You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
I got a Macbook Pro mid-2015 Retina as a gift. It comes with the Intel Iris Pro graphics card. I heard upscale models have the AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB of GDDR5. Is it possible to upgrade mine to one this card instead? The store this one was originally purchased from doesn't carry this model. Thanks.
MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.2)
You could theoretically swap out the logic board. In general that would be more trouble than it's worth. I'm not sure if Apple will do a battery service if they find out the machine has an unauthorized board swap. iFixit says that any swap might need different heat sinks. You didn't say which size, but this explains it:
MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Mid 2015, Integrated Graphics) 2.2 GHz 16 GB RAM Logic Board - iFixit
MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Mid 2015) Logic Boards had either dual graphics processors or a single integrated graphics processor. The heat sinks for these two models are not interchangeable. If you are replacing your logic board with one that has different graphics processors you may need to replace the heat sink as well.
Apple doesn't do MXM, which is rather bulky.
You could theoretically swap out the logic board. In general that would be more trouble than it's worth. I'm not sure if Apple will do a battery service if they find out the machine has an unauthorized board swap. iFixit says that any swap might need different heat sinks. You didn't say which size, but this explains it:
MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Mid 2015, Integrated Graphics) 2.2 GHz 16 GB RAM Logic Board - iFixit
MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Mid 2015) Logic Boards had either dual graphics processors or a single integrated graphics processor. The heat sinks for these two models are not interchangeable. If you are replacing your logic board with one that has different graphics processors you may need to replace the heat sink as well.
Apple doesn't do MXM, which is rather bulky.
As others said, there is no upgrading this actual Macbook Pro. If it were new and you were still within your exchange period you might be able to upgrade that way. Otherwise, your only option if you really want the higher end graphics would be to sell this Macbook Pro and buy one with Radeon graphics.
MaxHedrm wrote:
As others said, there is no upgrading this actual Macbook Pro. If it were new and you were still within your exchange period you might be able to upgrade that way. Otherwise, your only option if you really want the higher end graphics would be to sell this Macbook Pro and buy one with Radeon graphics.
A logic board transplant is about it. I wouldn't recommend it. However, it could be cheaper with a trade-in of the original board.
Thanks everyone. FYI it was a 15 inch. I did a little more diligent research after posting this and came to the same conclusion. I’m debating going to the new one but I’m a little bummed the latest models don’t have a lot of ports (ie memory card, hdmi) without needing a bunch of overpriced adapters. Wondering if it’s even worth the swap. I don’t necessarily do a lot of high-graphics stuff but would like the option in case I ever wanted or needed to. (I do magazine editor/light graphic work). I guess I’ll look to getting the new one if that day is ever necessary. Was just seeing if there was a way to make this one a little faster in the meantime....
There is no "card." Everything is soldered to the logic board. Nothing can be upgraded.
Upgrade mid-2015 graphics card to high-end model one?
