Looking for some advice

[Armen]

my 2013 MBP came with a DVD drive that I hardly use.

Are there any options for me to swap that drive with another peripheral? If so what are my options? I did read somewhere that you could swap the drive for a SSD. Any ideas are welcome

 

[cambookpro]

Yep, I'd definitely put an SSD in there instead. Though I can't really think of anything else you can do with it, really.

Guide here: http://mac.appstorm.net/how-to/hardware-how-to/upgrade-your-macbook-with-a-dual-hdssd-setup/

 

[Armen]

Yep, I'd definitely put an SSD in there instead. Though I can't really think of anything else you can do with it, really.

Guide here: http://mac.appstorm.net/how-to/hardware-how-to/upgrade-your-macbook-with-a-dual-hdssd-setup/

Is it a clean fit? Are we talkin about swapping out the optical drive for a nicely fitted SSD card holder thingy?

 

[simonsi]

Is it a clean fit? Are we talkin about swapping out the optical drive for a nicely fitted SSD card holder thingy?

Yep, Optibay caddy (or similar), replaces the Optical drive and provides a mounting and connection for an SSD or HDD.

 

[Armen]

Yep, Optibay caddy (or similar), replaces the Optical drive and provides a mounting and connection for an SSD or HDD.

Would replacing the optical drive with a SSD also help conserve some battery as it requires less energy?

 

[T5BRICK]

Would replacing the optical drive with a SSD also help conserve some battery as it requires less energy?

Optical drives don't use much energy, especially when they're not being used. A SSD will probably draw more power.

 

[cerberusss]

Is it a clean fit? Are we talkin about swapping out the optical drive for a nicely fitted SSD card holder thingy?

Yes, but it takes some courage. I replaced the DVD of a MacBook Pro 13" from mid-2010. You have to disconnect a really fragile looking drive and speaker connector, and the speaker assembly had to be removed partially.

 

[simonsi]

Would replacing the optical drive with a SSD also help conserve some battery as it requires less energy?

You can achieve that if you put OS and Apps on the SSD and Data on the HDD if the SSD is in the Optical bay and the HDD in the drive bay, then if you set HDD to spin down to conserve power when possible in the power options that is what happens.

My battery is down to 91% of original capacity, if the HDD is spun down then I can get 8hrs battery life out of it - not because you replaced the optical as that is mostly spun down in any case, but because you allow the HDD to power down.