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

[lucaros]

Hey,

I've got a MacBook Pro 15" mid 2015 base model without GPU and I'd like to upgrade to a 1TB drive.
I'm trying to decide between:

1. Sabrent Rocket
2. Intel 760p
3. Samsung 970 Evo (Pro)
4. WD Black SN750

From the Sabrent I already saw that I performed very well, but I'd like to know how they compare in terms of heat, power and speeds. I especially like to hear about experiences with the Intel 760p. WD Black SN750 seems to have good speeds, but I'm worried it'll be too hot and draw too much power. If there's any better suggestions that'd be great!

Thanks in advance

My current speeds (on a pretty full disk)

I do not recommend intel 760p nor any other ssd using SM2262 controller on 2015 machines.
High risk of getting PPN001 error.

 

[Audit13]

I do not recommend intel 760p nor any other ssd using SM2262 controller on 2015 machines.
High risk of getting PPN001 error.

Does getting the error negatively affect the machine's functionality?

Here's another thread about the error: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/what-is-ppn001-is-it-serious.2157684/

 

[lucaros]

Does getting the error negatively affect the machine's functionality?

Here's another thread about the error: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/what-is-ppn001-is-it-serious.2157684/

Hard to say.
By the way who wanna take the risk?
For sure switching from intel 760p to Sabrent Rocket has solved the issue and the error is gone.

 

[geeebeee72]

Exactly which SSD, MacBook, OS, and adapter are you using?

MacBook is running the latest bootrom?

Start up disk is correctly selected in Preferences?

I'm using these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Q46HNCS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PM347GV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So, supergeek NVME Adaptor and addling S70 1TB.

Macbook is a Mid 2014 15" Retina MacBook pro, running latest Bootrom. Startup also selected properly.

 

[Nails1]

Can anybody provide some details on the Matt card? I see the different cards you can buy that correspond to the model of MacBook Pro you’re using it on - I’m clear on that part.

What I’m not understanding is the nature of the firmware on this Matt card vs what is actually needed to preserve hibernation on my 2014 MacBook Pro. I’ve been reading that you’ll need to have the 2015 version driver inserted into the firmware to be able to use hibernation, but this Matt card already has a firmware installed - supposedly the normal 2014 firmware.

How do I go about inserting the needed driver into the firmware on the Matt card?

 

[Earl Urley]

Just so you guys know, the Inland Premium 1 TB NVMe SSD is now $99.99 regular price.

This uses the same controller and NAND as the Sabrent Rocket, the Phison E12, and I have two rMBP's running with this part with no issues, save for the BootROM update. Great with the recommended Sintech adapter.

Kinda wondering why it wasn't added to the first post, I'll go edit it in if no one else does.

 

[Audit13]

I'm using these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Q46HNCS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PM347GV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So, supergeek NVME Adaptor and addling S70 1TB.

Macbook is a Mid 2014 15" Retina MacBook pro, running latest Bootrom. Startup also selected properly.

I'm not sure why you are getting this delay unless it has something to do with the bootrom's nvme driver, nvme device, or the adapter itself.

The nvme controller in the addlink s70 is a Phison e12 which is used in the Sabrent too. I'm not sure exactly why your MacBook is experiencing the delay.

Do you have another nvme drive to test in your MacBook or another MacBook to test the addlink?

 

[wawon]

What about battery drain while using?
We use same mbp so would be interesting share informations and settings.
I've noticed more battery drain using the sabrent rocket (like 20% or so) in the place of intel 760p

I do not use MBP13 2015 as main PC(Mac) and usually use with AC adaptor, so I can not feel about battery drain.
I think Power consumption is related to memory chip(Flash) and controller(chip and firm), sabrent rocket and Silicon Power P34A80 have same combination, may not make large difference.

sabrent rocket
Controller: Phison PS5012-E12
NAND Flash: Toshiba T3D TLC NAND (BiCS3 3D TLC)

Silicon Power P34A80
Controller: Phison PS5012-E12 (firm: ECFM12.2)
NAND Flash: Toshiba 256Gb 64L 3D TLC

 

[rockstarjoe]

I just bought the 2TB Rocket on Amazon, haven't installed yet, saved 13% using the code from this website:
https://slickdeals.net/f/13084915-s...15-2tb-260-external-1tb-150-2tb-300-much-more

I'm interested to hear your results when you get it up and running! I'm looking to buy one too. What model MBP are you installing it in?

 

[erkoolio]

Hey,

thanks for this forum. I managed to get the programmer and the j6100 adapter for it. However I am unable to flash the rom. The programmer works, but I think the adapter has something wrong. According to gilles(?) instructions there should be a blue led lighting up when connecting adapter to the ch341-programmer. My led does not. I've tried this with two different computers. Any suggestions? Should I just ask for the reseller to send me another one?

EDIT. Nevermind, I tried again and got it to work. I am able to detect the spi chip, but reading from it is very slow. I am using virtual box with macos to follow instructions but not sure if this is slowing the reading. Anyway will continue tomorrow and post when succeeding!

 

[whg]

I do not recommend intel 760p nor any other ssd using SM2262 controller on 2015 machines.
High risk of getting PPN001 error.

I have the Intel 760p (2TB) in my 2015 MBP 15" (no dGPU, model 11.4, BootROM 192.0.0.0.0) with the long Sintech adapter since several months now without any issues whatsoever. After reading about potential errors in this thread, I recently did a hardware scan without any issues found.

 

[1146331]

Can anybody provide some details on the Matt card? I see the different cards you can buy that correspond to the model of MacBook Pro you’re using it on - I’m clear on that part.

