Upgrading Mac Studio storage

[Chancha]

No Raid. Just a Samsung 9100Pro on PCIE 5. Like I said, I did think the M4 was running PCIE 5 or at least the 8TB on the M2 Max would be faster. I saw many video showing the bigger Apple SSD getting really fast but never saw one with 8TB. Give the price of the 8TB from Polysoft, I am contemplating selling the M2 Studio and putting in the difference and buying the M4. For now the Hackintosh serves my needs but Tahoe is its last dance so a Studio is the best way forward. My current Studio with external SSD is okay but slow for what I need, the internal SSD is only 512GB.

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Apple must have been targeting Thunderbolt 5 specs when designing the M4 generation of chips, in which TB5 is “only” still on PCIe gen 4 for data. Not saying Apple couldn’t have used gen 5 for the internal storage, but it’d complicate the design so they probably will leave that work for M5 or even M6 down the road. Especially if and when a new Mac Pro happens, there are PCIe card slots to care about as well.

On the Mac Studio storage cards, the biggest sequential speed increase has always come from maximizing the number of NAND chips on the two daughter card boards, and the upper limit has always been 8. With the M3 Ultra having a 16TB config, many speculated may be the limit had been raised to 16 NANDs, but turns out it is still 8, Apple just starts using 2TB modules instead. So the end result is increase of capacity but no increase in seq. speed.

AFAIK, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB, 16TB configs all use 8 NANDs. In other words once you reach 2TB you are already at the higher end of possible seq. speed in the context of storage channels, the extra speed you can get from real world usage of the 4/8/16 comes from leg room in each NAND cell.

 

[pshufd]

Apple must have been targeting Thunderbolt 5 specs when designing the M4 generation of chips, in which TB5 is “only” still on PCIe gen 4 for data. Not saying Apple couldn’t have used gen 5 for the internal storage, but it’d complicate the design so they probably will leave that work for M5 or even M6 down the road. Especially if and when a new Mac Pro happens, there are PCIe card slots to care about as well.

On the Mac Studio storage cards, the biggest sequential speed increase has always come from maximizing the number of NAND chips on the two daughter card boards, and the upper limit has always been 8. With the M3 Ultra having a 16TB config, many speculated may be the limit had been raised to 16 NANDs, but turns out it is still 8, Apple just starts using 2TB modules instead. So the end result is increase of capacity but no increase in seq. speed.

AFAIK, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB, 16TB configs all use 8 NANDs. In other words once you reach 2TB you are already at the higher end of possible seq. speed in the context of storage channels, the extra speed you can get from real world usage of the 4/8/16 comes from leg room in each NAND cell.

I think that they'll do Gen 5 in M5. I've already seen a Thinkpad for sale with Gen 5 NVMe so we'll definitely see more of them in 2026 on premium Windows laptops. This would make for improved storage improvement across Apple's Mac line.

 

[qriox]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share that I’ve been using the new 8TB storage from Polysoft for a week now, and it’s been absolutely flawless. No hiccups, no issues at all. I’m really happy with the purchase, and I want to give a huge shoutout to Gilles (@gilles_polysoft) for his top-notch customer service and support. Cheers!

 

[KlingmannMusic]

That sounds great Qrioz. @gilles_polysoft Any news as to when pre-orders will start again? I really don’t want to miss out on an 8TB M4 module as I just got my Mac Studio with base 512GB and really want to get my hands on it

 

[Molecular1958]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share that I’ve been using the new 8TB storage from Polysoft for a week now, and it’s been absolutely flawless. No hiccups, no issues at all. I’m really happy with the purchase, and I want to give a huge shoutout to Gilles (@gilles_polysoft) for his top-notch customer service and support. Cheers!

Lucky you ! I'm looking every day on the website since april almost no luck but message from the dev wbsite that tell me taht it is available but it's not.

Can't wait to buy one !

 

[mindcue]

Lucky you ! I'm looking every day on the website since april almost no luck but message from the dev wbsite that tell me taht it is available but it's not.

Can't wait to buy one !

Got the same message. Like one I'd received about a month ago that was false alarm, but this one was dev site. Sigh. Been holding up on buying a Studio until I am sure that one of these can be ordered. Otherwise I'll need to pay for a larger drive from Apple.

 

[gilles_polysoft]

w

Got the same message. Like one I'd received about a month ago that was false alarm, but this one was dev site. Sigh. Been holding up on buying a Studio until I am sure that one of these can be ordered. Otherwise I'll need to pay for a larger drive from Apple.

Sorry about the false alarm (from the dev site).

