Upgrade MacBook Pro SSD with used, original part

[vmilanv88]

Recently I bought a used 13" rMBP 2014 and it seems this is the type of SSD in it: Apple SSD sd0128F
Is it the original one? The seller told me that it is.
I read the huge SSD upgrade thread here and I convinced myself that I'd rather upgrade my macbook with an original but used SSD from amazon or ebay due to the possible problems like extra power consumption and sleep issues.
In this mentioned thread people are claimed that Apple Samsung "SSUAX" and "SSUBX" drives are working with late 2013 - mid 2014 macbooks (which are stated as original drives). My question is that my drive is the "SSUAX" version or even older than that one? I don't know if I can find out somehow. It seems pretty slow and I measured 300/500MB/s with Blackmagic speedtest. I saw in System report somewhere it's stated as a SanDisk based f-series SSD. I have zero info about this one.
If even SSUAX could be faster than this, then I'd go for it because it's cheaper. But if it's the same, then I rather buy an SSUBX.
Thanks for any help.

 

[uller6]

SSD speeds are also determined by the size of the drive. Either a SSUAX or SSUBXSSD larger than 256 GB will be faster than your current drive. Since you are running a laptop with only 2 PCIE lanes to the drive, you will be limited to speeds of about 1200 MB/s No matter SSD size. IN my opinion stick with a SSUAX and save some money.

Or, if you want to try the route of an aftermarket SSD here’s a pretty comprehensive thread that might help: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-2013-2014-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/

 

[vmilanv88]

SSD speeds are also determined by the size of the drive. Either a SSUAX or SSUBXSSD larger than 256 GB will be faster than your current drive. Since you are running a laptop with only 2 PCIE lanes to the drive, you will be limited to speeds of about 1200 MB/s No matter SSD size. IN my opinion stick with a SSUAX and save some money.

Or, if you want to try the route of an aftermarket SSD here’s a pretty comprehensive thread that might help: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-2013-2014-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/

Thanks a lot for your comment! It's pretty new to me that Apple SSDs speed also determined by the size.

I've read back and forth the whole thread what you linked (I also linked in my post). That's convinced me that I'd rather go for a used Apple SSD. Keeping the battery life as long as possible is very important to me and it seems 3rd party SSDs are consuming more power although faster, more recent, cheaper and even warranty is available.
I checked the following SSDs:
ADATA SX8200 (pro or not pro): seems reliable but consume 5-10% more power than the original SSD.
Intel 660/760p: some people experienced similar battery life than the original SSD, but some of them mentioned it's even worse than ADATA.
Crucial P1: A slightly slower SSD (QLC) and some people mentioned it has very low power consumption (close to the original one) but very few mentioned so I'm not brave enough.
And after all there is still issue with sleep/hibernation. I choose Apple products 10 years ago (I'm an iMac user since then) because of the reliability and instant "availability" so I don't want to risk to lose my good experiences.

 

[Audit13]

Those SanDisk drives are terrible. I had one in a mid-2013 Air.

The SSUAX and SSUBX are both Samsung drives and far better.

Get a SSUBX if possible.

The 660p should be worse than the 760p in read/write speeds.

I would not pay too much attention to read/write speed tests and many people do not notice a significant difference in speed unless you are reading and writing large files.

Even a used 512 GB Apple SSD is not going to be cheap but I certainly understand your hesitation in used a nvme drive.

 

[vmilanv88]

Those SanDisk drives are terrible. I had one in a mid-2013 Air.

The SSUAX and SSUBX are both Samsung drives and far better.

Get a SSUBX if possible.

The 660p should be worse than the 760p in read/write speeds.

I would not pay too much attention to read/write speed tests and many people do not notice a significant difference in speed unless you are reading and writing large files.

Even a used 512 GB Apple SSD is not going to be cheap but I certainly understand your hesitation in used a nvme drive.

Thanks for confirm that everything is better than the SanDisk SSD what I have now.

I'm not 100% sure that SSUBX worth over SSUAX in everyday use. Although SSUBX possibly newer, so less used. But the price is almost twice as well. I still can't decide since I'm not completely left the 3rd party NVMe SSD idea behind. I could buy a 1TB storage with warranty for the same price as a used 512GB Apple stock SSD. But reliability and battery life matters (battery life the most) so I should have to let this idea go.

