Other World Computing Releases Aftermarket SSD Upgrade for Retina MacBook Pro

[MacRumors]

Other World Computing has released a 480GB aftermarket SSD upgrade for the Retina MacBook Pro. However, while OWC's upgrades for the MacBook Air are very price-competitive with the storage upgrades available at the Apple Online Store, the 480GB Aura Pro 6G is less clear-cut.

In its blog post announcing the release, OWC notes that "when introduced this past June, the MacBook Pro with Retina display base model offered a 256GB SSD configuration with no upgrade option." While this used to be true, at the beginning of this month, Apple expanded the custom configuration options for the Retina MacBook Pro. Now, users can upgrade the base model with either 512 or 768GB of storage.

The 512GB upgrade costs $500 from Apple, while OWC offers the 480GB SSD for $579.99. Though it appears to be more expensive, the OWC upgrade does allow users to keep the 256GB drive that comes in the notebook by default. For purchasers ordering the Mercury Aura Pro before September 30, OWC will include the $60 OWC Envoy Pro for free, an external USB 3.0 enclosure for the SSD drive from the Retina MacBook Pro. This gives users a very speedy (and very small) external drive.

Article Link: Other World Computing Releases Aftermarket SSD Upgrade for Retina MacBook Pro

[hyperipod]

ha, and iFixit said the rMBP wasn't upgradeable at all!

[mattkidd]

tempted too buy this upgrade must say, the 256 is not enough; though $580 seriously! Hmm

[Diseal3]

Originally Posted by hyperipod

ha, and iFixit said the rMBP wasn't upgradeable at all!

The RAM because it is soldered and battery because it is glued are the two items that are the pain. iFixit's guide shows it is easy to remove the SSD.

[bananaboi]

At that price? No thanks. I would rather buy a crucial m4 512gb SSD for $400 and connect it to a thunderbolt adapter.

[smash]

Why would anyone buy this? I've nuked an SSD in my MacBook Air before and that's precisely why I bought AppleCare for the rMBP…

What kind of warranty does it have? I doubt it's as convenient to replace as going to the Genius Bar by any measure, and that means your machine is going down for days

[Codyak]

Originally Posted by smash

What kind of warranty does it have? I doubt it's as convenient to replace as going to the Genius Bar by any measure, and that means your machine is going down for days

3 Year warranty and it takes someone with average intelligence and the correct screwdriver about 5 minutes to replace the SSD in the rMBP.

Originally Posted by bananaboi

At that price? No thanks. I would rather buy a crucial m4 512gb SSD for $400 and connect it to a thunderbolt adapter.

Don't forget the $100 cost of that adapter.

[skystuntz]

I figured this upgrade would come along, seeing that its the only thing I can upgrade on my rMBP. I give it a few months for the price to drop. SSD prices are around a buck per gig these days. USB 3 hasn't let me down. Though mountain lion seems forget the external HDD's are attached when coming back from sleep mode.

[jse75]

Getting to keep the 256GB SSD has some value, but I think what a lot of people want (at least what I want) is to have a replacement that's a better value for the 768GB option.

It would be nice if OWC could develop a 750GB or 960GB option (2 x 480). If it's competitive with the $1000 that Apple is charging, it would be a plus.

For a lot of people with a large photo collection (let alone video), 500GB is pushing it if you don't want to rely on external storage. If you can have a larger internal storage option, the rMBP can easily replace a Mac Pro for almost everything. It's nearly as fast on Geekbench as a 3.33ghz hexacore Mac Pro and the real world benchmarks say it is basically the same. But if you need to rely on large amounts of external storage, you're tethered to that...

[Anonymous Freak]

Originally Posted by hyperipod

ha, and iFixit said the rMBP wasn't upgradeable at all!

At the time, it wasn't.

[iRobby]

I'm hoping my MacBook Pro Retina base model coming next Monday w/ 256GB is enough contrary to OWCwebsite saying they have received many reports that the 256GB is not enough from Retina customers.

I based not upgrading on the fact that I currently use 74.5 GB out of 232GB on my 2005 Dell desktop

I'm hoping that the Apple software isn't huge and and fills up over 1/2 of the drive before I add music and other files.

[iMacFarlane]

Originally Posted by iRobby

I'm hoping my MacBook Pro Retina base model coming next Monday w/ 256GB is enough contrary to OWCwebsite saying they have received many reports that the 256GB is not enough from Retina customers.