We have delayed the reopening of orders slightly because we detected a problem with the third batch, not on the M1 boards (which are all sent) but on the M2, M3, and M4 cards : a very minor problem with the horizontal alignment of the chips due to the silkscreeen ink.

We are fixing the problem on batch 3 (which has been significantly delayed) and will reopen orders in early August.

 

[KlingmannMusic]

Thanks for the update Gilles. At least I can spend less time on the page now pressing F5 all the time 🤣

 

[neomorpheus]

Against my better judgment, i ordered a M2 Studio since amazon has this crazy deal of 899 and it should arrive soon.

So checking the polysoft site and reading this thread, i am under the impression that polysoft doesnt sell any compatible ssds for M2 Studios?

Its that the case?

 

[KlingmannMusic]

Against my better judgment, i ordered a M2 Studio since amazon has this crazy deal of 899 and it should arrive soon.

So checking the polysoft site and reading this thread, i am under the impression that polysoft doesnt sell any compatible ssds for M2 Studios?

Its that the case?

Not sure where you got this from. It's literally its own category on the shop: https://shop.polysoft.fr/de/4-mac-studio-m2-upgrades

 

[Ifti]

I would love to do this, but my main issue is if it would just take Apple a update to render the replaced SSD useless?

 

[KlingmannMusic]

I would love to do this, but my main issue is if it would just take Apple a update to render the replaced SSD useless?

Maybe @gilles_polysoft can give a more thorough answer but from my understanding it is using literally the same components so I'm not even sure there's a way for Apple to notice that you have a different SSD apart from disassembling the machine.

 

[Absrnd]

I would love to do this, but my main issue is if it would just take Apple a update to render the replaced SSD useless?

With all the thousands of upgrades done on macbooks, iphones and iMacs,
Did you ever hear that an update killed the memory upgrades ?

 

[maflynn]

With all the thousands of upgrades done on macbooks, iphones and iMacs,
Did you ever hear that an update killed the memory upgrades ?

Thousands?

Are you saying thousands of people took apart their iPhones to upgrade the storage? Or thousands of macbook owners de-soldered the the nand chips and re-soldered new ones on?

Do you have any proof of your statement of truth?

I'd be surprised if the number of upgrades were in the hundreds, and that was just for the studio/mac mini as those two models are the ones with removable nand chips. the others require more specialized skills and tools.

I'd also not put it past apple to just that, I remember back in the day when themeing was a gaining popularirty in the osx community, Steve Jobs and company purposely put in an update that needlessly broke the theming.

Its not that did an update break the nand replacements, could it and would apple do such a thing. Hell a recent update broke people's macs when they had moved their homes off the internal ssd and onto an external drive. While unintentional (and fixed later) it shows that there's a risk associated to doing something that apple does not expect, approve or even wants you too.

 

[Molecular1958]

You're absolutely right that most Apple devices use soldered NAND chips or proprietary configurations that make upgrades extremely difficult — if not intentionally so. But it's worth noting that not all Apple hardware is completely locked down in this way.


For instance, MacBook Pro models up to 2015 still used removable SSD modules, which can be upgraded using adapters. There’s a whole ecosystem around this — including OWC and Sintech adapters — that lets people use standard NVMe drives in place of Apple's original SSDs. While Apple obviously didn’t design it that way, thousands of users worldwide have done these upgrades over the years. Not just enthusiasts, but refurbishers and repair shops too.


As for "simulated Macs", aka Hackintosh or OpenCore-based systems, you're also right — they do work with non-Apple components, including standard storage. These systems, while unofficial, have a large and active user base. While there are no public statistics, there are entire communities and subreddits dedicated to these setups, and some vendors even pre-configure them (in countries where the legal gray area is less aggressively policed).


So while I agree it’s not "mainstream" in the consumer sense, and Apple has clearly been trying to lock down every possible avenue, there’s more activity and more units out there than most people realize. We just don't have formal numbers, since naturally, none of this is supported or officially documented.


Your point about the risks is spot on — Apple has a long track record of making life hard for tinkerers, even unintentionally. Whether it’s breaking theming, or updates that cause unexpected side effects (like the home folder-on-external issue), there’s definitely always a risk when stepping outside the official playbook.

 

[Molecular1958]

With all the thousands of upgrades done on macbooks, iphones and iMacs,
Did you ever hear that an update killed the memory upgrades ?

Not that I'm aware of — I've never personally encountered or seen a confirmed case where a macOS update killed a memory (or storage) upgrade, at least on supported hardware.


