My '11 I7 17" 512GB SSD M4 Install

[Jazwire]

Just installed a Crucial 512GB M4 in My 2011 17" I7 MacBook Pro, I was starting to get worried as it seems the 17" has a lot of troubles with Sata3 SSD's

So far its fast and flawless, no beach balls, nothing weird.

Here is what I did.

* Before I cloned my HD I updated the firmware to the latest version.

* I went to Home Depot and purchased some aluminum tape (used for sealing duct work in houses $9 for like a roll, enough to do 500 laptops.) Like aluminum foil but thicker metal.

* Shielded the Sata cable with the aluminum tape.

* Cloned Drive

* Enabled Trim in Terminal

So far so good.... (About 2 hours)
I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[fattire357]

Make sure that aluminum tape doesn't touch anything copper, even a ground, and that it doesn't short anything out or flake apart and then short something out.

 

[qbaser]

I think that is unneccessary. According to other opinions on this forum, the latest firmware for the m4 sort out all the compatibility issues with that model and ssd.

 

[Jazwire]

Make sure that aluminum tape doesn't touch anything copper, even a ground, and that it doesn't short anything out or flake apart and then short something out.

I kept the tape on the cable that was under the SSD.
But to be safe I might just crack it open and double check on the grounds.

My understanding was the shielding was still needed on the 17" models to achieve max speed.
Maybe it was not needed, but at this point its not coming off easy, that glue on the tape is incredibly strong I'd prob do more harm removing it.

 

[Erasmus]

I would expect the shielding to work better if it WAS grounded.

Furthermore, I would suggest that people run small strips of aluminium foil down the middle of the aluminium tape, and then sandwich the cable between two resulting strips. That way the shielding is not glued to the cable, and is very easy to remove, should you want to send your computer in to Apple for repair in the future.

If you're reasonably careful when shielding, and don't damage the cable, I can't imagine why adding the shielding could decrease performance. And as the shield probably only weighs a few grams, and costs a few dollars, you might as well add it.