Other World Computing Releases Aftermarket SSD Upgrades for 2012 MacBook Air

[dtremit]

You would prefer to double the thickness of the Air so a traditional SSD would fit? Or perhaps lower battery life to free up some space?

You're thinking of desktop SSDs. mSATA SSDs are roughly the same thickness as the SSD in the Air, and actually have a smaller footprint (about 60% of the size of the Air SSD -- slightly wider and half as long).

And you can get a 256GB model for about $200, versus $320 for the custom OWC SSD.

 

[magbarn]

Why should it be more expensive for RType MBP?! The Blade is the same type and same connector. Only the size variance/increase should cost a consumer more and thus OWC more to make.

We need just one more manufacturer to follow suit with this type of STORAGE interface and we'll all benefit.

Not going to happen unless Apple let's them. I dunno how OWC get's away with it, but another enterprising OEM wanted to sell them at low margins for a very good price and Apple's lawyers quickly nixed that idea.

 

[hisboyelroy]

Why is there no Envoy storage solution option available with these 2012 SSDs like there is for the 2011 SSDs? Do you suppose they are working on this and will just release it later?

 

[CplBadboy]

I hope these SSDs are as fast as Apple's.

They are probably faster. Remember Apple doesn't want us to have the fastest of anything. Just look at the average GPU's they install. Nuff said.

 

[quasibinaer]

Mark-ups from the base model are usually highly profitable for the manufacturer, which is disproportionately high for the buyer. For users who store audio/video for occasional/rare access, external storage and cloud storage are good alternatives, and easily transferable to a new machine without added cost.

http://www.slate.com/articles/techn...ttle_more_space_on_your_ipad_and_iphone_.html

When I bought/configured my 2012 MBA, I decided that it´s better to spend my money on CPU and RAM upgrades rather than a bigger SSD. 128GB serve me well for when I´m on the go (at least for a few days) but I usually have a USB3 1 TB Western Digital mobile drive with me. When I work (being a photographer), I usually shoot RAW. These files are huge, shooting 25 GB per day is not unheard of for me. Thus buying the bigger SSD wouldn´t have solved my problem, I need to shift them to an external drive either way. I might go for the upgrade anyway, it gives me a little more room to play with and therefore peace of mind...

 

[dyn]

Sandforce driven...so the same problem as the Toshiba one (aka the standard 64GB and 128GB option Apple gives you): not good with uncompressable data such as encrypted files. In other words, these are not so good when using filevault 2. The Samsung one (aka the 256GB and 512GB options Apple gives you) hasn't got this problem and is much faster in this area.

 

[Colpeas]

I hope these SSDs are as fast as Apple's.

Betcha they are a lot faster then Apple OEMs. SSDs form OWC are high-class.

Besides, there would be no point i buying aftermarket SSD that is slower than the one that came with the computer and OWC had always managed to deliver a faster drive than Apple. So that makes your concern is totally pointless.

Why is there no Envoy storage solution option available with these 2012 SSDs like there is for the 2011 SSDs? Do you suppose they are working on this and will just release it later?

I guess so...

 

[magbarn]

Betcha they are a lot faster then Apple OEMs. SSDs form OWC are high-class.

Besides, there would be no point i buying aftermarket SSD that is slower than the one that came with the computer and OWC had always managed to deliver a faster drive than Apple. So that makes your concern is totally pointless.




I guess so...

They USED to be faster, with this latest gen, the MBA 128gb toshiba drives should be close or on par as they now have the same controller. The samsung based stock drive is faster with incompressible data. Personally, I dislike sandforce drives and prefer the new and top of the line Samsung controller that apple is now using in their MBA 256gb on up and the rMBP.

 

[marcusj0015]

Why should it be more expensive for RType MBP?! The Blade is the same type and same connector. Only the size variance/increase should cost a consumer more and thus OWC more to make.

We need just one more manufacturer to follow suit with this type of STORAGE interface and we'll all benefit.

Because the connector isn't what drives the price, $1 TOPS is the price for the connector, it's those flash chips that are the expensive part. I'm just wondering about the price difference between the Apple 512GB SSDs and the aftermarket price of comparable SSDs

 

[Eidorian]

Because the connector isn't what drives the price, $1 TOPS is the price for the connector, it's those flash chips that are the expensive part. I'm just wondering about the price difference between the Apple 512GB SSDs and the aftermarket price of comparable SSDs

You are going to need to use higher density memory compared to say a 2.5" SSD drive.

