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

[macgeek01]

As the 8-legged-chip of the Matt Card is easily accessible, no adapter board needed. Just attach the SOIC8 clip to it - voila.

Great info, now the question is where I may be able to purchase blank Matt cards at a reasonable price?
[doublepost=1551294342][/doublepost]

Hi one question, is it possible to reuse the original apple ssd from macbook air early 2015 in an ICYbox eventually with adapter?

I believe this are just for SATA drives and you can’t adapt your SSD to SATA because it’s PCIe. You can find USB adapters for the Apple 12+16 pin that your SSD uses however or I suppose you may be able to use a M.2 PCIe to USB adapter with a sintech adapter. May not fit in an enclosure then however.

 

[honse]

Hi,

as the thread is huge with all its information, i'm wondering on:

- What do i need to note on using a nvme on a Macbook Pro Retina 13" early 2015 (High Sierra or Mojave) considering standby, hibernate and deep sleep?

- The Samsung 970 seems to have a really high power consumption. According to gilles_polysoft power chart (post #2485) the Kingston A1000 looks good, but has limited performance. Which products are the most power saving ones in idle and active mode? Are there some new products, that haven't been listed in this chart?https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...sd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/page-100#post-26819852

 

[dieselm]

The 1TB intel 660p is $109 (!) at Newegg today. Does random READ performance suffer as the drive is filled or only writes as the dynamic SLC cache shrinks?

Can someone who has used it in their system comment on the day to day responsiveness / performance on small reads/writes when nearly full.

Everyone has had great results with the 970 evo, but it’s over twice the price.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Supposedly the Apple 2015 drives were just monsters for small random file read/write performance. Better than the 2017 models. Probably the memory type internally was all the expensive kind, where the new drives have lowered the cost and increased the sequential performance but by relying more on multi-level cache with different memory types internally. You’d hardly notice except in small random reads / snappiness.

See the following.
https://macperformanceguide.com/blog/2017/20170707_2045-2017iMac5K-SSD.html

Great share!
Thank you for posting that!!

 

[Ismis]

Hey guys,

i have bought a 970 evo in combination with an sintech long black adapter and installed it on my mac late 2013.
It works nice with Mac OS Mojave but i need Windows on it. I tried severel times to install it but with no luck.

I experienced a big problem while installing it. If i try to install Windows via bootcamp on it the Windows Installer doesent find any drive unless the magsafe adapter is plugged in. If the magsafe adapter is plugged in it installs perfectly but start with a bluescreen "critical process died". I fixed it with the regedit but my weird problem is whenever i unplug the magsafe adapter i get a bluescreen "critical process died".

As mentioned if i try to install windows without the magsafe it doesnt find any drive.
If i try to install windows without the bootcamp drives on the flash drive it show me the 970 evo and all the partitions but i cant install on them.

Pls guys you are the hope for me to install windows properly on the new ssd. I need windows for my current work...
I hope someone has a clue..

Really no one any idea?

 

[whg]

Really no one any idea?

Maybe you could install Windows into a Parallels or VMWare virtual machine as a temporary fix to your problem. I do this on a Macbook Pro 15 (2015 model) and a MacBook Air (2017 model) that I have both upgraded with long and short Sintech adapters, rsp. I use Intel SSDs (760p and 660p, rsp.). Windows 10 works very well in my Paralles VM, but I have not tried to install Windows into a BootCamp partition yet, therefore I cannot really help with your issues.

 

[lextardj]

Tried BootCamp on a 2014 Air with Sintech small green adapter and Samsung 970EVO 500GB (no bootROM patch, i'm waiting for the cables) and does NOT work.
Mojave is working fine

 

[lkchelios]

Hello everyone! awesome thread!

I have a MACBOOK PRO RETINA 13-INCH EARLY 2015 that I want to upgrade with a NVMe, however I have a few questions about some things that aren't clear to me because I'm a noob.

First: from what I understood, the best SSD to buy is the ADATA SX 8200, however...is there a differente between the ADATA sx8200 and the ADATA sx8200 PRO version? and if so, which one should i buy? ( i am going for the 960 GB or 1 TB pro)
I am asking this because the ADATA sx8200 PRO seems to be cheaper than the ADATA sx8200.

second: I understood that there are 3 Sintech adapters: small black adapter, small green adapter, long black adapter. However, I do not know which one to buy? can you please recommend the BEST one for my mbp 13inch early 2015, and if possible also provide link from amazon.de, I would really appreciate it.

