2013 Macbook Air SSD replacement - wow!

[r6mile]

I just replaced the 128GB SSD that originally came in my Macbook Air. I believe it is a Samsung SSUAX. I decided to get a bigger drive to start dual-booting, try some VMs, etc. I didn't want to go the nVME route as I would have lost deep sleep, so I got a second-hand SSUBX 256GB SSD from a 2015 Macbook Pro I believe. It only set me back £38 on eBay so I thought, worth a shot.

All I can say is - wow! Previously, I was getting about 400-450MBps read speeds, and 700-750 MBps write speeds. With the new drive, it's jumped to 1100-1200 MBps reads, and 1350-1450 MBps writes. I expected a performance increase from the bigger capacity and the faster SSD controller, but not really as much as this! Highly recommend this upgrade for anyone in a similar position!

 

[ghanwani]

Upgrading a machine to extend its life is always fun. Not possible with newer machines.

 

[r6mile]

Upgrading a machine to extend its life is always fun. Not possible with newer machines.

My Macbook Air has had replaced:
Display assembly (under Applecare, LCD yellowed)
Keyboard+topcase (by me, to replace keys that had come off)
Battery (by me, had failed)
And now SSD

The only bits that are original are the logic board and the bottom case I think!

 

[ghanwani]

My Macbook Air has had replaced:
Display assembly (under Applecare, LCD yellowed)
Keyboard+topcase (by me, to replace keys that had come off)
Battery (by me, had failed)
And now SSD

The only bits that are original are the logic board and the bottom case I think!

Replacing because of malfunction is a bit different than upgrading because it doesn't change the performance from the original configuration. Being able to update RAM & Disk was a great way to extend the useful life of a machine.

Technically, it is possible to have a lot of parts replaced by Apple even with the newer machines (e.g. keyboard, system board, display, battery, etc.).

 

[uchechris911]

I just replaced the 128GB SSD that originally came in my Macbook Air. I believe it is a Samsung SSUAX. I decided to get a bigger drive to start dual-booting, try some VMs, etc. I didn't want to go the nVME route as I would have lost deep sleep, so I got a second-hand SSUBX 256GB SSD from a 2015 Macbook Pro I believe. It only set me back £38 on eBay so I thought, worth a shot.

All I can say is - wow! Previously, I was getting about 400-450MBps read speeds, and 700-750 MBps write speeds. With the new drive, it's jumped to 1100-1200 MBps reads, and 1350-1450 MBps writes. I expected a performance increase from the bigger capacity and the faster SSD controller, but not really as much as this! Highly recommend this upgrade for anyone in a similar position!

Im assuming you on Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur?

 

[r6mile]

Im assuming you on Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur?

Mainly Catalina, but have just installed Mojave on another APFS volume to play some 32 bit games. And amazingly, this Macbook Air (which I really love and has served me extremely well) will even run Big Sur, so will upgrade my Catalina install to that when it's out.

 

[SmOgER]

Upgrading a machine to extend its life is always fun. Not possible with newer machines.

Even with original 128GB SSD everything is responsive and smooth as butter. Those things are unbeatable and really set the bar back in the day. Plenty of brand new windows laptops are considerably slower / not as smooth lol.

 

[r6mile]

Even with original 128GB SSD everything is responsive and smooth as butter. Those things are unbeatable and really set the bar back in the day. Plenty of brand new windows laptops are considerably slower / not as smooth lol.

Yes, I mostly upgraded because of the extra storage space. The performance increase was just a very nice bonus! I do think the computer is a bit more responsive opening apps, but I never had any complaints before. (except for the fans going full blast playing any sort of game)

What really doesn't make sense to me though is Apple putting these crazy fast SSDs in laptops for a while now, but until jusr recently selling desktops with HDDs as a default. Thankfully they have just now stopped doing that now, but took them long enough!

 

[Audit13]

The boost in speed came from the addition of 2 lanes in the SSUBX.

The SSUAX is a PCIe x2 drive while the SSUBX is a x4 drive.