On MacBook Pro models up to 2015, upgrades work reliably as long as you use compatible SSDs or NVMe drives with the proper adapter. macOS official versions, including the latest ones that still support those machines, continue to recognize upgraded drives without issues.


And regarding the newer Apple Silicon Macs (like M4) — you're correct: the storage controller is now on the main board, and only the NAND modules are socketed on some units (like the Mac Studio or Mac Mini). So in theory, if you're using the exact same NAND specs, and the controller handles initialization, there shouldn't be anything for macOS to "break" — unless Apple deliberately changes low-level behavior (which, again, hasn’t been proven to happen yet).


So far, as long as the hardware layout remains consistent with the original design, and macOS isn’t detecting some sort of "tampering," everything continues to function as expected.


Of course, with Apple, you never know what the next update might bring — but for now, it's working.

 

[pshufd]

You're absolutely right that most Apple devices use soldered NAND chips or proprietary configurations that make upgrades extremely difficult — if not intentionally so. But it's worth noting that not all Apple hardware is completely locked down in this way.

For instance, MacBook Pro models up to 2015 still used removable SSD modules, which can be upgraded using adapters. There’s a whole ecosystem around this — including OWC and Sintech adapters — that lets people use standard NVMe drives in place of Apple's original SSDs. While Apple obviously didn’t design it that way, thousands of users worldwide have done these upgrades over the years. Not just enthusiasts, but refurbishers and repair shops too.

As for "simulated Macs", aka Hackintosh or OpenCore-based systems, you're also right — they do work with non-Apple components, including standard storage. These systems, while unofficial, have a large and active user base. While there are no public statistics, there are entire communities and subreddits dedicated to these setups, and some vendors even pre-configure them (in countries where the legal gray area is less aggressively policed).

So while I agree it’s not "mainstream" in the consumer sense, and Apple has clearly been trying to lock down every possible avenue, there’s more activity and more units out there than most people realize. We just don't have formal numbers, since naturally, none of this is supported or officially documented.

Your point about the risks is spot on — Apple has a long track record of making life hard for tinkerers, even unintentionally. Whether it’s breaking theming, or updates that cause unexpected side effects (like the home folder-on-external issue), there’s definitely always a risk when stepping outside the official playbook.

Apple has had a history of breaking the use of running macOS in virtual machines. It might be inadvertent or intentional but it happens quite a bit that a process that works turns into a process that stops working after six months to a year. There are lots of YouTube videos with directions that just stop working after a while.

OpenCore is more reliable but sometimes you just want x86 macOS in a virtual machine instead of dedicating the hardware towards it. I am pretty good with using iCloud Apps on the web right now because some Firefox bugs have been fixed which degraded the iCloud Apps on Firefox experience poor in the past but I bought the Windows laptop with running iCloud Apps in a macOS virtual machine if the web app route didn't work out. It is still nice to have the option which is one of the reasons I went with 32 GB instead of 16 GB of RAM.

I think that a lot of people gave up on OCLP, virtual machines and other ways to run macOS because Apple Silicon has been so good. But AMD and Intel catching up in niche areas has probably sparked something of a return. It's also an option if you need a lot of RAM or a lot of fast storage.

I have an MSI Tomahawk 870E and a 9900X in the basement in the boxes from Microcenter. It has two NVMe Gen 5 slots. I'd love to throw in a Samsung 9100 and play around with it but the parts aren't for me. I'm still toying with the idea of an equivalent build though I can't justify it as my i7-10700 is running fine right now.

There are times when I'm glad that Microcenter is an hour away. I can't imagine what I'd spend if I lived in Cambridge.

 

[Molecular1958]

You're absolutely right — Apple does have a long and storied history of breaking compatibility, whether intentionally or not. Virtual machines, theming, older hardware, even certain workflows like audio production — they all eventually get disrupted by an update. And yeah, it can be exhausting when a setup that worked flawlessly six months ago suddenly doesn't, with no warning and little explanation.


That’s why, in music production (or anything where stability is king), most pros wait one to two years before updating macOS. You don’t want to wake up one morning and find your DAW or plugins are broken. Apple seems to optimize for "consumer momentum" rather than long-term compatibility.


That said, the original question here was more specific — about Apple potentially breaking low-level storage upgrades or NAND replacements. And in that case, I agree: it’s very unlikely. Deliberately sabotaging that kind of mod would require too much R&D effort and testing across all hardware configurations, especially since Apple tightly controls both the controller and firmware in Apple Silicon Macs. If the NAND is the same spec and layout, and the controller is onboard, there’s not much for macOS to "break" without breaking its own base models.