Third: After putting the nvme, and installing mac OS, what else should I do to prevent the battery drain and sleep issues that I read so much about in this thread?

fourth: i also read about adding tape to the adapter after putting it in the MBP. what kinda of tape should it be and is this really necessary?

Fifth: i read in a some comments that the users should NOT sell the original apple SSD because you would need it to update the macbook pro in the future. is this true?

and again THANK YOU! you guys are helping me upgrade storage and speed at a very cheap price and I appreciate it!

 

[erudyne]

Really no one any idea?

I actually saw something for this somewhere, but I can't seem to remember where it was for the life of me. I thought it was in this thread, but after about 20 pages of searching, I gave up.

I don't remember specifically all the details, but it was something you needed to change in Windows advanced power management to get it working. PCI Express -> Link State Power Management set to off maybe? Sorry, I wish I could remember better.

 

[kenvip88]

Really no one any idea?

Find some window machine, erase the 970, install window on that, plug it to your Macbook to see if it can boot with Window or not, if yes, install driver, split a partition and install mac os on that
Hope this can help

 

[Audit13]

Hello everyone! awesome thread!

I have a MACBOOK PRO RETINA 13-INCH EARLY 2015 that I want to upgrade with a NVMe, however I have a few questions about some things that aren't clear to me because I'm a noob.

First: from what I understood, the best SSD to buy is the ADATA SX 8200, however...is there a differente between the ADATA sx8200 and the ADATA sx8200 PRO version? and if so, which one should i buy? ( i am going for the 960 GB or 1 TB pro)
I am asking this because the ADATA sx8200 PRO seems to be cheaper than the ADATA sx8200.

Get the sx8200 Pro as it is the updated version of the 8200. In Canada, the 8200 Pro is the same price or cheaper than than the 8200.

second: I understood that there are 3 Sintech adapters: small black adapter, small green adapter, long black adapter. However, I do not know which one to buy? can you please recommend the BEST one for my mbp 13inch early 2015, and if possible also provide link from amazon.de, I would really appreciate it.

Get the small adapter. Get the green if you need the screwdrivers or the small black if you don't.

I use the small green in an early 2015 Air is it's perfect. It's small enough to allow the bottom casing to close with no bulges.

Third: After putting the nvme, and installing mac OS, what else should I do to prevent the battery drain and sleep issues that I read so much about in this thread?

Since you have a 2015 MacBook, you should not encounter sleep or hibernation issues.

There is not much you can do to prevent battery drain since any nvme drive is going to use more power than an original Apple drive.

fourth: i also read about adding tape to the adapter after putting it in the MBP. what kinda of tape should it be and is this really necessary?

These adapters will not require tape.

Fifth: i read in a some comments that the users should NOT sell the original apple SSD because you would need it to update the macbook pro in the future. is this true?

I can't speak for others but I had an Intel 600p running Mojave 10.14.1 in my early 2015 Air. When I ran the software update to upgrade to 10.14.3, my bootrom was updated too. I was surprised because I did not have an Apple drive in my Air.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[stantheman2013]

Hey guys:

So I've been following this thread for a while now and my current understanding is that the 2015 line of MacBook Pros are most compatible with 3rd party NVMe drives, while the 2013 and 2014 lines encounter more issues. My 2014 MBP is my daily driver and I recently installed an SX8200 Pro SSD but I'm considering switching back to my stock SSD. Some people have stated the computer will only receive updates with the stock SSD installed but does that refer to software updates, firmware updates, or both? Additionally, does this apply to 2015 MacBook Pros as well?

 

[Audit13]

Hey guys:

So I've been following this thread for a while now and my current understanding is that the 2015 line of MacBook Pros are most compatible with 3rd party NVMe drives, while the 2013 and 2014 lines encounter more issues. My 2014 MBP is my daily driver and I recently installed an SX8200 Pro SSD but I'm considering switching back to my stock SSD. Some people have stated the computer will only receive updates with the stock SSD installed but does that refer to software updates, firmware updates, or both? Additionally, does this apply to 2015 MacBook Pros as well?

If you want OS and bootrom upgrades, stick with the original Apple SSD.

If you want OS upgrades, you can use nvme or Apple drives.

 

[stantheman2013]

If you want OS and bootrom upgrades, stick with the original Apple SSD.

If you want OS upgrades, you can use nvme or Apple drives.

Ok cool, I considered selling my stock drive but I guess I should hang on to it.

Do you know if this applies to 2015 MBPs? I hear they play more nicely with nvme and 3rd party drive but I don't know if the update issues apply to them.

