Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2015 MBP portable SSD

olindacat

olindacat

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 15, 2011
248
46
Greenwich
Seeking advice on how best to utilize the ports on a 2015 15" MBP to get SSD speed for video editing. I'm still under Apple Care and assume (correct me if I am wrong) if I swap internal SSD I void?

So, my only other option would be fast SD cards, SSD connected to either the USB or the TB2 ports.

Any suggestions as to tactics/strategy here?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
olindacat said:
Tech is changing so rapidly. Any thoughts on the cheapest, fastest, most-abundant portable SSD solution for the 2015 MBP to use for video might be? Let me further complicate by adding I have a 2011 iMac and and am hoping Apple comes out with a 16" miracle machine to address the countless concerns I have over their recent hardware woes. Is future-proofing feasible, e.g., USB 3.1 or TB3 to TB2 adapter? Is anyone in my boat the wiser? I have an attic full of cords and adapters and the notion I have to drop another $50 for another cord is a concern. I think I have an ESATA to TB, TB to USB 3, and TB2 to USB-C, and a hundred others, including toasters and the like.

Am editing iPhone and some Nikon D810 videos on the laptop and iMac. Am hoping to use this to move between machines, render off of it like a 2nd internal, although I may never succeed. I even wonder about sticking a faster SD card in. Is that worth considering? (I have two 56GBs from Costco. Like baby SSDs....)

CF is *****. Pins bend each time I get clumsy. Thoughts?
[doublepost=1556290483][/doublepost]Oh, almost forgot: this 2015 MBP I got on the Bay and has AC through 2021, so I do not want to swap the stock 256, as much as I'd like to, for fear of voiding warranty. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If only Apple didn't stop making the X-Serve.
 
I see what you mean.... Also edited my original post as I was a mess. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
I'm combing through past threads reading posts. I do try before I make a new thread. A lot of back and forth advice saying the 2015 MBP SD card bus isn't as fast as USB 3.0, and that the TB is fastest. Then I see others saying go USB. Hence my reasoning for this thread: maybe a conclusive answer lies buried and so why not bring it out into the light?

Now, I realize this is a 4 year old machine, but I wasn't so broke I couldn't buy 2018. I actually did, but quickly returned it after all of the horror stories came to be known. I can't afford problems.

Anyway: don't expect an SD card to run as fast as USB, or USB to be as fast as TB2. So, I suppose I should be hunting for a TB2 SSD, or do I drop another $50 on yet another adaptor? (I hate that idea.)
[doublepost=1556300180][/doublepost]Already own an OWC bay from maybe 10-12 years ago. Hate it.
[doublepost=1556300373][/doublepost]USB is suggested because it is cheap, compared to TB. I own a TB LaCie rugged already. Wonder if I can tear it down and put in an SSD (as a HDD now)....
 
I little further research unveiled one comment in a Q&A section of the Transcend TB SSD product page on Amazon: "The speed of the very fastest SSDs can't even take advantage of Thunderbolt 2. The throughput rate is simply so high in even Thunderbolt 1 that nothing but extremely expensive raided SSDs could reach the Thunderbolt limit."
 
olindacat said:
I little further research unveiled one comment in a Q&A section of the Transcend TB SSD product page on Amazon: "The speed of the very fastest SSDs can't even take advantage of Thunderbolt 2. The throughput rate is simply so high in even Thunderbolt 1 that nothing but extremely expensive raided SSDs could reach the Thunderbolt limit."
Click to expand...

If you want the fastest speeds, go with a RAMDisk.
 
pshufd said:
SD read/write is around 95 mb - doesn't really matter what the bus speed is if the device speed is so slow.
Click to expand...
I was trying to say that but probably didn't articulate myself very well. One interesting thing is I was able to make a YouTube video 1080p in iMove using my cheap Costco SD card as my external, so even though it is limited, it at least works as an additional option, which I didn't think possible.
[doublepost=1556301060][/doublepost]One more for the archives: a tester wrote (of the Transcend TB2 portable SSD): "I suspect that speed test results will vary with different hardware configs. I have a 1TB Transcend Thunderbolt connected to my iMac (Late 2015 core i7 SSD). Using BlackMagic Disk Speed Test my Read Speed is about 380 MB/s and Write Speed is about 300 MB/s."
[doublepost=1556301320][/doublepost]
pshufd said:
RAMDisk
Click to expand...
I'm not editing 4K, just a cheesy bunch of YT videos. Renders for 30, maybe 60 minute shows is where I worry. Read about the RAMdisk. Looking for something maybe a little more stable? Is that right? Not so hip to what they re, actually. A kind of virtual disk methinks. Not what I'm after as I want to jump between the MBP and iMac and eventually migrate to newer machines when they figure out fixes for everything, e.g., keyboards, etc.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
currahee2100 said:
If you want to replace your internal drive, I have this at work and it works well:
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-660p-1...ords=1TB+660p&qid=1556303316&s=gateway&sr=8-1

As for portable drives, you could make your own which would be significantly cheaper:
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-10Gbps-Tool-free-Enclosure-Drives/dp/B00XLB0NWK/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=2.5"+enclosure+usb+3.1&qid=1556303398&s=gateway&sr=8-14

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SSD-...words=1TB+SSD&qid=1556303445&s=gateway&sr=8-4
Click to expand...
Thx for ringing in. I have Apple Care. If I replace the SSD doesn't that void my AC? I'm making the assumption they will know if I have torn the thing open to replace the SSD, isn't that right?
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back