Of course, it’s Apple — they might go back to soldering everything next year and make the discussion moot. But for now, especially with some socketed NAND on newer machines like the Mac Studio, the door is still cracked open for upgrades — even if unofficial.


And yeah, I feel you on Microcenter. One-hour drive is a healthy barrier. Living five minutes away would be financially catastrophic 😄

 

[Absrnd]

Thousands?

Are you saying thousands of people took apart their iPhones to upgrade the storage? Or thousands of macbook owners de-soldered the the nand chips and re-soldered new ones on?

Do you have any proof of your statement of truth?

I'd be surprised if the number of upgrades were in the hundreds, and that was just for the studio/mac mini as those two models are the ones with removable nand chips. the others require more specialized skills and tools.

I'd also not put it past apple to just that, I remember back in the day when themeing was a gaining popularirty in the osx community, Steve Jobs and company purposely put in an update that needlessly broke the theming.

Its not that did an update break the nand replacements, could it and would apple do such a thing. Hell a recent update broke people's macs when they had moved their homes off the internal ssd and onto an external drive. While unintentional (and fixed later) it shows that there's a risk associated to doing something that apple does not expect, approve or even wants you too.

that is where your statement is based on, Apple could brake your machine, because long time ago they broke theming ?

 

[pshufd]

That’s why, in music production (or anything where stability is king), most pros wait one to two years before updating macOS. You don’t want to wake up one morning and find your DAW or plugins are broken. Apple seems to optimize for "consumer momentum" rather than long-term compatibility.

That said, the original question here was more specific — about Apple potentially breaking low-level storage upgrades or NAND replacements. And in that case, I agree: it’s very unlikely. Deliberately sabotaging that kind of mod would require too much R&D effort and testing across all hardware configurations, especially since Apple tightly controls both the controller and firmware in Apple Silicon Macs. If the NAND is the same spec and layout, and the controller is onboard, there’s not much for macOS to "break" without breaking its own base models.

I have three Macs on Sequoia and all three can run my workflow. So I test on one and upgrade the rest if my workflow is good. About a year ago. I updated my systems and the macOS update broke an important program. So I restored from Time Machine but it took two hours to go through the process for my Mac Studio. And since then, I test on one machine first before upgrading the others.

Back around 2018 I was using a DisplayLink solution and there was a new macOS update and I applied it. And it broke DisplayLink. I eventually contacted them and they said that they knew about the problem and that I should wait until the next major version of macOS for the fix. I was very unhappy with their response.

I don't need a lot of really fast storage. I have 8 TB external on my Studio though only about 3.5 TB of data. If I needed a lot of really fast storage, I'd just go with a Windows build.

 

[neomorpheus]

Thanks but i only looked at this page and scrolled all the way down and it shows everything except the M2.

But i did missed it at the top of the page.

Polysoft - SSD Upgrades for Mac Studio and Mac Mini | Buy Now

Discover exclusive SSD upgrades for Mac Studio and Mac Mini at Polysoft. Fast and reliable storage solutions you won't find anywhere else. Buy now!

shop.polysoft.fr

Also, going to the M2 page and selecting a drive (i clicked on 2 TB) shows nothing at all.

Studio Drive - up to 8TB internal SSD for Mac Studio M2 (A2901)

Never run out of space again by installing a 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB internal SSD in your Mac Studio M2 Max or Ultra (A2901). Exceptional speed and endurance: up to 7.4GB/s and 16,000TBW. Tool kits and installation manual included.

shop.polysoft.fr

 

[maflynn]

that is where your statement is based on, Apple could brake your machine, because long time ago they broke theming ?

Lets go back to your statement, thousands of macbooks, iphones and iMacs? Please backup your statement of fact.

 

[Surenmunoo]

@gilles_polysoft I got an email saying the M2 8TB was in stock. I go to purchase and its not in stock.

 

[edubfromktown]

I went "on the cheap" with dual external NVMe's attached to TB ports 1 and 4 (different controller lanes) on my M1 Studio Max.

Both drives configured RAID 0 come in at a respectable 3340 read and 2940 write MB/s.
(Note: I periodically back it up to a 14 TB external drive since there is no redundancy with RAID 0)

Ends up ~50% of the internal Studio storage 7000 read / 5400 write MB/S though still plenty fast for my purposes.

Another non-invasive upgrade to consider would be spending more for higher performance external RAID array with the OWC Express 4M2.

 

[KlingmannMusic]

@gilles_polysoft I got an email saying the M2 8TB was in stock. I go to purchase and its not in stock.

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Please don't tell me I missed it.