Round 06
Repair & upgrades
One side sells machines you can open with a screwdriver. The other solders the memory to the processor before it leaves the factory.
The crowd
Opens soon
No crowd score for this round yet — the site won't show one until there are real votes behind it.
HouseRound to Windows
Round to Windows. Soldered memory settles it before the argument starts.
There's no version of this where a machine you cannot upgrade beats one you can. Apple's repair programme is a real improvement on where it was, and it doesn't change the fact that the memory is physically part of the processor package.
MacThe case for Mac
Apple's Self Service Repair programme exists now, with genuine parts and manuals — a real change from a company that spent years fighting the idea.
Fewer repairs is its own kind of reliability. Sealed construction means less dust, fewer connectors to work loose, and no ribbon cables for you to misseat.
And the unibody survives things that crack plastic laptops in half.
WinThe case for Windows
Memory and storage are replaceable on a great many Windows laptops, and on essentially every desktop. A machine that felt slow in year three gets another two years for the price of a stick of RAM.
Desktops are fully modular. A graphics card, a power supply, a motherboard — swap the part that failed rather than the computer around it.
Third-party parts and independent repair shops exist for PCs in a way they still don't for Macs, which keeps prices honest.
Who should actually care
Anyone planning to keep the machine more than four years, and anyone who has ever fixed their own computer and enjoyed it.
Common questions
Can you upgrade RAM in a MacBook?
No. On Apple silicon the memory sits on the same package as the processor. Whatever you buy is what you have for the life of the machine.
Can you replace the SSD in a Mac?
Not in current laptops — the flash is soldered to the logic board. Some desktop Macs use Apple-specific modules, which is closer to replaceable than upgradeable.
Is it worth buying a Mac with more storage up front?
If you truly need it, yes, because you can't add it later. For many people an external SSD does the job for a fraction of Apple's price.