HDD swapping in a macbook pro

Hey guys, i'm looking at buying a new 15".4" macbook pro but the only issue i have is the harddrive space.

On B&H there is almost a $400 price difference between the 2 that i am looking at and the only difference is the processor speed(2.3 vs 2.6) and the harddrive space (256 vs 512).

is there any way of gaining more harddrive space without paying an extra $400? i'm hoping not to use externals but i think i might have to.

jpdunn wrote in post #15614716
is there any way of gaining more harddrive space without paying an extra $400? i'm hoping not to use externals but i think i might have to.

Yea just swap the drive with a bigger one. Its not hard to do.

Kronie wrote in post #15614773
Yea just swap the drive with a bigger one. Its not hard to do.

Not if he's looking at a Retina model, they use a proprietary Samsung flash module for the SSD.

Kronie wrote in post #15614773
Yea just swap the drive with a bigger one. Its not hard to do.

I know swapping the harddrive isn't hard, i'm more concerned about how strict apple are with their warranties. Will changing harddrives affect the warranty in any way?

Moppie wrote in post #15615019
Not if he's looking at a Retina model, they use a proprietary Samsung flash module for the SSD.

The 2 in question are linked below:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …3B871860-REG%3B871861-REG

neither of which have any mention of a SSD

jpdunn wrote in post #15615215
The 2 in question are linked below:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …3B871860-REG%3B871861-REG

neither of which have any mention of a SSD

SSD is a solid state disc, or Flash storage in a small form factor HDD case.
The Retina Macbook Pro's have the Flash Storage on a proprietary card that is not user upgradable.

From the Apple Webstore:

Moppie wrote in post #15615019
Not if he's looking at a Retina model, they use a proprietary Samsung flash module for the SSD.

Oh yea, I forgot the new models aren't user upgradeable.

jpdunn wrote in post #15615215
I know swapping the harddrive isn't hard, i'm more concerned about how strict apple are with their warranties. Will changing harddrives affect the warranty in any way?

If its a non retina model with just a regular spinning drive, you can swap the drive and it doesn't void your warranty. If you break something while your in there your in trouble though....

I would order it with a standard platter drive then look into one of these kits

http://eshop.macsales.​com …rive_bracket/da​tadoubler/

I just put a SSD in a hackintosh and man do they fly.

bucket772 wrote in post #15618846
I would order it with a standard platter drive then look into one of these kits

http://eshop.macsales.​com …rive_bracket/da​tadoubler/

I just put a SSD in a hackintosh and man do they fly.

This!! just this past September I bought an i7 15" Mbp non-retina with a 500gb hard drive. Never even booted it , Went to OWC and bought a 128gb SSD and data doubler package, in addition to 16gb of ram, installed that SSD in place of my optical drive, made the SSD my primary and the 500gb is now just for data and a boot camp partition. Holy cow she smokes now!! Ridiculous how fast it boots , loads apps, etc...do I wish I had the retina? Yeah sure, but an external monitor hooked up to her and then I get the best of both worlds, plus a nice cost savings...