Macintosh 512ke Theoretical Ram Upgrade

[DemagnetizedMedia]

Unlike the Mac Plus, the 512ke uses chips soldered to the board instead of simms. Since the 512ke uses the Mac Plus's roms and pretty much is a Mac Plus with less ram, could I install higher capacity chips to upgrade the board to 1mb?

Source: https://lowendmac.com/1986/mac-512ke/#:~:text

 

[JC8080]

There were numerous RAM expansion boards available for the 512k, I have never heard of upgrading the onboard RAM, though that doesn't mean it isn't possible. The RAM expansion boards turn up for sale sometimes, that might be your best option unless you are just looking for a project.

 

[Builder68]

In the late 1980s, many tech enthusiasts and repair technicians commonly upgraded the onboard RAM of early Macintosh models. This process involved piggybacking additional DRAM chips onto the motherboard and adding chip registers to manage the expanded memory. While tempting for its performance boost, it was a risky and irreversible modification due to delicate soldering techniques.

Today, you can occasionally find RAM expansion boards on eBay. However, due to the increased value placed on original configurations for these vintage machines, this type of modification is rarely attempted. I would not recommend this mod to anyone unless for the truly hardcore!