Upgrading PCIe-based flash drive for MacBook Pro 2015 Retina

[ioannis_]

Hi,

I have a MacBook Pro 2015 Retina with a 1T PCIe-based flash drive. Because of my profession, it turns out I need more storage.

I found this drive but I am not sure it is compatible with my laptop:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-...id=1489049648&sr=1-1&keywords=Samsung+850+EVO

Does anyone know of other alternatives of 2TB PCIe-based flash drives (internal)?

Thanks

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hi,

I have a MacBook Pro 2015 Retina with a 1T PCIe-based flash drive. Because of my profession, it turns out I need more storage.

I found this drive but I am not sure it is compatible with my laptop:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-...id=1489049648&sr=1-1&keywords=Samsung+850+EVO

Does anyone know of other alternatives of 2TB PCIe-based flash drives (internal)?

Thanks

Apple use a proprietary connector the only third party drives that are compatible are made by OWC, they are expensive slow and don't support trim. As far as I know there are no 2TB ssd's that are compatible at all. It's basically non upgradeable as you already have the biggest drive Apple made for that model.

 

[creamz]

No that won't work. You should be looking for an M2 form factor.

If you need the same performance like what's provided on the original Macbook you should be looking for a Samsung Pro SSD drive. Their EVO drives are budget drives.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

No that won't work. You should be looking for an M2 form factor.

If you need the same performance like what's provided on the original Macbook you should be looking for a Samsung Pro SSD drive. Their EVO drives are budget drives.

The m.2 won't work without an adapter the form factor in the Mac is weird and I don't know of any 2tb drives that will fit it's that simple really there is no upgrade option for the OP.

 

[ioannis_]

Yes, it's sad that there are no 2TB options. I mean, the MB Pro is meant for professional use. I am a data scientist and I work with / handle very large datasets. Storage is essential to my work :/
[doublepost=1489056599][/doublepost]

Yes, it's sad that there are no 2TB options. I mean, the MB Pro is meant for professional use. I am a data scientist and I work with / handle very large datasets. Storage is essential to my work :/

I also need portability: thus the necessity to have a large integrated drive (not an external one).

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yes, it's sad that there are no 2TB options. I mean, the MB Pro is meant for professional use. I am a data scientist and I work with / handle very large datasets. Storage is essential to my work :/
[doublepost=1489056599][/doublepost]
I also need portability: thus the necessity to have a large integrated drive (not an external one).

The new ones have a 2tb option, sell what you have and get new one is an option.

You have to remember it's only been the last year or so that 2tb ssd's have been available at all and PCIe connected ones have been limited to 1tb in just about anything you can buy until the 2016 MBP. Its not like Apple are not providing something other people are.

The new machines have the SSD chips soldered to the board though so they are completely non upgradeable once configured.

There are some fantastic super fast external ssd's that are not much bigger than a credit card hardly a massive problem to carry around.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AVF6UO8/ref=twister_B01BCWKBZI?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Fishrrman]

Keep what you have and get a USB3 external SSD.

Yes, more work to carry it around, plug it in, etc.

But one has to do, what one has to do...

 

[jerryk]

Do you really need 2 TB for Data Science? None of my models that would use that amount of data can be trained in a reasonable amount of time on a MacBook Pro. Better to put those in the cloud and throw a lot of CPUs, and more importantly GPUs, at the problem.

I use my MacBook for small test sets to ensure I have descent models created. The push to cloud services (AWS or Azure) for the big stuff.

 

[Mindinversion]

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-...8&qid=1489082441&sr=8-1&keywords=pcie+m.2+2tb

PRETTY sure Apple uses a standard PCI-E m.2 slot, NOT a proprietary connector, but call and ask just to be sure. If it's a regular m.2 slot, the above link will work for ya.

 

[jerryk]

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-...8&qid=1489082441&sr=8-1&keywords=pcie+m.2+2tb

PRETTY sure Apple uses a standard PCI-E m.2 slot, NOT a proprietary connector, but call and ask just to be sure. If it's a regular m.2 slot, the above link will work for ya.

My understanding is the issues is not the connector. What Apple does not support is NVMe. They have their own protocol for internal storage.

But I suppose the point is mute except for upgraders or rMBPs. For here on out high-end MBPs are soldered on RAM and SSD only.

