"Configurable to 16GB"?

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"Configurable to 16GB"?

What does it mean when the specifications of a Mid 2014 MacBook Pro with 8 GB Ram says "Configurable to 16GB"? Does it mean I can add 8GB more now after I purchased it? Or does it mean I could have done it at the time of purchase only?

These are my machine's specs. Notice the line about configuring to 16GB:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications

Most of the discussions/questions related to increasing ram capacity on your own are related to MacBooks older than 2013. So, I suspect I would only get to upgrade the ram by changing the Logic Board. Still, I am puzzled by the line: "Configurable to 16GB." It gives the impression you can actually upgrade it later.

Thanks

MacBook Pro with Retina display

Posted on Jan 7, 2018 2:55 PM

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Answer 1

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y_p_w

Level 6

17,762 points

Jan 7, 2018 3:21 PM in response to RichardKnight

Generally not replaceable. It's soldered onto the main board. Theoretically an expert might be able to remove the memory and solder higher capacity ICs, but that would really depend on how Apple sets up the memory.

From looking at the teardown, it uses BGA packaging for the RAM. This photo shows Micron, but there could multiple sources, and each manufacturer has a different pinout. DIMMs use standardized pinouts, which is why most are interchangeable.

MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Mid 2014 Logic Board Replacement - iFixit

Here's the photo:

https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/GImkQWLWZj2VUUwD.huge

I've heard of some setups where there was a secondary area on the board that was unpopulated with RAM. I've seen DIMMs where it was only populated on one side, and assembler could have doubled the capacity by populating on the other side, plus programming the SPD EEPROM differently.

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