be in the states from 5 July till 12 july)?????

Only stock machines, at the Apple stores. The get alot of items in everyday it will be hard for them to keep track of a Macbook somebody order with 1GB of ram.




Where in the States will you be. So maybe somebody knows a local store that will sell ram at a better price then. Or if you willing to give somebody extra money I sure they will order it for you and sell it to you at a higher price for the trouble.

I got 2GB for 165 shipped. If i got $200 i know i would sell it.

 

[FirePak]

ALmost every city has some kind of electronics store you could buy the ram from. In phoenix when i bought my mbp i went over to frys and picked up 2 gig fro about 179$. You could have your ram installed in about 10 mins and if there is anything wrong with it you could return it immediately. I had to return my ram to frys after memtest returned a bunch of errors. If you were to buy it from crucial or somewhere online any problems could be really difficult to fix.

 

[CanadaRAM]

If you're going to be in the states for one week order the RAM from a different place online thats cheaper and make sure they ship it to your US addy FedEx overnight or something.

Most internet vendors would not ship to a combination of

1) Offshore credit card
2) Shipping address to a location which is not the verified cardholder address

That's 2/3 of the classic credit card scam recipe. The last 1/3 is "Ship it urgent". Oh, umm, err... OK, so your purchase profile inadvertently hits all the danger markers for fraud... so it will be doubly hard to arrange a purchase, because you'll have to convince the seller that they are not taking a huge risk.

In order to do it this way it is better to have a friend in US order the RAM for you and have it shipped to them. When you arrive, they can give you the RAM and you reimbourse them the money. Any other arrangement has a high % chance of getting messed up and missing your delivery window.

Also, you are on your own for shipping expenses when it comes to overseas warranty replacement. MAKE SURE YOU INSTALL AND TEST THE RAM BEFORE YOU LEAVE, especially if it is RAM from a PC discounter that is not guaranteed compatible with your model Mac.

We had a customer call us and tell us they bought RAM, they moved to a South American country, and now the RAM wasn't working. They shipped the RAM back to us at huge expense. Wrong RAM - they shipped us back some off-brand RAM they bought somewhere else. Sorry Charlie -- they were out all of the shipping and double if they wanted the bad stick sent back.

 

[Kidman13]

I would do like Peace suggested and order the ram online and get them to ship to your address in the states. This might require you to make a phone call to order it though. If you already know where you are staying (ie friends place) just order it now so that it arrives well in advance so you don't have to pay any additional overnight shipping charges or anything. Then when you get over here, your ram will be here, and you can take it to the store with you, do your upgrades while you're at the store so you can also check for dead pixels, or anything else like that you might not want.

Allright I might order it from NEWEGG then. Now if I take the RAM to the Apple Store will they install it for me? And if so will they charge?

Another question would this RAM be good?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145008

 

[CanadaRAM]

Allright I might order it from NEWEGG then. Now if I take the RAM to the Apple Store will they install it for me?

Maybe. Some Apple outlets refuse. You'll have better luck at an independent Apple dealer.

And if so will they charge?

Definitely. Around here, the charge is $30 - $45 depending on where you ask.

Another question would this RAM be good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145008

It is the correct nominal specification. However Corsair ValueSelect is inexpensive PC Generic RAM - it cannot be compared to the Corsair CMX and TwinX series for quality. Neither Corsair nor NewEgg guarantee compatibility with Macs for this RAM so you are on your own for testing.

 

[FirePak]

It would be way cheaper to do it yourself, On the MBP you remove the battery and remove 2 screws and your there. On mine i think in total it took about 15 mins. Just make sure your getting them in all the way, it takes a little force to lock them in completely. And also download memtest and run the new ram through it to make sure its not faulty.

 

[Kidman13]

mmhh I see. Well I think I'll just start off with the 512 and then later I'll upgrade to 1GIG.

Now do you really notice a significant difference between 512 and 1gig? I will most likely use it for daily normal things, like chatting, surfing the web, school stuff, watching movies, listening to music.

 

[26139]

Apple Retail Stores

By rule, Apple Retail Stores are not allowed to install ram that isn't bought from them for liability reasons (and financial, I'm sure).

It's REALLY easy to do though.

 

[Acehigh]

By rule, Apple Retail Stores are not allowed to install ram that isn't bought from them for liability reasons (and financial, I'm sure).

It's REALLY easy to do though.

They will install it, you will have to pay them $30...

 

[GimmeSlack12]

mmhh I see. Well I think I'll just start off with the 512 and then later I'll upgrade to 1GIG.

Now do you really notice a significant difference between 512 and 1gig? I will most likely use it for daily normal things, like chatting, surfing the web, school stuff, watching movies, listening to music.

Don't make the same mistake I made. Go for 1gb. It is noticeable of a difference. A snappier system is what you'll get, and believe me, it is so nice.

I started with a 512mb upgrade on my iBook, after 8 months I was fed up with running out of memory, and got a 1gb and jeez, very noticeable.

GET 1 GIG!

EDIT: INSTALL IT YOURSELF. If you can change a lightbulb, you can install the RAM yourself. Seriously, it is that easy.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

Just use it with 512mb for now. It'll be more than usable. That way, when you do get the 1GB, you can see the significant performance upgrade. Almost like getting a new computer.

Changing memory in a macbook:
1. Remove battery
2. Open memory case (three screws using an eyeglasses screwdriver)
3. Pull out old memory (a snap)
4. Put in new memory (a snap)

Search google. There are videos for the 2 minutes it takes to install new memory.

BTW, for $200, you can get 2GB (try OWC).