It is good to see OWC is on top of things with the changes Apple makes when it comes to connectors.

 

[overcast]

I hope these SSDs are as fast as Apple's.

So you mean like one of the lowest performing? OWC has historically had the fastest SSD's available.

 

[marcusj0015]

So you mean like one of the lowest performing? OWC has historically had the fastest SSD's available.

No, he clearly meant as fast if not faster than Apple's.

 

[jcpb]

You couldn't. Until now. Now you can upgrade the SSD on the Air. I wonder if trim will be enabled.

Can be enabled with Terminal commands or Trim Enabler. Directly from Apple in OS X without modifying anything, no.

 

[brentsg]

So you mean like one of the lowest performing? OWC has historically had the fastest SSD's available.

And the current Apple SSD's are fantastic, particularly the ones that AREN'T using Sandforce controllers.

 

[mrbyu]

i thought you couldn't upgrade the RAM memory or SSD flash Drives on the Macbook Air or MacBook Pro Retina

You couldn't. Until now. Now you can upgrade the SSD on the Air. I wonder if trim will be enabled.

These things have been available for the 2011 MBAs for quite some time. The only thing that is new is the support for the 2012 MBAs (and even that is already a week or two old).

As far as I can remember (but correct me if I'm wrong) OWC already offered SSD replacement for the 2010 MBA as well.

 

[ThomasJL]

Probably no TRIM support

I wonder if trim will be enabled.

I'm guessing the answer is no, at least under Lion. There are hacks to enable TRIM under Lion, but it is risky and I would never do it. I'm worried that my data might get corrupted.

Under Snow Leopard and Lion, TRIM support is only enabled for SSD's that are provided by Apple. Third party SSD's cannot have TRIM enabled under Snow Leopard and Lion. Do any of you know if that will change in Mountain Lion?

 

[manu chao]

As far as I can remember (but correct me if I'm wrong) OWC already offered SSD replacement for the 2010 MBA as well.

Yes, my cursory and incorrect reading of the Wikipedia graphic on the timeline placed the introduction of the blade-type SSD-bearing MBAs into 2011 instead of 2010.

 

[ZipZap]

And I'm guessing the 2nd hand market for the 256 is quite small right now, so it might be hard to sell on eBay and get back some of your money.

Well I don't think you could realistically sell it anyway. Suppose you need service. If you take it in with a 512GB when you only purchased a 256GB the following could occur:

1. You get a replacement and loose the 512GB SSD
2. Apple refuses you service as you have modified what it considers to be a non-upgradeable device
3. Apple voids your warranty

When I upgraded my MBA using OWC, I felt compelled to keep the original. I swapped it back in before I sold it.

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http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENVOY/ No thunderbolt, but at least USB 3.0. They shipped them with the 2011 MBA upgrades... See my post above (#7)

Thanks for posting this. Going to get this case and use the Aura I pulled out of my MBA. Sure beats selling it at a loss.

 

[scott2769]

Macbook Air OWC SSD Upgrade

Simply put, just buy the 2012 Macbook Air with the least amount of SSD (64gb for the 11", 128gb for the 13") and you can upgrade to a much faster OWC SSD. No need to pay for the larger Apple SSD, and then replace it with the same size OWC SSD. Amen.

 

[brentsg]

Simply put, just buy the 2012 Macbook Air with the least amount of SSD (64gb for the 11", 128gb for the 13") and you can upgrade to a much faster OWC SSD. No need to pay for the larger Apple SSD, and then replace it with the same size OWC SSD. Amen.

Except the current Apple drive is quite likely faster than the new OWC offering.

 

[drblank]

They are probably faster. Remember Apple doesn't want us to have the fastest of anything. Just look at the average GPU's they install. Nuff said.

I know, every Apple puts out could be faster. But in Apple's defense. A slight increase in speed does a variety of things. For battery powered devices, it drains the battery faster. It also generates a little more heat, and thus doesn't improve the reliability, it actually slightly reduces the long term reliability.

Yeah, I know, there is always a tradeoff. A little more speed to give up battery life, generate a little more heat, reduce reliability? I don't know. Unfortunately, we can't have speed, less heat, more battery life and more reliability at the same time. Remember, the more problems, the more calls Apple gets and it costs more ultimately, for EVERYONE.