Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

SSD Upgrade for my Mid-2013 MBA

D

Dsteller

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 24, 2013
46
0
Hey all, I have a Mid-2013 MBA with 128gb SSD and am in desperate need for an upgrade because my drive is getting really full which as you can imagine, stinks... I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for an SSD upgrade... It would be much appreciated.

I heard that the upgrade were supposed to come out Q3 of this fiscal year and I am still yet to find any... Any help/advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.

Dsteller
 
Both Transcend and OWC have said they are working on one, but nothing yet. You can find some on eBay that have been pulled out of machines. For example, if somebody upgraded to the Apple 512GB version and pulled out their 256GB version to sell.
 
Dsteller said:
Hey all, I have a Mid-2013 MBA with 128gb SSD and am in desperate need for an upgrade because my drive is getting really full which as you can imagine, stinks... I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for an SSD upgrade... It would be much appreciated.

I heard that the upgrade were supposed to come out Q3 of this fiscal year and I am still yet to find any... Any help/advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.

Dsteller
Click to expand...

What do you keep on your drive? Why not just offload some stuff to an external drive which you can get for like $60 on Amazon?
 
In addition to what motrek said, you can get a tiny USB thumb drive that barely sticks out of the port. It will give you an extra 64 gigs for files and such.
 
i got a 512gb ssd off eBay for 300. just watch the auctions and try to grab it around that price. super easy to install and works great
 
Hacks said:
In addition to what motrek said, you can get a tiny USB thumb drive that barely sticks out of the port. It will give you an extra 64 gigs for files and such.
Click to expand...

Make sure you check how much they'll actually stick out before you buy, though. I looked at a couple of these that were supposed to be low profile but actually stuck out a lot more than expected on my rMBP (results may be different on a MBA). The comments on Amazon were very helpful (even if you don't buy there).
 
newellj said:
Make sure you check how much they'll actually stick out before you buy, though. I looked at a couple of these that were supposed to be low profile but actually stuck out a lot more than expected on my rMBP (results may be different on a MBA). The comments on Amazon were very helpful (even if you don't buy there).
Click to expand...

This is true.

This is an older model, but it sticks out less than the newer USB 3 version: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Flash-Drive-SDCZ33-032G-B35/dp/B00812F7O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

Heres the larger USB 3 model: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-Flash-Drive-CZ43/dp/B00LLEODCK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

The price is excellent, $26 and $32 for 64 extra gigs of space.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Those are the two I remember looking at. The first one was fabulous physically but was on the slow side (USB 2.0). The second one was speedier USB 3.0 but would be a breakage risk for me. :eek: If speed isn't a big issue (and it might not be for a lot of uses), the first one is great.

I had also looked cut-off SDHC cards that were intended to be used as external full time storage, but I recall that they had the same issue on at least some MacBooks.

Edit: Things may have changed since I looked, though. Google Jet Drive and look at this: http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Jet...422802762&sr=8-6&keywords=low+profile+sd+card

Also look at/Google the MiniDrive. http://www.amazon.com/MiniDrive-mic...422802762&sr=8-5&keywords=low+profile+sd+card
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I once read that USB drives are better for this purpose opposed to the memory card slot because when using a memory card the laptop doesn't go into full sleep mode and it also might use more power when running, I'm not completely sure though.
 
Hacks said:
I once read that USB drives are better for this purpose opposed to the memory card slot because when using a memory card the laptop doesn't go into full sleep mode and it also might use more power when running, I'm not completely sure though.
Click to expand...

Interesting - hadn't read that. That would be a fatal flaw (to me, probably for most).
 
Hacks said:
I once read that USB drives are better for this purpose opposed to the memory card slot because when using a memory card the laptop doesn't go into full sleep mode and it also might use more power when running, I'm not completely sure though.
Click to expand...

That will be an issue with either an SD card or USB attached storage.

The laptop will still sleep, but it won't enter the "deep sleep" standby mode. So you are looking at roughly 1% per hour battery drain in sleep vs. up to 30 days on battery sleep in standby mode.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202124

For a notebook to enter standby, it must be running on battery power and have no external connections (such as Ethernet, USB, Thunderbolt, SD card, displays, Bluetooth, and so on).
Click to expand...
 
Weaselboy said:
That will be an issue with either an SD card or USB attached storage.

The laptop will still sleep, but it won't enter the "deep sleep" standby mode. So you are looking at roughly 1% per hour battery drain in sleep vs. up to 30 days on battery sleep in standby mode.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202124
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up!

In addition to not letting it go into deep sleep, do you know if either type of device uses a noticeable amount of battery power?
 
Hacks said:
Thanks for clearing that up!

In addition to not letting it go into deep sleep, do you know if either type of device uses a noticeable amount of battery power?
Click to expand...

I know just from comments in one of the SD card threads people said they did not notice a difference beyond the no stand by issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back