SSD in early 2015 13" Mbp

[lostinforums]

hi,

I'm looking at getting a 13" early 2015 mbp.
I've just purchased a 500gb SSD for my late 2011 mbp but would I be able to install that SSD in a early 2015 13" model?

Any help and advice would be great,

Thanks

 

[MRxROBOT]

No, your SSD is SATA III. The 2015 MacBooks use PCIE SSDs. Different form factors and connections.

You can still make use of your SSD by purchasing a USB 3 drive enclosure and using it as a portable drive.

 

[lostinforums]

No, your SSD is SATA III. The 2015 MacBooks use PCIE SSDs. Different form factors and connections.

Ok thanks, are there any SSD drives I can buy then to upgrade, besides apples?

Thnaks

 

[JTToft]

Ok thanks, are there any SSD drives I can buy then to upgrade, besides apples?

Thnaks

- Yes. OWC has an option: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-pro-retina-display/2013-2014-2015
But the Apple ones are a (much) better option and around the same price on Ebay.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Ok thanks, are there any SSD drives I can buy then to upgrade, besides apples?

Thnaks

There is the OWC Aura. It is still pricey and has a lot of shortcomings.

Things you should be aware of:

1. No Support for TRIM
2. It is seen as an external drive because of the RAID configuration
3. Cannot run Bootcamp (Windows) because of RAID configuration
4. Less than Half the performance of the 4 lane PCIE SSDs in the 2015 MacBooks
5. From personal experience, the OWC drives run MUCH hotter than the Apple OEM drives

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Ok thanks, are there any SSD drives I can buy then to upgrade, besides apples?

Thnaks

OWC make some they are more expensive than upgrading apples drives at point of purchase are only half as fast for sequential read/write and they don't support trim, so not a good bet. You can get them pulled from other machines on eBay but again you are better off just buying the 512gb rMBP in the first place.

There is no current cheap upgrade path.

 

[lostinforums]

Thanks guys, appreciate the heads up.

I saw some 512gb SSD pcie 3.0 drives on eBay that were a good price.

Would they work?

Thaks

 

[JTToft]

Thanks guys, appreciate the heads up.

I saw some 512gb SSD pcie 3.0 drives on eBay that were a good price.

Would they work?

Thaks

- Only if they are original Apple ones and listed as such.
Example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-SAMSU...817138?hash=item1c64d5cb72:g:dbkAAOSwvFZW7O4c

 

[MRxROBOT]

Thanks guys, appreciate the heads up.

I saw some 512gb SSD pcie 3.0 drives on eBay that were a good price.

Would they work?

Thaks

Good luck, just make sure you are looking at 4 Lane PCIE drives or you'll be taking a performance hit as that is what the 2015 models shipped with. Late 2013 and 2014 were 2 lane for the 512GB SSD.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Thanks guys, appreciate the heads up.

I saw some 512gb SSD pcie 3.0 drives on eBay that were a good price.

Would they work?

Thaks

Probably not, unless they say for Apple they won't fit the proprietary connector or the space available for them in a MacBook Pro.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Probably not, unless they say for Apple they won't fit the proprietary connector or the space available for them in a MacBook Pro.

Like Samuelsan2001 said, it needs be a drive specifically made for the rMBP because of the proprietary connector. More likely than not it's going to be a system pull but there are drives from time to time sellers claim are brand new.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

For all practical purposes, if you're getting a new retina MacBook Pro, buy amount of storage space you need (SSD) at the time of purchase.

It will cost you -more- (in money, time and effort) to add it later on.

As mentioned above, the "OWC replacement" option is less than desirable, due to the way it's constructed.

Also as mentioned above, perhaps the only source for other replacement drives is to look for used Apple SSDs. The Apple design is proprietary and no aftermarket sources exist (other than the OWC).