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SSD upgrade. What did you get ?

Totally Bored

Totally Bored

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 29, 2015
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Upgrading to a SSD on MacBook Pro. Just wondering what you guys bought and how much $ did you spend.

I'm looking at Crucial BX200 vs MX200. Not sure what the difference is there ?


Here is what I have priced out on Amazon so far.

Samsung EVO 850 500GB $153.95
Crucial MX200 500 GB. $139.00
Crucial BX200 480 GB $118.28
Corsair Force Series 480 GB $108.99



So is one better than the other and what should I get ?




Thanks in advance !!!
 
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i bought a Samsung 840 Pro 512gb three years ago. Bene working great with no issues in that time. If I need to upgrade to a larger drive I would probably go with the 850 Evo in the terabyte size. People have reported good results with the Crucial drives.
 
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512 GB? I take dumps that need more storage space than that
scust.png
 
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A lot will depend on what year and model (13" vs 15" or even 17") MBP you have. The 2011 and 2012 MBP's have SATA3. Earlier models have SATA2 (can't remember off the top of my head when they moved to SATA2). SATA2 is half the speed of SATA3 so you likely won't notice much difference between slower and faster drives. If you have an MBP from 2010 or before with SATA2, there's a good chance it has the NVidia MCP79 SATA chipset which has problems with certain drives. The Crucial's and 850 are OK, there *may* be an issue with the Cosair in MBP's with the MCP79.

The Crucial BX200 has performance issues. The Evo 850 is the best-selling SATA SSD. I have a couple of 250GB Evo 850's in my 2012 MBP. But I have other SSD's in my other computers.

To see what the difference is between the Evo 850 and BX200 (and to be able to compare other models), see:
http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Evo-500GB-vs-Crucial-BX200-480GB/3477vsm40686

To see in detail what the issues are with the BX200 (maybe more detail that you want), see:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9756/...-960gb-ssd-review-crucials-first-tlc-nand-ssd

If you're looking for a cheaper 1TB SSD in the 2011-2012 MBP, maybe the SanDisk Ultra II is a better buy - cheaper and a little faster than the BX200. However, this shouldn't be used in pre-2011 MBP's.
 
treekram said:
A lot will depend on what year and model (13" vs 15" or even 17") MBP you have. The 2011 and 2012 MBP's have SATA3. Earlier models have SATA2 (can't remember off the top of my head when they moved to SATA2). SATA2 is half the speed of SATA3 so you likely won't notice much difference between slower and faster drives. If you have an MBP from 2010 or before with SATA2, there's a good chance it has the NVidia MCP79 SATA chipset which has problems with certain drives. The Crucial's and 850 are OK, there *may* be an issue with the Cosair in MBP's with the MCP79.

The Crucial BX200 has performance issues. The Evo 850 is the best-selling SATA SSD. I have a couple of 250GB Evo 850's in my 2012 MBP. But I have other SSD's in my other computers.

To see what the difference is between the Evo 850 and BX200 (and to be able to compare other models), see:
http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Evo-500GB-vs-Crucial-BX200-480GB/3477vsm40686

To see in detail what the issues are with the BX200 (maybe more detail that you want), see:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9756/...-960gb-ssd-review-crucials-first-tlc-nand-ssd

If you're looking for a cheaper 1TB SSD in the 2011-2012 MBP, maybe the SanDisk Ultra II is a better buy - cheaper and a little faster than the BX200. However, this shouldn't be used in pre-2011 MBP's.
Click to expand...


Wow great info and great links. Appreciate that.

So I'm buying a new MBP for my daughter. She has a late 2011 MacBook Pro 13" that my wife is gonna get and my wife is giving me her Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13" that I'll be upgrading to SSD and 16GB of Ram. I may upgrade the 2011 model for my wife but she never uses a laptop and when she does, it all works fine for her. I do lots of music recording with Logic Pro X on my IMac and I thought it would be cool to have a laptop with all of that in it.


So ... I checked out your links and the Samsung EVO 850 really rates very well. Didn't realize that and it might be worth the extra $80 for me to go that route. Was trying to do all this on the cheap but that might not be a good idea. Thanks again for the help.

Maybe I was reading it all wrong but it seemed like a big difference in performance with the Crucial BX200 vs MX200. If I was gonna go with the MX200 than I might as well go for the Samsung EVO 850.


Just waiting for Monday's WWDC announcements and I'll be making decisions.
[doublepost=1465540418][/doublepost]One more quick question.

Can I use my Time Machine backup on my iMac for the Mackbook Pro SSD upgrade install ?

I would love to get all my apps and files from the iMac to the Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13"
 
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For your situation, I think the Evo 850 is a reasonable choice.

