Upgrading SSD on 2015 MBP 13" Retina

[Ambrosia7177]

I am thinking of buying a 2015 MacBook Pro with 13" Retina display, but need more storage than Apple offers.

In another thread of mine, some people implied that the following SSD might not be very fast...

SSD for MacBook Pro with Retina Display 13" & 15" Late 2013, 2014, and 2015


Is that true or false?

Whatever new laptop I get, I need at least a 1TB internal SSD.

And if I am going to fork over big bucks for a new MBP with a SSD, I would expect it to be blazing fast versus my current 2012 MBP with 7200rpm 1TB HDD.

Please advise...

 

[CoastalOR]

I am thinking of buying a 2015 MacBook Pro with 13" Retina display, but need more storage than Apple offers.
Whatever new laptop I get, I need at least a 1TB internal SSD.
And if I am going to fork over big bucks for a new MBP with a SSD, I would expect it to be blazing fast
Please advise...

Apple offers 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage on the 13" MBP when ordering the 2.9GHz Processor 512 GB Storage model and selecting Capacity 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage (adds $500 to the cost). Why not get the Apple 1Tb when ordering?

The Apple 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage will be faster than the OWC product and you do not have to open the new MBP to install the OWC Aura.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Apple offers 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage on the 13" MBP when ordering the 2.9GHz Processor 512 GB Storage model and selecting Capacity 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage (adds $500 to the cost). Why not get the Apple 1Tb when ordering?

I guess it comes down to cost.

Originally I was looking at this...

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
2.7GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
16GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
128GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
for US$1,499

and then upgrading storage by getting...

OWC 1.0TB Aura SSD Upgrade Kit for Later Macs
$647.99

Total = US$2,146

The Apple 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage will be faster than the OWC product and you do not have to open the new MBP to install the OWC Aura.

How much faster would Apple's SSD be versus OWC's?

Would there be any downsides to Apple' SSD?

For example, is it still removeable?

If OWC came out with a larger SSD, could I (in theory) upgrade from Apple's 1TB SSD to say OWC's 1.5TB SSD? (Like are the connectors the same?)

I'm open to suggestions!

 

[CoastalOR]

I guess it comes down to cost.

New information. The "fork over big bucks for a new MBP" in the first post can be subjective and I agree it will cost more, but you also wanted top performance. Those 2 requirements, lower cost and top performance, can be hard.

How much faster would Apple's SSD be versus OWC's?

I do not have an exact number. There have been discussions on MacRumors. Check the forum.

Would there be any downsides to Apple' SSD?

Cost.

For example, is it still removeable?

Yes. How else would you remove the "128GB PCIe-based Flash Storage" on the model you were considering to install the Aura?

If OWC came out with a larger SSD, could I (in theory) upgrade from Apple's 1TB SSD to say OWC's 1.5TB SSD? (Like are the connectors the same?)

I would think so. The storage connectors are the same for the 128 Gb, 256 Gb, 512 Gb and 1 Tb in the 2015 MBP.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

New information. The "fork over big bucks for a new MBP" in the first post can be subjective and I agree it will cost more, but you also wanted top performance. Those 2 requirements, lower cost and top performance, can be hard.

How would the model I looked at (2.7GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) compare to the one youa re suggesting (2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GH).

I wouldn't think the extra 0.2GHz matters much.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this?

There is something to be said for getting products directly from Apple and not having to take apart a brand new MacBook to upgrade the storage!

I guess the difference is too bad - about an extra $300 - but what is starting to scare me is the $2,500 sticker price.

(Although it seems much too soon, I am desperately in need of a new laptop, and I want to get something really solid with the hopes this new one will last longer and work better than my current one. At the same time, part of me is wondering if spending $2,500 on a laptop is foolish or not?)

What does everyone else think? (In addition to much appreciated advice from CoastalOR!)

 

[lobo1978]

As to SSD storage. With $300 difference (less than 12% of value) - I will personally go with original Apple SSD. You will be better off when selling it + OWC reviews are not so good as you think. Do some research first.

+ Everyday performance boost you are looking for is coming from SSD not CPU. I will get best SSD there is.

