Transcend Debuts JetDrive SSD Upgrade Kits Up to 960GB for MacBook Air, Retina Macbook Pro

[MrX8503]

TB is like cookie dough ice cream. It doesn't match well, but some people really love it.

USB 3.0 is like vanilla ice cream - it might not be your favourite but it goes with just about everything. Even a 2011 iMAC.

From transcends perspective, and most consumers (excepting, as you note, single platform 2011 iMAC loyalists) , it's obvious USB 3.0 makes way more sense.

Other users in this thread requested TB as well. This storage device is catered to Mac users, which all users 2011 and up would have.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^The 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 does not have TB. IMHO, we are buying an internal drive for more storage. The clever external case that allows us to reuse the old internal SSD is just icing on the cake. AND, all Macs and PCs have USB whether it be 2.0 or 3.0. We are really talking about a nit here.

But, I would rather have the USB 3.0 enclosure, because if I ever wanted, I could use it on my Mac Pro.

Lou

 

[TranscendInfo]

My Review of the Transcend JetDrive 520 480GB SSD in a 2012 11" MBA.

My Review also includes a comparison of the JetDrive with the OWC Aura Pro Drive.

I ordered the OWC Aura Pro Drive the day before the Transcend Drives were announced. Before I received the drive, I called OWC to see if they would price match, and the answer was no. So, I thought Shame on Me. OWC's pricing was $449. for a bare drive and $475. for one that included tools and an enclosure for the old SSD. (OWC's pricing has since been reduced to $398. and $419. respectively) I opted for the bare drive. I installed the drive, and as others have noticed, the vertical dimension of the circuit board the components are mounted on is a millimeter or 2 larger than the stock SSD. Others have cut the board, I didn't, I applied a little pressure and it snapped into place. OWCs installation video is, IMO, far better than the Transcend video. Once set up, the SSD seemed to work fine, for awhile, but less than a day later, the drive started giving me problems. I tried repairing it with both Disk utility and Tech Tool Pro, both to no avail. Two days later it happened again. I called OWC and asked for an RMA. They agreed but said I would have to pay a restocking fee and pay for return shipment. I challenged that, saying this was not a capricious return, that the unit was defective and I expected OWC to pay for shipping and refund the full amount. They agreed, and sent me a UPS label.

When ordering the Transcend JetDrive I was quoted a delivery time of from 2 to 4 weeks. The unit was shipped 3 days after the order was placed and I received it one day later, that's 4 days after order placement! The price of the JetDrive 480 GB SSD from Amazon was $350. + Sales Tax (OWC charges no tax in Arizona). If I could have waited longer, I could have bought it from my memory Supplier, Data Memory Systems and not paid Sales Tax, but Transcend has not yet supplied it's distributers with this product.

Upon receipt of the JetDrive, yesterday, the first thing that jumped out at me was the packaging. The OWC SSD came packed in an anti-static bag enclosed in a thin gauge blister packed piece of cardboard with blue printing. It looked the packaging used by Ace Combs. The Transcend packaging on the other hand was impressive. A heavy gauge white slide out box with a full color picture of the SSD. The box was multi layered and contained the drive, the enclosure for the OEM drive, and the tools necessary for installation. Each layer was a plastic bed with depressions sized to fit the associated parts. It also contained an instruction booklet and warranty information. The instructions are, IMHO, inadequate, and only two pages apply, the other 26 pages being written for other languages.

The tools worked very well, and installation was a breeze. the form factor of the circuit board is the same as apple's so no undue pressure was needed for installation. My old SSD fit into the supplied enclosure with no issues.

I then cloned the JetDrive using Tech Tool Pro from the external Hybrid Drive I had been using as the main drive for my MBA. I foolishly ordered my MBA with only the 64GB SSD.

No issues. Everything is working as expected. In terms of speed. I have not measured the speed, but it feels very snappy. I believe the OWC and Transcend drives to be equal here. Transcend even supplies software to enable Apple's Trim support, OWC does not. There is however, third party software that enables Trim, Trim Enabler. I use that anyway for the SSD I use in my Mac Pro.

In ending, I would urge anyone installing the JetDrive in a MBA to watch the OWC installation video, again, it is superior to the Transcend video, and will make things more understandable to you.

The JetDrive is by far the superior product, and as of right now is $69. cheaper than the OWC Aura Pro. When I bought the OWC product, it would have cost $125 more than the corresponding Transcend product.

That IMHO is Value.

Currently, Apple charges $500. to go from a 128GB SSD to a 512GB SSD in the MBA. So, $350. for a 480GB SSD AND you get to keep your old drive, you can't beat that.

