Upgrading 2013-2015 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

[ohnggni]

Hi everyone, I have an Samsung 960 Pro SSD (on early 2015 13"), I also get these random kernel panics, (and most of the time after getting out from sleep) the same nvme report.. BUT I also have MacOS who is VERY slow, it's not usable... Does anyone also have a slow macos ? Even after fresh installs.. can't use anymore planning switching to windows because windows on the same mac working fine without blue screen or any other issues. I think that apple is doing something that we buy new macs because it was working fine on lower versions, after every macos update it's getting worst

I had experienced random kernel panics right after upgrading to 10.14.1 from 10.14. (on mid 2014 13", Samsung 960 Evo)
I had done all I can do(SMC reset, Nvram reset, Clean install, re-taping kaption tape, etc.), but all didn't work. Recently I purchased new ssd (HP Ex920 from Newegg) and installed it on Nov. 21th. Since then, I've never met that KPs again. I suspected there could be compatibility problem between macOS 10.14.1 and Samsung NVMe SSD, but not sure.

 

[rexoserox]

I had experienced random kernel panics right after upgrading to 10.14.1 from 10.14. (on mid 2014 13", Samsung 960 Evo)
I had done all I can do(SMC reset, Nvram reset, Clean install, re-taping kaption tape, etc.), but all didn't work. Recently I purchased new ssd (HP Ex920 from Newegg) and installed it on Nov. 21th. Since then, I've never met that KPs again. I suspected there could be compatibility problem between macOS 10.14.1 and Samsung NVMe SSD, but not sure.

Did you experience kernel panics before you installed 10.14.1 ?

My mid 2014 13" gets random kernel panics on 10.14 from time to time after opening the lid.
What I noticed is if I have tons of tabs opened in chrome and some heavy application opened at the same time and close the lid on my mac it crashes after opening the lid. Kernel Panic related to nvme driver.
I think the nvme draws too much power while trying to resume from sleep. The power consumption of nvme is usually much greater than ahci ssds.
I think it is a hardware limitation. The mac sometimes cannot deliver enough power fast enough to power the system on.

 

[Zkryvix]

I installed intel 760p 1t on 13 macbook pro 2015 2days ago. Been testing everything and seems fine didnt get any problems you come across. Did you try reseting SMC after ssd installation?

Did not tried reset nvram. I don’t know how this could be useful

I had experienced random kernel panics right after upgrading to 10.14.1 from 10.14. (on mid 2014 13", Samsung 960 Evo)
I had done all I can do(SMC reset, Nvram reset, Clean install, re-taping kaption tape, etc.), but all didn't work. Recently I purchased new ssd (HP Ex920 from Newegg) and installed it on Nov. 21th. Since then, I've never met that KPs again. I suspected there could be compatibility problem between macOS 10.14.1 and Samsung NVMe SSD, but not sure.

It can be this, I think I’ll buy another one if it persists...

Which adapter are you using? Has it always behaved this way with the nvme? MacBook is running the latest bootrom?

I’m using the short sintech adapter, and yes it has always been slow, do you think if I buy the black adapter it’s gonna be better ?

 

[ohnggni]

Did you experience kernel panics before you installed 10.14.1 ?

My mid 2014 13" gets random kernel panics on 10.14 from time to time after opening the lid.
What I noticed is if I have tons of tabs opened in chrome and some heavy application opened at the same time and close the lid on my mac it crashes after opening the lid. Kernel Panic related to nvme driver.
I think the nvme draws too much power while trying to resume from sleep. The power consumption of nvme is usually much greater than ahci ssds.
I think it is a hardware limitation. The mac sometimes cannot deliver enough power fast enough to power the system on.

I had two kinds of KP problems since I've installed NVMe ssd into my macbook this March.
First one is a KP when rebooting or switching bootcamp to macOS. In other words, my book failed to reboot. I met this nearly every other time.

Second one was happened randomly while using my macbook. I'm not a heavy user and it occurred even when I opened just one safari window. I had experienced this KP right after upgrading to 10.14.1.

