Can tablets be upgraded?

[Aeophile]

I am looking at several tablets, Including the Asus Transformer T100, some of the Vostro 11 Pro tablets, the Vostro 8 Pro, and Windows Surface tablets. I have researched the processors, and some of them can support 4GB of RAM, but the tablets only come with 2GB. Are there any tablets that cam be taken apart for upgrading components such as RAM and USB 2.0 to 3.0? Also, some of the processors can handle 64 bit Windows 8, but the tablets come with the 32 bit version. Can this be upgraded or changed? I can research the hardware components to see if they will accept such upgrades, but do not know if there are other hardware components aside from the CPU that I would need to check for compatibility; although, any additional advice would of course be appreciated. I really need to know if any tablets out there can be taken apart for modification though, as I can attempt this in stores with display models, and the manufacturers will not answer me when I ask, because they want me to buy the more expensive models directly from them or they do not want to say yes and then have me complain if I break my device. Thanks.

 

[The_Prophecy]

The majority of tablet systems cannot receive hardware upgrades. Often times if you attempt to open the unit, the warranty will be immediately voided. If you know the CPU in a given tablet supports 64 bit versions of Windows and the unit ships with 32 bit, wiping it and reinstalling a 64 bit copy should work fine.

 

[Aeophile]

The majority of tablet systems cannot receive hardware upgrades. Often times if you attempt to open the unit, the warranty will be immediately voided. If you know the CPU in a given tablet supports 64 bit versions of Windows and the unit ships with 32 bit, wiping it and reinstalling a 64 bit copy should work fine.

Greatly appreciate the answer re: upgrading from 32 to 64 bit OS. However, I should have been more specific in my desires as a consumer. I am not particularly concerned with voiding the warranty, because with the models I would want to upgrade are significantly cheaper alternatives to models that I would have no need to upgrade. Consequently, if I were to void the warranty, it would be less of a big deal, since the tablet would have cost me half as much to start. Secondly, my intent would likely not be to immediately take the thing apart and throw in more RAM. I assume it would be configured sufficiently to suffice for my needs out of the box. I am thinking about a year down the line though, when the warranty has expired, I have loaded the device up with a bunch of programs and filled up the hard drive, and web content has gotten one year more data-rich. So, if warranty were of no concern, could more RAM be added? Or, are there other issues to consider aside from whether the processor can handle it? Is the RAM in tablets soldered to the motherboard or something like that? Or, could I still snap it in and out, like in my laptop? And, is it even possible to take tablets apart? Most obviously do not have screws to make the task idiot-friendly, but are there special tools available or other techniques?

 

[The_Prophecy]

Tablets can generally be taken apart, though it is more difficult than a regular laptop. A lot of them also have ram soldered to the motherboard though, so even if you wanted to add more ram in, you couldn't. See if you can find tear-down videos for the model you are most interested in buying, and that should give you the info you need.