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OWC Launches 1 TB SSD Upgrade Kits for 2010-2012 MacBook Air

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Apr 12, 2001
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Other World Computing today announced the launch of new 1 TB (960 GB) solid state drive options for 2010-2012 models of the MacBook Air.

owc_ssd_install_2012_mba.jpg
Priced at $549 for the drive alone or $579 for a package including tools and an Envoy enclosure to repurpose the original drive for external storage, the new 1 TB option complements existing 120, 240, and 480 GB options for the various MacBook Air generations.

- 2010 MacBook Air SSD upgrades
- 2011 MacBook Air SSD upgrades
- 2012 MacBook Air SSD upgrades

With Apple's move to PCIe-based SSDs beginning with the 2013 MacBook Air, OWC has yet to launch new SSD upgrade kits for the latest notebooks, but the company has promised it is hard at work on kits for these machines.

Article Link: OWC Launches 1 TB SSD Upgrade Kits for 2010-2012 MacBook Air
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/06/owc-1-tb-ssd-2010-2012-macbook-air/
What's the holdup on the PCIe versions for newer macs? They've been talking about those for ages.
 
Pretty good value actually - though I'm in UK and I'm not sure how much Yank tax would add to the price.
 
milo said:
What's the holdup on the PCIe versions for newer macs? They've been talking about those for ages.
Click to expand...

They used proprietary (non-M.2) PCIe SSD blade drive.
Someone contacted Transcend and they said a product should be available in early 2015.
 
Funny, it looks like Transcend have been taking customers from them - then have seriously dropped the prices to be able to compete. I'd still take the Transcend upgrade - they have a better reputation.
 
Whenever I see something about OWC, I immediately think back to my experience with their 240GB '12 MBA SSDs. The first one was DOA. The second one died in 90 days. Never went for the "third time's a charm."
 
yukyuklee said:
Nice! good value as well... What do you do about TRIM on Yosemite?
Click to expand...

Well, with their smaller drives (480/240/120) OWC went with SandForce, which uses very active and aggressive garbage collection and doesn't suffer from the same issues other SSDs do without TRIM. These 1TB/960GB drives use an ASMedia controller, and I'm not sure how their garbage collection works compared to SandForce's.

Also, the latest TRIM Enabler for Yosemite also disables the signed kext requirement, allowing itself to then patch the system files to enable OS TRIM on 3rd-party drives.

Basically, if you don't mind allowing unsigned kernel extensions (which is the default on 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, etc.), then TRIM Enabler might be a good choice to ensure top SSD write performance for non-SandForce drives on 10.10/Yosemite.
 
Xenomorph said:
Well, with their smaller drives (480/240/120) OWC went with SandForce, which uses very active and aggressive garbage collection and doesn't suffer from the same issues other SSDs do without TRIM. These 1TB/960GB drives use an ASMedia controller, and I'm not sure how their garbage collection works compared to SandForce's.

Also, the latest TRIM Enabler for Yosemite also disables the signed kext requirement, allowing itself to then patch the system files to enable OS TRIM on 3rd-party drives.

Basically, if you don't mind allowing unsigned kernel extensions (which is the default on 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, etc.), then TRIM Enabler might be a good choice to ensure top SSD write performance for non-SandForce drives on 10.10/Yosemite.
Click to expand...

Good to know Thanks! My Mac mini froze after restart I got the stop sign than had to restore from time machine back up
 
I am still waiting for general availability of 2TB 2.5" SATA SSDs. With Marvell, Samsung, or Intel controller.

There aren't even 1.5TB 2.5" 5400RPM standalone hybrid drives. Unbelievable.

1.5TB does not cut it anymore.
 
does anyone know if these are appropriate for people who haven't done a lot of repairs/upgrades on a macbook before? my only experience is replacing the RAM on an original Macbook.
 
yukyuklee said:
Nice! good value as well... What do you do about TRIM on Yosemite?
Click to expand...

according to the site not config needed.........yes i'm starting to laugh. The trancsend drives enable trim via their tool. i would love to see a comparision. I am considering upgrading my 128 gb ssd on my 2012 mba. these prices are nice but soooo many owc horror stories. and not enough reviews of transcend 520 drives.
 
And what about 1TB SATA?

I broke down and replaced my 480GB OWC SSD w/ a Crucial 1TB drive... (I was out of space) I have to say, it's noticeably slower than the OWC SSD.. many more beach balls...

Can't wait to swap it out for a OWC 1TB.. dare I hope for 2TB SSD....

:-(
 
WHERE ARE THE PCIE SSD'S FOR NEWER MACS (nMP, 2013+ retina mbp, etc), OWC???

last time i checked in with them (earlier this year), the rep grouchily told me "this fall"
 
Xenomorph said:
Well, with their smaller drives (480/240/120) OWC went with SandForce, which uses very active and aggressive garbage collection and doesn't suffer from the same issues other SSDs do without TRIM. These 1TB/960GB drives use an ASMedia controller, and I'm not sure how their garbage collection works compared to SandForce's.

Also, the latest TRIM Enabler for Yosemite also disables the signed kext requirement, allowing itself to then patch the system files to enable OS TRIM on 3rd-party drives.

Basically, if you don't mind allowing unsigned kernel extensions (which is the default on 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, etc.), then TRIM Enabler might be a good choice to ensure top SSD write performance for non-SandForce drives on 10.10/Yosemite.
Click to expand...

According to OWC page, "Engineered for Mac / No extra software or hacks needed!" regardless of capacity.

AFAIK, Transcend still recommends "software hack" to enable TRIM support.

For that OWC seems like the better choice but because of the customer service issues posted in the past I'm sticking with an external drive as long a I can.
 
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