For your reference, I've used it on the modified firmware and awaking after hibernation always works like a chime. So, I think this KPs are not related to bootrom modification.

If you didn't modify the bootrom, you should check your pmset first.

 

[Berlinsky]

So many pages here..

Anyone using the 2TB 970 EVO in their Mid 2015 Macbook Pro 15"?

Been a good choice?
I love all I've heard except these heat concerns..

Love to hear some real world up to date thoughts there.

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating

Hey, I have been following this thread for quite a while now and was a bit sceptical about the 970EVO 2TB as well, I do have a Mid 2015 15 Macbook Pro Iris Pro as well and can tell you that heat is not an issue, it seems to be using a bit more idle power but in my case this does not matter. Video editing and opening large iTunes libraries is finally fun again! ;-))
Heat can be checked via DriveDX, but I've read elsewhere that the Samsung sensors are somewhat unreliable...

best

 

[TokMok3]

Hey, I have been following this thread for quite a while now and was a bit sceptical about the 970EVO 2TB as well, I do have a Mid 2015 15 Macbook Pro Iris Pro as well and can tell you that heat is not an issue, it seems to be using a bit more idle power but in my case this does not matter. Video editing and opening large iTunes libraries is finally fun again! ;-))
Heat can be checked via DriveDX, but I've read elsewhere that the Samsung sensors are somewhat unreliable...

best

Thank you for the report. What reading and writing speed are you getting from the 970 evo 2TB?

 

[Berlinsky]

Thank you for the report. What reading and writing speed are you getting from the 970 evo 2TB?

My pleasure. Writing speeds are what to be expected and are the same under Win10 / OS X writing around 2500MB/sec reading about 3000MB/sec in Black Magic Speed Disk Test and a bit higher in AmorphousDiskMark.

 

[Audit13]

[

I’m using the short sintech adapter, and yes it has always been slow, do you think if I buy the black adapter it’s gonna be better ?

I am using the short green adapter. It did not come with kapton tape so I added my own.

If your adapter does not come with the tape pre-applied, I recommend applying the tape to eliminate electrical contact as a source of the problem.

 

[sgtpepper18]

Hello Everyone,
I've managed to find a little time to do some consumption tests.

All tests were done on two identical late 2013 rMBP 13", with sintech rev. B adapters.
The BootRom was modified to include the full NVMe DXE driver of 2015's macbook pros.

I did long tests with 15 models of SSDs.
The aim was to evaluate and compare the consumption of various models, including Transcend JetDrive 850 and an Apple original AHCI SSD
Was was measured was :
- the power consumption of the SSD at idle (I had to insure mdworker / time machine wasn't indexing)
- the speed of writing and reading a zero-filled 100GB file
- the power consumption of the SSDs during those read / write operations

Here are my findings :
First, not all SSDs are equal of course.
- the 970 Evo, for example, has a very high idle power consumption (1,4W) and easily goes up to 4,3W during writes. This baby is power hungry.
- the Kingston A1000 and MyDigital SBX not surprisingly did show the best consumption results with 0,3W idle and less than 2W during read operationsand they are not so slow for writes operations compared to some others TLC drives and also than the intel 660p drive which uses QLC (quad level cells).
- the 660p was the slower of every SSDs to complete the 100GB write (it took 756seconds to complete, at a slow average of 138MB/s),
but also, after the test this SSD, instead of consuming its 0,7W of idle power consumption, consumed 2,2W during 30 minutes.

I will try to upgrade its firmware to find out why...
I will also try to figure why the KC1000 consumes the same power in idle and during read and write operations...
I will also try to test a NVMe Polaris Apple SSD, and also test some other models .


I think we will start to have quite a good idea of which SSD to chose for performance, and which SSD to choose for battery life...



View attachment 805044

Does the Kingston A1000 fits on the sintech adapter? it looks like it has a different connector...

 

[Zkryvix]

W

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I am using the short green adapter. It did not come with kapton tape so I added my own.