Read/write speeds doesn't matter too much, I had an iMac with an upgraded SATA SSD (stable 500-550MB/s read/write speeds) and now I have a 2019 iMac with stock SSD and it peaks around 1900MB/s read/write and I barely notice any difference during everyday use and even during work (I work with Logic Pro X). Maybe it would count more if I'd work with large video files or anything like these.

 

[Audit13]

I have not looked at Apple replacement drives for a long time and didn't realize the SSUBX was so much more than the SSUAX.

I have a late 2013 13" Pro that uses a SSUAX. I was also fixing a mid-2014 13" Pro with a SSUBX and the mid-2014 didn't feel faster than my late 2013 13" with SSUAX. I don't do much with my MacBook (Office, Safari, email, iTunes) so that's probably why I didn't notice a speed difference.
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I think you'll be fine with a SSUAX because it's faster than the SanDisk and cheaper than the SSUBX.

 

[vmilanv88]

I just want to confirm, 512GB SSUAX is listed for 105$ on eBay while SSUBX is 195$. SSUBX would be a kinda overkill for a 6 years old machine what I bought for 500$ as a secondary computer (so I can do small works when I have to travel).
Thanks for sharing your experiences with me, it's always much more precious than any benchmark numbers.
I mostly using my iMac/MacBook Pro for making music productions with Logic Pro X which is rather a CPU consumer app and typically I use .WAV files as big as 5-10-100MB each. Not a big deal actually, just want to choose the best option for the next 2-3 years at least.

 

[uller6]

I think you’ll be fine with the SSUAX drive given your use and the fact that you can save $100.

 

[vmilanv88]

I think you’ll be fine with the SSUAX drive given your use and the fact that you can save $100.

Meanwhile I got an offer for an SSUBX 512GB with 2TB written data overall, 7500 hours "power on time" (since april 2015). I got a DriveDX screenshot and everything looks great but there are 2 "UDMA CRC error count". I googled it and all the info I found is that it's related to connection/cable issues so the SSD probably will be fine.

 

[uller6]

Meanwhile I got an offer for an SSUBX 512GB with 2TB written data overall, 7500 hours "power on time" (since april 2015). I got a DriveDX screenshot and everything looks great but there are 2 "UDMA CRC error count". I googled it and all the info I found is that it's related to connection/cable issues so the SSD probably will be fine.

I've gotten UDMA CRC error counts in the past before as well, and they were due to either bad cables or bad external drive enclosures. Sounds like you got a rad deal!

 

[Audit13]

Meanwhile I got an offer for an SSUBX 512GB with 2TB written data overall, 7500 hours "power on time" (since april 2015). I got a DriveDX screenshot and everything looks great but there are 2 "UDMA CRC error count". I googled it and all the info I found is that it's related to connection/cable issues so the SSD probably will be fine.

Nice deal for the BX!

 

[vmilanv88]

Update: it was super easy to replace the SSD and the time machine backup was really smooth.
Here is the comparison of the old, stock SanDisk SSD vs. the new, SSUBX Samsung.

Although honestly, I don't feel it's as huge improvement as it seems by the numbers. So I still don't get the point why many people try to upgrade with 3rd party NVMe SSDs which cause sleep/hibernation issues and reduce the battery time.
I know, price is everything and a new SSD has warranty, etc. but the result won't worth the price, literally. That's my opinion.

Btw am I the only one who think these machines are looking good even disassembled? (still with the SanDisk SSD)

 

[Audit13]

Is that you new SSD in the MacBook? I hope it is.

 

[vmilanv88]

Is that you new SSD in the MacBook? I hope it is.

Nope, that's still the SanDisk SSD in the Macbook on the picture. I built the Samsung SSUBX after I took the picture. This is the new module below what I built in.

 

[Audit13]

You had me worried because the first picture does not show a Samsung drive

 

[vmilanv88]

You had me worried because the first picture does not show a Samsung drive

Of course not, that's the basic SanDisk as I stated between the ( ) above the picutre.

 

[vince22]

Update: it was super easy to replace the SSD and the time machine backup was really smooth.
Here is the comparison of the old, stock SanDisk SSD vs. the new, SSUBX Samsung.

View attachment 912591 View attachment 912592

Although honestly, I don't feel it's as huge improvement as it seems by the numbers. So I still don't get the point why many people try to upgrade with 3rd party NVMe SSDs which cause sleep/hibernation issues and reduce the battery time.
I know, price is everything and a new SSD has warranty, etc. but the result won't worth the price, literally. That's my opinion.