 

[Audit13]

Ok cool, I considered selling my stock drive but I guess I should hang on to it.

Do you know if this applies to 2015 MBPs? I hear they play more nicely with nvme and 3rd party drive but I don't know if the update issues apply to them.

The 2015 doesn't have panics associated with hibernation/sleep.

I will say that I have an early 2015 13" with an Intel 600p. I was running 10.14.1 and, when I did a software update, the OS was updated to 10.14.3 as well as the bootrom even though the Air was running a nvme drive. I'm not sure if the bootrom update worked because the Air was already running the latest Mojave bootrom, it's a 2015 Air, or both.

 

[Theride]

Hey guys !
I successfully installed the WD SN750 500GB in my MacBook Pro Early-2015 13".
Everything seem to work fine and I was able to install Windows too. The battery drain seem noticeably higher.

However , I got a wifi problem wich also happen when I use a external drive : my computer detect fewer hotspots and often I can’t access them, an alert appear saying that there have been a connexion issue or the wifi seem connected but I can’t access to internet .
Did already that happen to someone ?

 

[Audit13]

Installed the black Sintech adapter and HP ex900 256 GB into a 2017 Air. As expected, the read/write speeds are almost identical and the battery drain is higher with the HP.

 

[deanorthk]

Hi everyone, on my side, I have a Macbook Pro late 2013, which came initially with a I5 cpu, but changed for a motherboard including the I7 2.8ghz processor.
I will change for a NVME SSD, because I really need the space to store my photo and work on them.
Everything written here is really helpfull, I'll order the sintech adaptater, and probably chose the intel 760, unless I can find the Adata 8200 with a seller that accept international shipping (Réunion island here... ^^)

 

[deanorthk]

and I guess I just made the first mistake by ordering the short black card from sintech instead of the green one, damned... .

 

[Ismis]

I actually saw something for this somewhere, but I can't seem to remember where it was for the life of me. I thought it was in this thread, but after about 20 pages of searching, I gave up.

I don't remember specifically all the details, but it was something you needed to change in Windows advanced power management to get it working. PCI Express -> Link State Power Management set to off maybe? Sorry, I wish I could remember better.

THANK YOU!!!!

I actually manged to research the topic after you gave this hint.
Now I'm writing from my Windows partition thanks to you.
[doublepost=1551433034][/doublepost]The Speed is amazing but I think i have an problem with the temps. After switching to the 970 my macbook gets really hot. Even the keyboard. CPU is around 70-80 in idle. Is this normal? In Windows it is even worse..

 

[Audit13]

and I guess I just made the first mistake by ordering the short black card from sintech instead of the green one, damned... .

I received my short, black adapter yesterday, installed it in an early 2015 air, and it works perfectly.
[doublepost=1551449633][/doublepost]

THANK YOU!!!!

I actually manged to research the topic after you gave this hint.
Now I'm writing from my Windows partition thanks to you.
[doublepost=1551433034][/doublepost]The Speed is amazing but I think i have an problem with the temps. After switching to the 970 my macbook gets really hot. Even the keyboard. CPU is around 70-80 in idle. Is this normal? In Windows it is even worse..

The Samsung drives are known to run hotter and use more battery.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just comparing my DiskMark scores for my original Apple 1TB SSD (2015) and the EX950 2TB NVMe..

It's interesting that the Apple 1TB scores better on 4kQD32 and 4k Writes.

I keep trying to pin down why the much older and seemingly much slower in most all tests Apple 1TB SSD somehow "feels snappier" when popping around the OS and doing things.

Just for fun - here's the DiskMark off a 2016 MacBook Pro 13", non-touchbar with Apple 1TB SSD

 

[foliage]

Is it necessary to enable TRIM on the newly installed drive?

I am about to install a 1TB ADATA SX8200 pro into my rMPB l2013 15".

 

[Audit13]

Is it necessary to enable TRIM on the newly installed drive?

I am about to install a 1TB ADATA SX8200 pro into my rMPB l2013 15".

Look in system report to see if trim support has been enabled.

If you are unsure, you can manually enable it in terminal by typing "sudo trimforce enable".

 

[stantheman2013]

What's up guys:

So I was watching videos on YT and I had about 30% battery left. The battery quickly dropped to 25% and then it died. When I clicked the power button to turn on the computer, I got the dead battery screen (see below).

I had to long press the power button to reset the computer because it would not boot up. Really weird. I guess I just have to make sure I keep my charger around. I did the NVMe upgrade earlier this week and this is the first issue I've had since. Any clue as to why this happened?