If your adapter does not come with the tape pre-applied, I recommend applying the tape to eliminate electrical contact as a source of the problem.

Why should this help under macOS ? I’ve already done that before but I retired it... if it works well on every other operating system it’s not a hardware issue but a software issue

 

[Audit13]

W

Why should this help under macOS ? I’ve already done that before but I retired it... if it works well on every other operating system it’s not a hardware issue but a software issue

I was having slow speeds and sometimes, the drive was not detected. I discovered the source of the problem: the adapter was making partial contact with the metal shield over the logic board's SSD connector. Add Kapton tape and everything cleared up.

What other OS did you try on your Macbook?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Hey, I have been following this thread for quite a while now and was a bit sceptical about the 970EVO 2TB as well, I do have a Mid 2015 15 Macbook Pro Iris Pro as well and can tell you that heat is not an issue, it seems to be using a bit more idle power but in my case this does not matter. Video editing and opening large iTunes libraries is finally fun again! ;-))
Heat can be checked via DriveDX, but I've read elsewhere that the Samsung sensors are somewhat unreliable...

best

Thank you! Great report!
Also great speeds you're reporting there also!

Which specific adapter did you go with?
Also - are you on a non dGPU 2015 15"?

I'm wondering if I need to switch to one that has no dGPU just for heat concerns

 

[Zkryvix]

I was having slow speeds and sometimes, the drive was not detected. I discovered the source of the problem: the adapter was making partial contact with the metal shield over the logic board's SSD connector. Add Kapton tape and everything cleared up.

What other OS did you try on your Macbook?

I just switched to windows, everything is working fine! All is very responsive. It’s good to have true performance

 

[Berlinsky]

Thank you! Great report!
Also great speeds you're reporting there also!

Which specific adapter did you go with?
Also - are you on a non dGPU 2015 15"?

I'm wondering if I need to switch to one that has no dGPU just for heat concerns

Hi,correct Im on a non dGPU Macbook Pro 11,4. The ones with dGPU are 11,5.

Actually I don't think you need to switch to a Macbook Pro without dedicated GPU for heat reasons regarding the SSD.
One major design flaw in most newer and thinner Macbook Pros is heat dissipation from CPU/Chipset areas. So if you do CPU intensive stuff make sure all ventilation is dust free and working properly. Also, letting air go under it may help.

I ordered this one here: http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1143.html

directly from China since I needed some tools... was the easiest upgrade I ever did.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Hi,correct Im on a non dGPU Macbook Pro 11,4. The ones with dGPU are 11,5.

Actually I don't think you need to switch to a Macbook Pro without dedicated GPU for heat reasons regarding the SSD.
One major design flaw in most newer and thinner Macbook Pros is heat dissipation from CPU/Chipset areas. So if you do CPU intensive stuff make sure all ventilation is dust free and working properly. Also, letting air go under it may help.

I ordered this one here: http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1143.html

directly from China since I needed some tools... was the easiest upgrade I ever did.

Awesome - thank you very much for your replies and tips here!
Now just on the hunt for a good price on a 970 evo 2TB
[doublepost=1543000747][/doublepost]Anyone have any thoughts about this full length one for my 2015 15"?

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card for Upgrade 2013-2015
http://a.co/d/4iiPjBG

 

[Audit13]

I just switched to windows, everything is working fine! All is very responsive. It’s good to have true performance

Sounds like your MBP doesn't like the existing nvme drive. I'm not what else it could be.

 

[Zkryvix]

Sounds like your MBP doesn't like the existing nvme drive. I'm not what else it could be.

It's macOS who doesn't like it.. because Apple decided to develop the nvme driver with their asses so it's not working great with non-apple products..

 

[Audit13]

It's macOS who doesn't like it.. because Apple decided to develop the nvme driver with their asses so it's not working great with non-apple products..

We are talking about Apple after all and their closed system.

Nvme seems to work fine with the 2015 air and Pro. It's the models prior to the that are a pain.

I can't complain about the 256 Intel 600p in my 2015 Air. It's not the fastest, in fact, it is not much faster than the stock 128, but it's fine for my casual use.