It might be easier (likely faster) to clone your iMac onto the SSD (if you don't have one you'd need a USB enclosure with UASP support, cheap ones that work fine are $15) and then install it into the MBP. You can use Carbon Copy Cloner ("CCC") to do that. There's a free trial period. People here sing the praises of having a bootable clone (typically an HDD) in addition to a TM backup. I agree and do that as well - I use 500GB HDD's and they usually cost about $40 or less. https://bombich.com/

I haven't used CCC but it's popular on this macrumors. One thing to watch out for (I just ran into this) is that if you have Airport Extreme routers (I think that's the problem but I'm not sure - it may happen with other routers) is your clone will have the same computer name as your iMac and the new computer tries, unsuccesfully, to rename itself. Boot the iMac from the clone, change the name and whatever network settings required (if you have a manual network setup) before installing in the MBP. In my MBP, turning off WiFi did not prevent the MBP from saying that there was a computer name conflict. (This is the name you assign in System Preferences -> Sharing.)
 
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I just went through SSD upgrading two macs. This worked for me:
Put the new SSD in a USB external drive enclosure, attached it to the Mac and formatted it.
Then ran Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable clone of the Mac's hard drive on the SSD.
Then removed the SSD from the enclosure.
Then replaced the hard drive on the Mac with the SSD. Get this done by a pro unless you are a pro or you are working on an old Mac with easy access to the hard drive and feel competent opening computers.
Then put the old hard drive into the USB enclosure.
Done. Next time I booted the Mac I was right back to where I was the last time I used it, only running from the SSD -- and much faster. And the old hard drive was in a bootable USB enclosure as backup.
I used the OWC kits.

Buyer beware: your situation may vary. See treekram's post for example. The nice thing about this method is that if the new SSD doesn't work, the old hard drive is right there. Can boot from the external enclosure in a pinch.
 
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Easttime said:
I just went through SSD upgrading two macs. This worked for me:
Put the new SSD in a USB external drive enclosure, attached it to the Mac and formatted it.
Then ran Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable clone of the Mac's hard drive on the SSD.
Then removed the SSD from the enclosure.
Then replaced the hard drive on the Mac with the SSD. Get this done by a pro unless you are a pro or you are working on an old Mac with easy access to the hard drive and feel competent opening computers.
Then put the old hard drive into the USB enclosure.
Done. Next time I booted the Mac I was right back to where I was the last time I used it, only running from the SSD -- and much faster. And the old hard drive was in a bootable USB enclosure as backup.
I used the OWC kits.

Buyer beware: your situation may vary. See treekram's post for example. The nice thing about this method is that if the new SSD doesn't work, the old hard drive is right there. Can boot from the external enclosure in a pinch.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the help.


So use this cable ?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/StarTech....66052712&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=81457575632&veh=sem

.
 
I don't see any reason to spend more $$$ on a high-end Samsung drive.

I've seen -numerous- postings in this forum from folks using Samsung SSDs with problems.
I've seen no postings of problems from users of Crucial or Sandisk drives.

I'd suggest either a Crucial or Sandisk. Again, you don't have to pay more for the high-end models.

ANYONE can "prep and test" the drive (using a USB/SATA dongle or dock) and then install it into a unibody MacBook Pro (like the OP has).

All that's required to do the swap is about 15 minutes AND THE PROPER TOOLS.
I believe a Phillips #00 and a TORX T-6 driver are needed.
 
Totally Bored said:
Upgrading to a SSD on MacBook Pro. Just wondering what you guys bought and how much $ did you spend.

I'm looking at Crucial BX200 vs MX200. Not sure what the difference is there ?


Here is what I have priced out on Amazon so far.

Samsung EVO 850 500GB $153.95
Crucial MX200 500 GB. $139.00
Crucial BX200 480 GB $118.28
Corsair Force Series 480 GB $108.99



So is one better than the other and what should I get ?




Thanks in advance !!!
Click to expand...

Read the Amazon (and other) reviews on the BX200 before you buy one. It seem that Crucial gutted the thing to get the price down and now it sometimes is close to rotation hard drive speed.

I have both the MX200 and EVO 850 and both are very fast, 500-600 GB/sec read, close to 500 GB/sec write (MBP 2011 with 16 GB memory)
 
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The reason why I think the Evo 850 is not a bad choice for the OP is because of the use of Logic Pro X. If you're doing simple editing of 16-bit, 44.1Khz files, a slower SSD or fast HDD may be OK. But more sophisticated editing, higher-res files, use of samples or real-time recording would tend toward a faster SSD. But asking about the fine points about the OP's use when they're willing to spend the extra money didn't seem worth the time and effort to get into.

The cable should work OK. However, I would suggest something like the following, which is what I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Inch...5581380&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=inatech+usb+3.0

It's actually cheaper than the cable and provides more protection, both from dropping it and inadvertently disconnecting the cable. If you use it with a HDD, it provides protecting against shorting the exposed underside. It may seem that prep'ing the SSD would be a one-time use, but disk enclosures can prove useful in the future, especially if you're in a household with multiple people using multiple computers.