 

[ZapNZs]

While not as fast as the PCIe SSD, have you looked at the internal storage options from Transcend? Their JetDrive Lite can give you another 256GB for a pretty reasonable price. Unlike many consumer SD cards, they use a premium type of memory in this product. Speed-wise, it performs around the same as a good 7500 RPM 2.5-inch HDD, minus the latency.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BE0C2PU/ref=twister_B0197WSSK0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


You could also get a 256 GB Corsair Voyager GTX flash drive, and this uses premium memory, combined with an actual SSD controller, to give you SSD speeds. Between the JetDrive and GTX, you'd get an extra half a TB for around $250.

 

[Mindinversion]

My understanding is the issues is not the connector. What Apple does not support is NVMe. They have their own protocol for internal storage.

But I suppose the point is mute except for upgraders or rMBPs. For here on out high-end MBPs are soldered on RAM and SSD only.

It's not a hardware level thing though. Hardware wise even the Apple SSDs should be an m.2 NVME drive, it just uses HFS+ instead of. say . . NTFS on windows [or exfat/fat32, etc]. But that's a function of the O/S

 

[jerryk]

It's not a hardware level thing though. Hardware wise even the Apple SSDs should be an m.2 NVME drive, it just uses HFS+ instead of. say . . NTFS on windows [or exfat/fat32, etc]. But that's a function of the O/S

I don't think that is quite right. We are below the file system.

Here is a quote I found from this article, https://articles.forensicfocus.com/2016/04/20/ssd-and-emmc-forensics-2016/

Technically, M.2 SSDs are PCI-E devices. However, the PCI-E specification is much broader than M.2. As such, manufacturers can produce proprietary PCI-E SSD drives that do not conform to the M.2 standard, and that may not be used in computers designed to accept M.2 compliant SSD drives.


PCI-E SSD drives are most commonly used in certain high-end workstations (full-size form factor) as well as in some ultra-slim models (such as, for example, Apple’s MacBook 2015). These proprietary storage devices attach directly to the computer’s PCI-E bus, and require the OS to use the correct driver.

 

[SarcasticJoe]

As far as I'm aware what Apple does to create their proprietary SSDs is that they take common standards and then they swap a few pins around on the connector and that's it. They've done this since they introduced their non-standard mSATA connected SSDs in the original retina MBP. This allows them to use completely standard off-the-shelf components on slightly out-of-spec PCB to almost completely block third party spares with minimal effort.

 

[Mindinversion]

Hate to admit it, but I finally got off my butt and used my Google-Fu. I'm absolutely SHOCKED [though it's Apple, so I can't say why] but it is not, in fact, an m.2 slot:


https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/293421/MBP+early+2015+SSD+can+upgrade+with+Samsung+950+pro

The SSD slot in that Macbook pro is not m.2. So it won't fit.

You can buy an adapter from M.2 to MBPr or Air for about $20...

http://eshop.sintech.cn/storage-adapter-...

The REAL question is if the NVMe protocol will be a hiccup (as in, I don't personally know that answer) ... and if it'll get the full speed of the 950. In principle, I don't see why it wouldn't. And I WILL be testing this out.

Work only with AHCI Driver SM951

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWvxZ0S...

 

[robvas]

While not as fast as the PCIe SSD, have you looked at the internal storage options from Transcend? Their JetDrive Lite can give you another 256GB for a pretty reasonable price. Unlike many consumer SD cards, they use a premium type of memory in this product. Speed-wise, it performs around the same as a good 7500 RPM 2.5-inch HDD, minus the latency.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BE0C2PU/ref=twister_B0197WSSK0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1.

Those are USB and I would never trust my data to a SD card. Anyone who does photography will tell you they can die without warning, and the USB bus isn't reliable for always-on storage.

I would store music/movies on it, but that's about it. Kind of steep pricing, too.

 

[ZapNZs]

Those are USB and I would never trust my data to a SD card. Anyone who does photography will tell you they can die without warning, and the USB bus isn't reliable for always-on storage.

I would store music/movies on it, but that's about it. Kind of steep pricing, too.

The steep pricing is because what is inside it isn't the junk they put in most consumer grade SD cards. The NAND inside the Samsung is the same (high-binned) MLC NAND used in the 850 PRO, arguably the best SATA SSD made, and the NAND in the Transcend is the same Micron MLC NAND found in the 340. Random failures with them appear to be less common than random failures with most consumer-grade SSDs (and HDDs.)

Obviously, keeping only one copy of anything is a bad idea. But if the OP does not want an external drive, and presumably needs something faster than what cloud storage can do, and is not interested in NAS, the options are limited.