Edit - The Transcend drive seems to run color than true OWC drive. When feeling the bottom of my MBA where the SSD is mounted, the area while warm, is not as warm as it was with the OWC unit.

Lou

Hello flowrider,
Thank you for your review! We will be posting a more detailed installation guide on our website shortly.

----------

Thanks.

I did read the bit about a proprietary Transcend controller, and I was hoping for verification that it did not use data compression in the same manner as the Sandforce controllers do. I think that el-mariachi is right about the Black Magic test.

Hello JGO,
Our proprietary controller is a completely different design from SandForce controllers and doesn't rely on data compression to accelerate transfer rates. Subsequently, our JetDrive SSDs perform well even when using benchmarks such as Blackmagic which utilize incompressible data.

Hope that helps!

 

[JGO]

I just ordered the 960GB for 2012 rmbp.

In the recent past I would only use SSD's from the established manufacturers (Intel, Crucial/Micron, Samsung) with the idea that their products would be more reliable than second tier SSD manufacturers. I still remember the stuttering performance of the G.Skill Titan SSD, with the crappy JMICRON controller, that I bought years ago. Hoping for the best with this Transcend drive as I am running out of space on the stock drive.

When I get the SSD I will post xbench scores here.

 

[gerardofegan]

Drive speeds

G'day

I see that the drive speeds are 400+MB/S once installed into your laptop but i was wondering if you just use it as an external drive do the speeds drastically drop? Of course this would be a USB 3 connection.

Thanks in advance.

 

[yellowsnn0w]

i wrote down exactely these numbers some posts before.......

 

[TranscendInfo]

G'day

I see that the drive speeds are 400+MB/S once installed into your laptop but i was wondering if you just use it as an external drive do the speeds drastically drop? Of course this would be a USB 3 connection.

Thanks in advance.

Hello gerardofegan,
Just to give you an idea, we connected our JetDrive 500 enclosure via USB 3.0 to a Windows machine that supports UASP and have the following performance under Crystal Disk Mark:

Read/Write
Seq: 421.9/380.1
512K: 324.6/366.9
4k: 16.76/33.58
4kQD32: 142.3/147.2



Hope that helps!

 

[cbs20]

Hey TranscendInfo, you guys really need to include the step about going to System Preferences>Startup Disk and select the new drive at the end of your installation guide. A couple reviewers on Amazon have already stated that their boot up times have slowed down since installing your drive and this step would prevent that complaint

 

[TranscendInfo]

Hey TranscendInfo, you guys really need to include the step about going to System Preferences>Startup Disk and select the new drive at the end of your installation guide. A couple reviewers on Amazon have already stated that their boot up times have slowed down since installing your drive and this step would prevent that complaint

Hello cbs20,
Thank you for your suggestion. We've uploaded a more detailed installation guide on our website http://www.transcend-info.com/files/Manual/How%20to%20install%20JetDrive%20SSD%20Upgrade%20Kits%20into%20Mac.pdf that includes this step.

We also want to announce that we have decided to make a 960GB version of the JetDrive 500 for 2010 and 2011 MacBook Airs (2010 MBA 11" excluded due to a mechanical limitation) due to overwhelming interest. This will be available shortly through Amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk, amazon.co.jp, and amazon.fr.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^I viewed Transcend's new installation video and IMHO it's still lacking. I still recommend buyers of the JetDrive follow OWCs installation video.

1. OWCs Video contains spoken words describing the process, Transcend just has background music and someone whistling.

2. OWCs instructions are far more detailed. They talk about screw length, loosening and tightening sequence. They remind you to place the machine on a non static surface. The video goes at a slower pace and describes each step in detail. Transcend just whips through everything, still IMHO, leaving out steps. The OWC video is just more detailed and complete.

3. OWC tells you to remove the battery connector prior to installation of the SSD, I'm assuming this is a safety measure.

The Transcend video is better than the first one, but still lacking.

Lou

 

[moebis]

I ordered the 480GB 720 about 3-4 days ago and it still hasn't shipped. Amazon said there were 7 in stock when I placed the order. Not only should it have shipped already it could have arrived within that timeframe. What is the hold up?

 

[flowrider]

^^^^Amazon is funny (not ha ha funny) when it comes to shipping. It appears they want to punish you if your not a prime member. Look at your order and check the Delivery Estimate date. You will receive it by then. I have had things ship on the day I ordered it, and other things ship out 5 or 6 days after the order, even if it were in stock. But, if your not a prime member, it could be 5 days before the darn thing is shipped.

Having an item in stock, is no guarantee it will ship when ordered, it's really quite the opposite.

