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Other World Computing Releases Aftermarket SSD Upgrade for Retina MacBook Pro

OWC SSDs are the best, they are very professional as well. I had one of those for my old MBA 2010. The only thing they still need to offer is the Envy Pro Thunderbolt! USB3 is always slower than you think as USB2 was.
If i will buy in the future a rMBP (probably next year a 13" if it will be available) i'm going to upgrade with one of these babies.

Good job OWC!!
 
HishamAkhtar said:
How exactly is the SSD installed if it's soldiered onto the board? I don't understand.
Click to expand...

Because the SSD is not soldered to the motherboard...

PVFdZWJlFI2jQWZX.standard
 
Wait, do they ONLY have a 480GB drive (thusly making this upgrade only beneficial to those that purchased the 2.3GHz model [or used the recent customization options to buy either a 2.6GHz or 2.7GHz model with the 256GB SSD])? What about those who get a higher-end model with 512GB of SSD and/or want something in the ballpark of the 768GB SSD? 'Cause really, that's the one to beat here.

smash said:
Why would anyone buy this? I've nuked an SSD in my MacBook Air before and that's precisely why I bought AppleCare for the rMBP…

What kind of warranty does it have? I doubt it's as convenient to replace as going to the Genius Bar by any measure, and that means your machine is going down for days
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What exactly do you mean by "nuked"?

Otherwise, I'm sure that OWC will have a stellar warranty on this thing; plus it's not like you have to trash your original SSD; to get warranty service; it obviously behooves one to keep their factory drive in the event of needing a non-SSD component serviced.
 
striker33 said:
I cant believe some people think a USB 3 drive could reach 500MB/s :eek:
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500 may be high, but 3-400 has been proven (and that was a few years ago), and for a fraction of the price and infinitely more compatibility, OWC seems to be taking the smart route with USB 3.0. That's not to say I wouldn't like a Thunderbolt device though.
 
This is great news. In the long term, the rMBP should be upgradable at a more reasonable cost. You can buy the 256GB model now in the knowledge that it can be upgraded later, and given a year or two, most likely at a lower price than what Apple charges today.
 
ohbrilliance said:
This is great news. In the long term, the rMBP should be upgradable at a more reasonable cost. You can buy the 256GB model now in the knowledge that it can be upgraded later, and given a year or two, most likely at a lower price than what Apple charges today.
Click to expand...

A lot of people who over-payed to future-proof their laptops might not be too pleased :eek:
 
honestly if anyone is going to be thinking about upgrading, its probably going to be in 1-2 years. and by then it should be cheaper and probably bigger too.
 
"it looks like it allows users to keep their ssd" yeah you keep the chip but you can't have both in tandem so you have to swap one for the other? Then what do you do with the ssd that comes out of the MacBook ???? The pricing is not there yet 48O gb should be right around 480 ssds are about 1 doller a gig and they have been lower then a 1 in some cases
 
sleazy said:
"it looks like it allows users to keep their ssd" yeah you keep the chip but you can't have both in tandem so you have to swap one for the other? Then what do you do with the ssd that comes out of the MacBook ???? The pricing is not there yet 48O gb should be right around 480 ssds are about 1 doller a gig and they have been lower then a 1 in some cases
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Read the article as it clearly states they give you a USB 3 enclosure for the original SSD. As far as pricing goes, they can easily charge a premium because they're the only company in the market that sells a product like this. It's still not a terrible deal seeing as you're getting the enclosure and the drive for $580. They have no one to compete with so they can charge a premium because if someone desperately needs the upgrade, they'll pay. Also this is a Sandforce drive, not a regular SSD. It's fair to note, this looks like its a faster drive than what Apple includes. We'll see when the reviews come out.
 
HishamAkhtar said:
So is it possible for a user to replace their SSD on a rMBP or MBA? How easy/difficult is this?
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Just as easy as any standard laptop, just take off the bottom plate, un-screw the single screw holding in the SSD, and put the new one in.