++ if you do not use SD card slot much, you have an option for extra drive up (like Nifty) - it's creating fusion drive without compromising performance. It's worth look research too if you want to save some money.

At the same time, part of me is wondering if spending $2,500 on a laptop is foolish or not?)

It depends what you do with it. I work and earn money with my computer - it must be solid, quick and robust -- nowadays only Macs with OSX meet these requirements. Every mac I have was paid off within two weeks of my work...

 

[Ambrosia7177]

As to SSD storage. With $300 difference (less than 12% of value) - I will personally go with original Apple SSD. You will be better off when selling it + OWC reviews are not so good as you think. Do some research first.

+ Everyday performance boost you are looking for is coming from SSD not CPU. I will get best SSD there is.

I think the biggest benefit of going with an Apple SSD is that I don't have to reinstall El Capitan - that just occurred to me last night after posting here, and probably closes the deal for me! I hate to spend the extra $300, but it is probably worth the time savings.

++ if you do not use SD card slot much, you have an option for extra drive up (like Nifty) - it's creating fusion drive without compromising performance. It's worth look research too if you want to save some money.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you are suggesting here.

It depends what you do with it. I work and earn money with my computer - it must be solid, quick and robust -- nowadays only Macs with OSX meet these requirements. Every mac I have was paid off within two weeks of my work...

Well, I try to make money with my Mac, but it doesn't sound like I am doing nearly as good of a job as you are!! (Any free business advice on how to make more $$ would be welcomed!)

 

[kohlson]

I have MBP with Apple 1TB SSD and MBAs with OWC SSDs. The 1TB came from Apple, and the extra cost was worth it to me because Apple designed and built this, and I am happy with how long Apple products last. The OWC SSDs were installed (480GB in different MBAs) because at the time of purchase, 256 was as big as you could get. The users of these MBAs like the extra capacity and have essentially no other observations - good or bad. Are the OWCs slower/faster? Dunno. There are too many other variables to make a definite statement.

 

[lobo1978]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you are suggesting here.

http://minidrive.bynifty.com/?variant=22891142407

 

[maflynn]

In another thread of mine, some people implied that the following SSD might not be very fast...

SSD for MacBook Pro with Retina Display 13" & 15" Late 2013, 2014, and 2015

OWC used a RAID controller and so there are performance and compatibility issues, for instance, TRIM is not available because of chipset used. If you want bootcamp, you need to run a special utility provided by OWC to make that work on their SSD - I'm not sure about the long term compatibility of such a solution.

OWC is charging 650 for the 1TB SSD drive
Apple is charging 450 for the 1TB SSD drive.

I'm not sure why you're contemplating OWC over Apple's - am I misunderstanding something?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

OWC used a RAID controller and so there are performance and compatibility issues, for instance, TRIM is not available because of chipset used. If you want bootcamp, you need to run a special utility provided by OWC to make that work on their SSD - I'm not sure about the long term compatibility of such a solution.

OWC is charging 650 for the 1TB SSD drive
Apple is charging 450 for the 1TB SSD drive.

I'm not sure why you're contemplating OWC over Apple's - am I misunderstanding something?

Yeah they wanted to buy the 128gb version and put a 1TB in it this will work out cheaper.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

OWC used a RAID controller and so there are performance and compatibility issues, for instance, TRIM is not available because of chipset used. If you want bootcamp, you need to run a special utility provided by OWC to make that work on their SSD - I'm not sure about the long term compatibility of such a solution.

Valid points.

OWC is charging 650 for the 1TB SSD drive
Apple is charging 450 for the 1TB SSD drive.

I'm not sure why you're contemplating OWC over Apple's - am I misunderstanding something?

Actually as I showed in post #3, it is $2,146 vs $2,499 which is a $353 difference.

That alone isn't the issue - spending $2,499 for a new laptop when the one I have now only cost me $1,299 is what makes me cringe.

But my laptop is my life, and I do need excellent performance, so I guess I have to think of it from that perspective.

Like I said above, not having to make a bootable usb drive - which I forgot how to do - and then reinstalling El Capitan and everything else is work the extra cost to me.

I guess I am planning on getting a new 13" retina with Apple's 1TB and just hoping I get a better investment than this current MBP I have...