Lou

 

[07dodge]

I think I'm going to get the 960, that's plenty of storage for anything I'll need on this.


So the initial erase step is to make sure the Transcend SSD is completely empty, correct?

And after cloning, let's say there was an issue with the Transcend drive, you could merely pop the Apple drive in again and it would basically be no harm, no foul? Meaning your computer wouldn't be unusable, am I correct in that assumption?

 

[cbs20]

I think I'm going to get the 960, that's plenty of storage for anything I'll need on this.


So the initial erase step is to make sure the Transcend SSD is completely empty, correct?

And after cloning, let's say there was an issue with the Transcend drive, you could merely pop the Apple drive in again and it would basically be no harm, no foul? Meaning your computer wouldn't be unusable, am I correct in that assumption?

Yes, and to make sure the Transcend SSD is the right format and yes to your 2nd question.

 

[07dodge]

Excellent, thank you!

 

[flowrider]

^^^^In the time between - when I removed my defective OWC drive until I installed my new JetDrive, I ran my MBA with no internal drive, just the external drive.

So yes, to both questions. Format your new drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and clone from your existing SSD and your good to go.

Lou

 

[moebis]

^^^^Amazon is funny (not ha ha funny) when it comes to shipping. It appears they want to punish you if your not a prime member. Look at your order and check the Delivery Estimate date. You will receive it by then. I have had things ship on the day I ordered it, and other things ship out 5 or 6 days after the order, even if it were in stock. But, if your not a prime member, it could be 5 days before the darn thing is shipped.

Having an item in stock, is no guarantee it will ship when ordered, it's really quite the opposite.

Lou

You're right, it finally shipped today and already shows it will be delivered by tomorrow. So for anyone else wondering, it will get to you quickly. Can't wait to do some benchmarks on this little puppy. Thanks for the heads up flowrider.

 

[a.coward]

@TranscendInfo

Are you planning on selling the JetDrive line at any other online retailer in the near future, or are we stuck with Amazon.com?

Thanks.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^As I indicated above, I talked to my Memory Supplier, Data Memory Systems, who is also a Transcend Reseller. He told me, they would not have the drives until sometime in early June. It would have been cheaper for me to buy from him, because of the Sales Tax issue, and because I'm a long time customer. However, I simply could not wait that long.

Lou

 

[Cliff3]

I ordered a 480GB drive for my 2012 13" MBA from Amazon on Thursday and it arrived the following day, yesterday. The drive was very nicely packaged, as described in a previous review, and included everything needed for the install. I did not use the installation instructions included with the drive but rather the PDF instructions on the Transcend web site. I used SuperDuper! to clone my existing drive rather than drive utility as suggested in the instructions. The install went without a hitch.

Performance seems to be improved over the 250GB Apple drive the Transcend drive replaced, but that is likely partially due to the computer having a lot more swap space now - the old drive was nearly full.

So far, I am pleased.

 

[simpson31]

@TranscendInfo

I see that the jetdrive 720 480GB is finally available on Amazon UK, but the price is a joke! Why is it £339.00 for UK customers and only $349.99 (approx £210.00) on Amazon US?

US customers are getting the jetdrive 720 980GB for more or less the same price as UK customers are getting the jetdrive 720 480GB!

 

[mojomikefsu]

Just ordered the JetDrive 720 960gb for my rMBP (Mid 2012). Amazon currently says out of stock, but hopefully they will get it in and ship it soon.

 

[mountainman69]

MID 2011 MBA Original 240 GB drive

OK, so my "About this MAC" clearly indicates that I have a MID 2011 MBA. I also verified with the serial number on the Apple Technical Specification Page.

I purchased MID 2011 MBA with a 240 GB drive in it (Upgrade from Apple) in Aug 2011. The connector pattern DOES NOT fit with the 500 model JETDrive and looks more like the 520 from the pictures...

Anyone else have this issue?

thanks

 

[TranscendInfo]

OK, so my "About this MAC" clearly indicates that I have a MID 2011 MBA. I also verified with the serial number on the Apple Technical Specification Page.

I purchased MID 2011 MBA with a 240 GB drive in it (Upgrade from Apple) in Aug 2011. The connector pattern DOES NOT fit with the 500 model JETDrive and looks more like the 520 from the pictures...

Anyone else have this issue?

thanks

Hello mountainman69,
Sorry for the inconvenience and problems you are running into. To better serve you, please send us an email at support_ibu@Transcend-Info.com

Thank you!

 

[trophynuts]

Glad I held out a little longer on ordering mine. I snagged the 480 kit for my Mid 2012 MBA for 50$ cheaper than it was two weeks ago. 349$ on Amazon Prime. Can't wait to install it.