SSUBX is obsolete, NVME is the cheaper and Bigger sizes widely available as standard, if you own 2015 MacBook Pro is no brainer .

 

[vmilanv88]

SSUBX is obsolete, NVME is the cheaper and Bigger sizes widely available as standard, if you own 2015 MacBook Pro is no brainer .

It all depends on personal preferences, there is such a thing like "no brainer", that's just your aspect. If you look at the numbers, the storage/$ ratio, any of the new NVMe drives are better than a used Apple SSD.

But I don't even care if obsolete if I don't lose battery time compared with any of the best NVMe SSDs (like Sabrent or ADATA due to the tests). I've read back and forth THIS thread on this forum before I decided to buy a used SSUBX.

Losing battery time is not an option for me and I have a 2014 rMBP so I also would expect sleep/hibernation issue as well. Not to mention the possible kernel panics and other unexpected things what I've read.

And honestly, the SSUBX performs close to 1400MB/s read/write which is not bad at all. I know some people feel some kind of satisfaction if their SSD is faster with +100-200MB/s but it doesn't really count except if you move huge files on a daily basis (like 4k video editing or so). The used SSUBX SSD I bought is in perfect condition, having 1200 hours power on time with only 2.5TB written data overall.

For me, it doesn't worth to sacrafice the 100-120$ gap between a used SSUBX and any NVMe drives and also the battery time not to mention the tons of unexpected issues I read all over this thread I linked above even if most of the people have good experiences. I'm sure those are using their MacBook on charger while I need a portable workstation next to my main desktop machine.

I have a 2019 iMac with a CTO, original SSD and it's only a tiny bit faster than this SSUBX from 2015. My father has a MBP 2012 with a SATA SSD which performs around 500MB/s and I don't feel it slower than my machine during everyday usage.

 

[Tozovac]

It all depends on personal preferences, there is such a thing like "no brainer", that's just your aspect. If you look at the numbers, the storage/$ ratio, any of the new NVMe drives are better than a used Apple SSD.

But I don't even care if obsolete if I don't lose battery time compared with any of the best NVMe SSDs (like Sabrent or ADATA due to the tests). I've read back and forth THIS thread on this forum before I decided to buy a used SSUBX.

Losing battery time is not an option for me and I have a 2014 rMBP so I also would expect sleep/hibernation issue as well. Not to mention the possible kernel panics and other unexpected things what I've read.

And honestly, the SSUBX performs close to 1400MB/s read/write which is not bad at all. I know some people feel some kind of satisfaction if their SSD is faster with +100-200MB/s but it doesn't really count except if you move huge files on a daily basis (like 4k video editing or so). The used SSUBX SSD I bought is in perfect condition, having 1200 hours power on time with only 2.5TB written data overall.

For me, it doesn't worth to sacrafice the 100-120$ gap between a used SSUBX and any NVMe drives and also the battery time not to mention the tons of unexpected issues I read all over this thread I linked above even if most of the people have good experiences. I'm sure those are using their MacBook on charger while I need a portable workstation next to my main desktop machine.

I have a 2019 iMac with a CTO, original SSD and it's only a tiny bit faster than this SSUBX from 2015. My father has a MBP 2012 with a SATA SSD which performs around 500MB/s and I don't feel it slower than my machine during everyday usage.

View attachment 912713

Hi, where did you buy your SSUBX, and how were you able to verify its life/usage? Pardon me if that is an "easy" thing to verify; it'll then be easy for me too once I find out.

 

[vmilanv88]

Hi, where did you buy your SSUBX, and how were you able to verify its life/usage? Pardon me if that is an "easy" thing to verify; it'll then be easy for me too once I find out.

I bough mine from a kinda "want-ad-thread" in a Hungarian forum (since I'm Hungarian) but my advices are true in general: always buy from a seller who has decent amount of positive rating (even on ebay or something else). After that I'd ask for a screenshot of the SSD status checked with DriveDX. I did this and since he seller was a well-rated seller I considered the screenshot reliable. The drive had only 2.5TB written data since 2015 so It was a pretty good deal. And of course zero symptoms of failing was visible by DriveDX (easy to spot the exclamation marks).
If you are about to search on ebay I advise to find a seller who has other auctions related to Apple products so that's possible a good sign that he is running a business and not an occasionally thing which can be suspicious sometimes (like stolen and/or damaged MacBooks or something).