Only catch is you need a pentalobe screwdriver, but they can found a few places for not much.
 
ZipZap said:
Did they?

Based upon owc's price no one overpaid.
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When you future-proof your computer, you invest money now to save money later. But when you spend $500 now for 500 GB while in two years when you actually need it, you can get it for $300, then you overpaid.
 
kodeman53 said:
The only catch is you didn't visit OWC.:rolleyes:

"Includes all tools needed for installation."
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I did, read through most of it, I might have made a mistake and missed it *gasp* while trying to help someone. No need to be a dick.
 
Last edited:
Codyak said:
I did, read through most of it, I might have made a mistake and missed it *gasp* while trying to help someone. No need to be a dick.
Click to expand...
You're correct. It is hidden amongst 3 other bullet points under the size and price.

  • The fastest SSD available built in the USA specifically for the MacBook Pro with Retina display!
  • Ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling
  • Includes all tools needed for installation.
  • 3 Year OWC Warranty
 
kodeman53 said:
You're correct. It is hidden amongst 3 other bullet points under the size and price.

  • The fastest SSD available built in the USA specifically for the MacBook Pro with Retina display!
  • Ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling
  • Includes all tools needed for installation.
  • 3 Year OWC Warranty
Click to expand...

Technically I never even said you didn't get one from them, all I said was that you needed one, and then that they were available from various sources online (including OWC).

I still great comfort in the fact on multiple occasions in this thread alone, I've answered and help a few different users, better than simply pointing out meaningless and obviously misinterpreted statements, yes? :)
 
auero said:
Read the article as it clearly states they give you a USB 3 enclosure for the original SSD. As far as pricing goes, they can easily charge a premium because they're the only company in the market that sells a product like this. It's still not a terrible deal seeing as you're getting the enclosure and the drive for $580. They have no one to compete with so they can charge a premium because if someone desperately needs the upgrade, they'll pay. Also this is a Sandforce drive, not a regular SSD. It's fair to note, this looks like its a faster drive than what Apple includes. We'll see when the reviews come out.
Click to expand...

Actually runcore is producing ssds to compete...
 
HishamAkhtar said:
So is it possible for a user to replace their SSD on a rMBP or MBA? How easy/difficult is this?
Click to expand...

As others have said, extremely easy, provided you have the correct screwdrivers.

ohbrilliance said:
This is great news. In the long term, the rMBP should be upgradable at a more reasonable cost. You can buy the 256GB model now in the knowledge that it can be upgraded later, and given a year or two, most likely at a lower price than what Apple charges today.
Click to expand...

Only storage can be upgraded. RAM is still fixed; though if you pre-configure it with 16GB of RAM, then you've basically maxed it out as far as the chipset it concerned anyway. Still though, the idea that, if one experiences a RAM failure when the machine is three and a half years old, it's a logic board replacement and thusly a $1000+ repair instead of an $40 replacement, is quite unsettling. To all of the people that wanted a machine this thin and light, congratulations, you've won. But at what cost...?

ohbrilliance said:
In a sense anybody who has purchased the 512 or 768 models has overpaid; Apple's charges almost $2/GB for their SSD upgrades, whereas OWC are charging $1.21/GB.
Click to expand...

While it's true; only Apple and OWC make drives that work in this machine. They can rape us on prices all they want, sadly.

Raptura said:
If you replace the SSD, do you void your warranty / Apple Care? :confused:
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Yes, opening up that machine for any reason yourself to replace any component that is not an Apple part voids your warranty; just keep your old drive safe somewhere and be prepared to reinstall it if you need to get warranty service for any other part.

----------

Does anyone know if the SSDs used in the rMBP are different than those used in the 2012 MacBook Air line? I know the SSDs used in the 2011 MacBook Air are different than the ones used in either of those two and are thusly incompatible. But I'm wondering if such an incompatibility exists between the 2012 MacBook Air and the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro. And if there is a difference, does anyone have insight as to what that is?
 
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