I based not upgrading on the fact that I currently use 74.5 GB out of 232GB on my 2005 Dell desktop

I'm hoping that the Apple software isn't huge and and fills up over 1/2 of the drive before I add music and other files.

The Apple software is not huge. The OS and iLife together weighs in at 20-30GB, depending on your installation.

[Diode]

Originally Posted by jse75

Getting to keep the 256GB SSD has some value, but I think what a lot of people want (at least what I want) is to have a replacement that's a better value for the 768GB option.

It would be nice if OWC could develop a 750GB or 960GB option (2 x 480). If it's competitive with the $1000 that Apple is charging, it would be a plus.

Perhaps because at ~ $1000 people are no longer budget conscious and would prefer Apple just do it? Even if it was a $100+ savings. The few that would opt for it probably wouldn't make the development / expense investment worth it. Could be wrong though.

I suspect as flash prices drop and Apple continues to maintain the $1000 upgrade until the next refresh - this will change.

[guzhogi]

I was hoping for at least 768 GB to compete w/ Apple. I have a pretty big iPhoto library as well as iTunes. Plus, I use Boot Camp, so I need some space for Windows as well.

For external storage, I kinda wish this had a TB port. That thing would scream, and be portable to boot (no pun intended).

[striker33]

Why would anyone want to put super fast storage modules into a crappy USB 3 enclosure?

Thunderbolt or GTFO.

[Codyak]

Originally Posted by striker33

Why would anyone want to put super fast storage modules into a crappy USB 3 enclosure?

Thunderbolt or GTFO.

The Apple SSD can read/write ~450MB/s, USB 3.0 can theoretically do 600MB/s (although probably less in practice).

[iRobby]

Originally Posted by iRobby

I'm hoping my MacBook Pro Retina base model coming next Monday w/ 256GB is enough contrary to OWCwebsite saying they have received many reports that the 256GB is not enough from Retina customers.

I based not upgrading on the fact that I currently use 74.5 GB out of 232GB on my 2005 Dell desktop

I'm hoping that the Apple software isn't huge and and fills up over 1/2 of the drive before I add music and other files.

Originally Posted by iMacFarlane

The Apple software is not huge. The OS and iLife together weighs in at 20-30GB, depending on your installation.

My installation? I thought it was preinstalled.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by striker33

Why would anyone want to put super fast storage modules into a crappy USB 3 enclosure?

Thunderbolt or GTFO.

Because for warranty purposes you cannot sell the original SSD that came with the rMBP.

I had the same issue with my MBA. Had to keep the original drive in case I needed service.

Now that drive is in an Aura USB 3.0 enclosure and it makes a great portable drive.

[undies1993]

Originally Posted by Codyak

The Apple SSD can read/write ~450MB/s, USB 3.0 can theoretically do 600MB/s (although probably less in practice).

Does that make the OWC faster or slower?

[Codyak]

Originally Posted by undies1993

Does that make the OWC faster or slower?

OWC says they can get 500MB/s from theirs, which is a nice little upgrade, but it's hard to say until an outside is review is done.

[undies1993]

Originally Posted by Codyak

OWC says they can get 500MB/s from theirs, which is a nice little upgrade, but it's hard to say until an outside is review is done.

That's true.

[PatrickDollard]

Am I the only one who thinks the Envoy Pro looks very sleek? I was hoping it would fit a 2.5"...

[timd.mackey]

Originally Posted by striker33

Why would anyone want to put super fast storage modules into a crappy USB 3 enclosure?

Thunderbolt or GTFO.

Is 500MB/s not fast enough for you?

[theBB]

Originally Posted by jse75

For a lot of people with a large photo collection (let alone video), 500GB is pushing it if you don't want to rely on external storage. If you can have a larger internal storage option, the rMBP can easily replace a Mac Pro for almost everything. It's nearly as fast on Geekbench as a 3.33ghz hexacore Mac Pro and the real world benchmarks say it is basically the same. But if you need to rely on large amounts of external storage, you're tethered to that...

If you are trying to pick between MacPro and Macbook, and if it really comes down to whether you have enough internal storage, MacPro is tethered to the plug anyways, so having to carry an external drive for some tasks does not sound like a deal breaker.

[longofest]

Originally Posted by striker33

Why would anyone want to put super fast storage modules into a crappy USB 3 enclosure?

Thunderbolt or GTFO.

Because Thunderbolt is incredibly expensive, and USB 3 is plenty fast for this purpose.