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MaxUpgrades MaxConnect Optical Bay Kit review/photos

calderone

calderone

Cancelled
Original poster
Aug 28, 2009
3,743
352
Vendor:
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/

Product Link:
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product.display&product_id=186

Price:
$73.75 as of this writing.

Total shipped was: $80.25

Service, Shipping:
Ordered: March 24
Shipped: March 25
Delivered: March 29

Shipped USPS Priority. I got an email notification. Packaging was alright, basically a bunch of static + plastic bags containing the various parts.

What you get:
  • Metal mounting unit
  • SATA connector board
  • Various screwdrivers (philips, torx, flathead)
  • Nylon pry tools
  • Allen keys (2, small, large)
  • Screws for mounting (drive to unit, board to unit, unit to MBP)

Build Quality:
It is a solid unit, has a nice heft but is still fairly light. The SATA connector board is not attached. It is in a static bag and must be fitted to the unit.

I appreciate the black finish over the OWC version. My unit did not have any nicks or scratches.

Assembly:
This is where things became, frustrating.

The fitment of the board was... less than precise. If you look at the OWC video, the board is mounted and then you fit the drive. I initially tried it this way before watching the video, but the fit was too tight for the drive connector to fit into the female connection.

I took out the board, connected it to the drive and tried to mount the whole assembly. Screw holes were misaligned.

I almost want to chock this up to the Apple SSD (it seems a little chunky).

Eventually, with enough work, everything fits and I don't see any strain on the drive connection. They could definitely stand to make some improvements in the fitment arena.

Once that is in, the drive is secured with two hex screws on the side.

Installation:
This was installed into a 2011 15" MacBook Pro.

Once assembled, getting it in was a breeze. I used the stock screws to mount the unit back in. It ships with some other screws, but I used the stock ones.

Performance:
The drive negotiates at 3 Gigabits as expected.

I get the performance expected from the Apple SSD (~200MB/s read or write).

Rating:
This is a good piece of kit. I purchased this one mainly because the lead time on the OWC model was quite high (25 days when I ordered, 3 days as of this writing).

If the OWC model does not have the fitment issues that the MaxUpgrades unit does, I would definitely choose the OWC version.

Photos:
I didn't get too crazy with these, just a few shots.


Questions?
Feel free to ask any questions.
 
Last edited:
Thought I'd add my experience with this kit:

The OCZ SSD (180gig) I installed fit perfectly, & I had no issues with "fit" at any stage of the install.

Also, I ordered the kit with the DVD drive enclosure and it works great. Fast speeds, and I even used it without issue with my sister's (win 7) netbook.

FYI
 
dxerboy said:
Thought I'd add my experience with this kit:

The OCZ SSD (180gig) I installed fit perfectly, & I had no issues with "fit" at any stage of the install.

Also, I ordered the kit with the DVD drive enclosure and it works great. Fast speeds, and I even used it without issue with my sister's (win 7) netbook.

FYI
Click to expand...

I am sure there are good units. Mine just happened to have some alignment issues.
 
Thank you very much for taking time out to post your review. I have been in a churn getting ready to purchase. I appreciate your honest review.
 
NikFinn said:
Did you consider purchasing a cheaper alternative? Say something like this from ebay.
Click to expand...

Not really. I have bought enough Chinese/Hong Kong stuff on eBay to know that it never lives up to your expectation.

Not to say it isn't any good. Just didn't feel like dealing with the hassle. Although, it would be a nice deal if you pick up that eBay Groupon today.
 
Did you use the screw that would be covered up by the SATA ribbon? The one the three used to mount the board to the adaptor?
 
bozz2006 said:
Did you use the screw that would be covered up by the SATA ribbon? The one the three used to mount the board to the adaptor?
Click to expand...

Hmm, I'd have to look again. It may have not worked out with that fourth screw.
 
Just ordered one of these. I have a 1TB drive I wanted to put into my laptop but I've heard conflicting statements on whether a 12.5mm drive will fit into these types of caddies. I'll test it out and if not just put in my 750gb that will fit for sure.

Thanks for the review! It helped me in making my decision.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_8 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8E401 Safari/6533.18.5)

altecXP said:
That looks exactly like the OWC part, only it's not blue.
Click to expand...

Hopefully the OWC version fits better because maxupgrades has fitting issues
 
Very nice write-up. Getting ready to pull the trigger on this soon, and I appreciate the info! :D
 
carreragt7 said:
Just ordered one of these. I have a 1TB drive I wanted to put into my laptop but I've heard conflicting statements on whether a 12.5mm drive will fit into these types of caddies. I'll test it out and if not just put in my 750gb that will fit for sure.
Click to expand...

Hey carreragt7, did you ever test it out? If so, can you post your results? I'd like to do the same to my Late 2011 MBP 15". Thanks.
 
lieiti said:
Hey carreragt7, did you ever test it out? If so, can you post your results? I'd like to do the same to my Late 2011 MBP 15". Thanks.
Click to expand...

I did. I was able to use my 1TB drive in it, worked great. I have since moved on to a MBPR so I can't really say how it turned out in the long run. But it did work and was very nice for the few months I used it. :)
 
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