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Can i add more storage to Macbook Pro 15 (Mid 2015)
- Thread starter vickysud
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Yes you can keep the "default storage" (internal SSD) and add more storage rather easily. There are a few options. None being as fast as the internal storage, but you can upwards of 256GB of additional storage bringing your total storage to 768GB with no hardware modifications.
There is the Nifty Mini Drive or Baseqi. You can add up to 200GB MicroSDXC UHS-I U3 card. The benefit here is that the device is machined aluminum and more or less looks built into your macbook.
http://www.minidrive.bynifty.com
http://www.baseqi.com
The Jetdrive Lite 360 with up to 256GB additional storage. It sticks out about a mm and is black, so it is not as streamlined as the above options but it does offer the most additional storage.
http://www.transcend-info.com/apple/jetdrivelite/
There are more options like Tardisk (very expensive) and cheaper plastic adapters but I'm partial to the above three solutions. Personally using the BaseQi and couldn't be happier.
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[doublepost=1460804112][/doublepost]There is a 3rd party upgrade from OWC.
here's the link: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-pro-retina-display/2013
have a great day.
MW
It should be noted that the OWC drive is full of shortcomings and requires physically opening the Macbook Pro.
Compromises the OP should be aware of
1. No Support for TRIM
2. It is seen as an external drive because of the RAID configuration
3. Cannot run Bootcamp (Windows) because of RAID configuration
4. Less than Half the performance of the 4 lane PCIE SSD you have now
5. Voids Warranty if you still have it which OP may very well have as it is the latest Macbook Pro and/or has Applecare
6. From personal experience, the OWC drives run MUCH hotter than the Apple OEM drives
The OWC SSDs can also come with an external enclosure for the original Apple SSD, so you can keep using it.
Which is a really cool device I must admit. They are available to purchase as a standalone enclosure for those upgrading their PCIE SSDs. The Aura drive on the other hand is not an upgrade or even a parallel move, it's a step backwards in my opinion especially for those who own the 2015 Macbook Pro.
I do think OWC makes quality products, most often first. I just don't think this particular drive is one of those quality products.
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- I agree. It makes far too many compromises.
[doublepost=1460807877][/doublepost]
- I haven't seen that. Do you have a link?
If you don't mind open box, there's a deal to be had here @ http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENPRPCIO/
Consider also that the mini-drive and the baseqi are both micro-sd adapters which are slower, whereas the jet drive lite is an sd card, therefore gives faster read/write speeds than the other two (equivalent to spinning HD speeds).
Wrong.
The Jet Drive Lite is slower than many Micro SDXC cards, especially when it comes to writing incompressible data like photos, music, videos and I'm assuming that's what most will put on there. Where as you can throw a Samsung Pro+ or SanDisk Extreme Pro in the BaseQi or Nifty and reach 90+ MB/s read and write speeds with any kind of data.
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The adapters I listed do not affect performance, they only change the form factor.
To again address what Modernape said. True, there are SD cards with better performance than the best MicroSDXC cards but the Jet Drive Lite does not come close to the performance of those SD cards in fact only reaching ~ half their write speeds.
Nice write up on the OWC SSD replacement and this here further explains the RAID situation
So while it may not be a "RAID" in the traditional sense, it it using a RAID controller to keep costs down, and this is why TRIM is not supported, also this may very well inhibit bootcamp.
Good to know these things, thanks for highlighting the RAID issue.
From the Transcend site:
But as I said, the JetDrive Lite does match or exceed most microSDXC cards, other than the very latest Sandisk Extreme Pro which is as yet unavailable. So yes, you could shove a faster SD card in the slot, but then it pokes out the side of the case by ~8mm.
I can only assume that you must own a JetDrive Lite as you are staunchly backing it disregarding all the facts I have already spelled out for you. Manufacturers claimed speeds and real world speeds often differ with the JetDrive Light being no different. For simplicity sake we’ll break transfers down in to two different categories.
Compressible data - Data that shrinks when lossless compression is applied.
Examples: OS Files and Programs
Incompressible data - Data that does not shrink when lossless compression is applied.
Examples: Photos, Music, Movies
Transcend’s speed claims belong to compressible data. When you transfer photos, music, or movies you will see a substantially slower speed as these are incompressible data files. You quoted Transcend’s own marketed claims in your post, I’d like to offer you some well regarded reviews from Techradar and Gizmag running BlackMagic. If you are unfamiliar with Blackmagic it is a well trusted software that tests the drive’s speed with incompressible data i.e. music, photos, videos - The data most people will use the drive for.
From Gizmag's review of the JetDrive Lite found at
http://www.gizmag.com/transcend-jetdrive-lite-macbook-sd-card-storage-expansion-review/32372/
From Techradar’s review of the JetDrive Lite found at
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...es/transcend-jetdrive-lite-350-1267981/review
The JetDrive lite doesn’t hold a candle to the Samsung Pro+ MicroSDXC cards.The Samsung Pro+ consistently meets it’s claims of 95 MB/s Write and 90MB/s Read give or take a few MB. For your information it is available for purchase now through various major retailers and it won’t even stick out a single mm in the BaseQi adapter or the Nifty Mini Drive (the same cannot be said about the JetDrive Lite).
The only benefit the JetDrive Lite holds over MicroSDXC cards is that it’s available in capacities up to 256GB. With all that said, I think the JetDrive Lite is a fantastic product but contrary to what you said it is slower and sticks out further than the alternative solutions I mentioned.
You can only use capacities up to 200 GB in the BaseQi because 200 GB is largest MicroSDXC card currently available for purchase. When a larger capacity card makes it to the market I'm sure BaseQi will amend their storage support capacity.
If you want the most storage possible with the BaseQi, I recommend the Lexar 633x 200Gb MicroSDXC as it's faster than it's SanDisk Ultra counterpart. If you want the fastest read and write speeds possible go with the 128GB Samsung Pro+ MicroSDXC.