 

[keiji11]

We are talking about Apple after all and their closed system.

Nvme seems to work fine with the 2015 air and Pro. It's the models prior to the that are a program.
Me too , it works fine ffor me on 13MacBook pro 2015. Not much faster but a nice boost from 256g to 1T .

I can't complain about the 256 Intel 600p in my 2015 Air. It's not the fastest, in fact, it is not much faster than the stock 128, but it's fine for my casual use.

 

[Berlinsky]

Awesome - thank you very much for your replies and tips here!
Now just on the hunt for a good price on a 970 evo 2TB
[doublepost=1543000747][/doublepost]Anyone have any thoughts about this full length one for my 2015 15"?

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card for Upgrade 2013-2015
http://a.co/d/4iiPjBG

Yepp, I was thinking about that one too, but after reading from about page 60 on this thread and posts from the well informed and experienced gilles_polysoft it actually seems that Sintech B or C are pinwise identical.Also the Kaptonissue seems to be solved on Macbook Pros 2015 as well. They both work, but the green one is lighter. ;-)

 

[geoluv]

I thought of another work around for this problem.... swap your logic board out for the early 2015 model. They look like they have all the same connections and use all the same peripherals in the chassis on my air. All tertiary hardware in the 2013-early 2015 MacBook chassis' are listed as cross compatible to their respective models (at least for both air models and it would seem to be the same for pros).

It's not a bad option to the NVME driver issue on the 2013-2014 models. You can sell your old board and buy a used 2015 model board for not that big a difference in price, maybe $100-$200. You're basically upgrading your computer by one or two years for $100-$200 which is actually a really good deal when you consider that will probably get you at least two more years of OS updates over the 2013-2014 generation. It gets expensive if you want to upgrade from an i5 to i7 though that price difference is closer to $300+. The i7 only came in the early 2015 models in BTO form with 8 gigs of ram so those boards are on the rarer side and command upwards of $450. It seems like this board swapping trick should work with all MacBook models between the 2013-2014 models and the early 2015 models. I'm going to order all the parts (early 2015 logic board, adaptor, intel 660p) and try this swap and see what happens.

I wish I had thought of this sooner because a few days ago I upgraded my board to the i7 8 gig model from 2013 because I thought it HAD to be from the same year. Luckily I came upon an insane deal on my 2013 i7 board, only $200 shipped. Normally they are $400+ and are rare. So i should be able to sell my only i5 board for $120, sell my 2013 i7 8 gig board for a $200 profit, and end up only shelling out about $100 to upgrade my '13 to an early '15 with all the trimmings and never think about this dumb NVME driver issue again.

 

[geoluv]

Also people should start posting links to Cyber Monday sales on PCIe drives when they find them. Seems like other than the best buy sale last week its been slim pickin's

 

[adbono]

What about wake from hibernation?

No issue until now, all is working perfectly...

 

[rexoserox]

You can sell your old board and buy a used 2015 model board for not that big a difference in price, maybe $100-$200.

I wouldn't do that, too risky because the mainboard with its serial is linked to the previous owners iCloud.
And I assume the guys who sell these spare parts have no clue who the previous owner was to unlock it.
These shops usually sell this stuff to repair shops so they can desolder the individual components.

 

[geoluv]

I wouldn't do that, too risky because the mainboard with its serial is linked to the previous owners iCloud.
And I assume the guys who sell these spare parts have no clue who the previous owner was to unlock it.
These shops usually sell this stuff to repair shops so they can desolder the individual components.

When I swapped from a i5 to i7 board (both 6,1 models) it booted up fine, just gave me an error that it had shutdown unexpectedly, and it made me re-sign into iCloud. I bought my board from an eBay merchant with good feedback. I have no idea if the board was “unlocked” in some way before I received it. I have no idea how iCloud works in regards to locking a logic board. Are you sure it’s not just locking the OS installation on the SSD?

I don’t have a lot of Mac experience. My DAC chip died and I swapped the IO board and that led me down the path of upgrading