I don't read the thread on what SSD people got - it's too long. I mainly read the El Capitan, Mac Mini and MBP forums and I don't recall people having issues with the Evo 850. You might get a bad one, but if you buy from someplace with a good return policy, you should be OK. Having a couple of the Evo 850's in my 2012 MBP, if you have a properly working Evo 850 and 2012 mid-MBP, you will be OK - there are sometimes a problem with the cable, especially if the MBP dates from 2012 (it's a ribbon cable, not a typical wired cable). Compared to installing a SSD in the Mac Mini (I've done it with my 2012 and 2014 models), installing a SSD in the 2012 MBP is a piece of cake. Check the installation guides on iFixit or OWC to see if you feel comfortable in doing it.
 
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treekram said:
The reason why I think the Evo 850 is not a bad choice for the OP is because of the use of Logic Pro X. If you're doing simple editing of 16-bit, 44.1Khz files, a slower SSD or fast HDD may be OK. But more sophisticated editing, higher-res files, use of samples or real-time recording would tend toward a faster SSD. But asking about the fine points about the OP's use when they're willing to spend the extra money didn't seem worth the time and effort to get into.

The cable should work OK. However, I would suggest something like the following, which is what I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Inch...5581380&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=inatech+usb+3.0

It's actually cheaper than the cable and provides more protection, both from dropping it and inadvertently disconnecting the cable. If you use it with a HDD, it provides protecting against shorting the exposed underside. It may seem that prep'ing the SSD would be a one-time use, but disk enclosures can prove useful in the future, especially if you're in a household with multiple people using multiple computers.

I don't read the thread on what SSD people got - it's too long. I mainly read the El Capitan, Mac Mini and MBP forums and I don't recall people having issues with the Evo 850. You might get a bad one, but if you buy from someplace with a good return policy, you should be OK. Having a couple of the Evo 850's in my 2012 MBP, if you have a properly working Evo 850 and 2012 mid-MBP, you will be OK - there are sometimes a problem with the cable, especially if the MBP dates from 2012 (it's a ribbon cable, not a typical wired cable). Compared to installing a SSD in the Mac Mini (I've done it with my 2012 and 2014 models), installing a SSD in the 2012 MBP is a piece of cake. Check the installation guides on iFixit or OWC to see if you feel comfortable in doing it.
Click to expand...


Cool. I checked out the Inateck enclosure thingy on YouTube. I'll take one !!!


Decided to bite the bullet and go with:

Samsung EVO 850 1 TB
Samsung EVO 850 250 GB
16 RAM for both MBP's
Inateck 2.5 inch USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure.

My Dad always said " do it right the 1st time or don't do it at all"


Stuff should be here next week. Wish me luck ... \m/ \m/
 
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Totally Bored said:
Cool. I checked out the Inateck enclosure thingy on YouTube. I'll take one !!!
Click to expand...

You will like it. I have one with 512 GB Samsung EVO 850 in it. I routinely see 500-600 GB/sec on my Windows desktop machine. Just pay attention to the padding under the SSD. If you put too much in it can put a strain on the SSD and the SATA connector. Also, some of these units have a power switch on them. And it you turn it off, the unit will not work or will fall off line. Forget about the switch and bump it, and you may be saying some colorful words.
 
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jerryk said:
You will like it. I have one with 512 GB Samsung EVO 850 in it. I routinely see 500-600 GB/sec on my Windows desktop machine. Just pay attention to the padding under the SSD. If you put too much in it can put a strain on the SSD and the SATA connector. Also, some of these units have a power switch on them. And it you turn it off, the unit will not work or will fall off line. Forget about the switch and bump it, and you may be saying some colorful words.
Click to expand...
Which Inatech model is faster? The FE2004 or the FE2001?
https://www.amazon.com/Tool-free-In...ie=UTF8&qid=1468184679&sr=1-1&keywords=fe2004
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Exte...ie=UTF8&qid=1468184700&sr=1-1&keywords=fe2001
 
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I am looking to upgrade with a second SSD in my '12 MBP. Obviously, this second drive would replace the optical bay. Is there a certain size that I have to stay at? I've tried looking, but haven't found anything definite.
 
dmk1974 said:
Which Inatech model is faster? The FE2004 or the FE2001?
https://www.amazon.com/Tool-free-In...ie=UTF8&qid=1468184679&sr=1-1&keywords=fe2004
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Exte...ie=UTF8&qid=1468184700&sr=1-1&keywords=fe2001
Click to expand...

I have the FE2002 since is has UASP support, so does the FE2010. No sure why I got the FE2002 over the FE2010. It might have been something in the reviews, but the FE2010 is there top seller.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FCLG65U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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