What I’m not understanding is the nature of the firmware on this Matt card vs what is actually needed to preserve hibernation on my 2014 MacBook Pro. I’ve been reading that you’ll need to have the 2015 version driver inserted into the firmware to be able to use hibernation, but this Matt card already has a firmware installed - supposedly the normal 2014 firmware.

How do I go about inserting the needed driver into the firmware on the Matt card?

You'll need to flash the firmware on the Matt card using the same instructions as the regular flash. It is safer though to use the Matt card.

You might be able to ask the guy to flash modded firmware.

 

[hankxu]

Hi all,

I have base MacBookPro11,4 2015 15" and recently installed Sabrent Rocket 1Tb drive. So far (a few days) got no issues with sleep, booting and even I used CCC and cloned macOS from old drive to one partition

I've run AmorphousDiskMark and here comes the question - is this random 4k QD32 speed ok for Sabrent? One more strange thing - the bigger size (100Mb->4Gb), the slower speed is, bench for 4Gb even stuck for 20 mins. Old drive (Apple, 512gb but from the MacBook13.3 2014) gives me 640read/710write but about 50Mb/s for 4k QD32 random write with 1Gb, the same speed with sabrent is 16-27Mb (27Mb/s on first run, 16Mb/s after a few benchmarks, may be due to the temperature?)
I've attached a few screenshots (they are for different volumes, because I wanted to eliminate file system factor - it looks like APFS is slower for random read/write). The ones with 4k qd32 > 20Mb/s are for 50/100/500Mb), for 1Gb it is 16-27Mb/s

I am using the same SSD with the long Sintech adapter in my MacBookPro 11.5 2015 15". It is a i7 2.8ghz model. But I am only getting half of the performance. When I checked system information it shows I am only getting x2 link speed. Is there anything I am missing. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[coen22]

Hi all,

I have base MacBookPro11,4 2015 15" and recently installed Sabrent Rocket 1Tb drive. So far (a few days) got no issues with sleep, booting and even I used CCC and cloned macOS from old drive to one partition

I've run AmorphousDiskMark and here comes the question - is this random 4k QD32 speed ok for Sabrent? One more strange thing - the bigger size (100Mb->4Gb), the slower speed is, bench for 4Gb even stuck for 20 mins. Old drive (Apple, 512gb but from the MacBook13.3 2014) gives me 640read/710write but about 50Mb/s for 4k QD32 random write with 1Gb, the same speed with sabrent is 16-27Mb (27Mb/s on first run, 16Mb/s after a few benchmarks, may be due to the temperature?)
I've attached a few screenshots (they are for different volumes, because I wanted to eliminate file system factor - it looks like APFS is slower for random read/write). The ones with 4k qd32 > 20Mb/s are for 50/100/500Mb), for 1Gb it is 16-27Mb/s

Sounds like a small cache, if you write bigger files the buffer can't keep up. What's the temperature that you're having?

 

[Colin0317]

Has anyone noticed a significant reduction in battery life with the ADATA SX8200 Pro?

I have both the ADATA and the Rocket SSD here and I’m debating between which one I should install/keep.

 

[wawon]

I am using the same SSD with the long Sintech adapter in my MacBookPro 11.5 2015 15". It is a i7 2.8ghz model. But I am only getting half of the performance. When I checked system information it shows I am only getting x2 link speed. Is there anything I am missing. Any help would be appreciated!

In my experience so far, I guess that link x 2 has insufficient pin isolation on the adapter. In recent sintech adapters, an insulating tape is attached to the pin portion to prevent electrical interference with the connector cover on the logic board, but the insulation may still be insufficient. How about taking measures such as sticking Kapton tape?


Don't you get any error at Apple Diagnostics, especially PPN001?

 

[hankxu]

In my experience so far, I guess that link x 2 has insufficient pin isolation on the adapter. In recent sintech adapters, an insulating tape is attached to the pin portion to prevent electrical interference with the connector cover on the logic board, but the insulation may still be insufficient. How about taking measures such as sticking Kapton tape?


Don't you get any error at Apple Diagnostics, especially PPN001?

Thank you! I reseated the adapter and it now shows link x4. The speed increased though still not as fast as I would like it to be. I am getting read 2000MB/write 2850MB — kind of odd that write is so much faster than read. Also the lanes don’t seem to be utilized any close to the maximum level.

Indeed there were some exposed parts of the pins possibly touching the metal part of the socket. I just ordered Kapton tape to further insulate them.

Thank you for your suggestion!

 

[globalplayboy]

Hi All..

Thanks for the very clarifying post, i already have the long syntech adapters and i'm struggling to choice between these 3 disks:

• Sabrent Rocket 1Tb (could you guys confirm if is singled or doubled side, couldn't find any pictures of the back side)
• Adata XPG 8200 Pro 1Tb
• Corsair MP510 960Gb

I have a MBP Retina 15" Mid 2015, so no hibernation issues for me and already have Mojave 10.14.4 on my stock 256Gb.
Although i'm in the EU i could find a very good deal from on Amazon US regarding the Sabrent Rocket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGF54XR/ref=?tag=slickdeals09-20&ascsubtag=83a802f6837b11e998217276c69fe3700INT&m=A29Y8OP2GPR7PE&keywords=1TB NVME SSD

Thank you and hope to get some answers.

 

[ondrejz]

Just installed the Sabrent Rocket. Am I doing something wrong? My speeds aren't looking anything like that's in here. Bigger tests run the same.

Even my 970 Evo was getting 1600/1500 on the first seq test. This was the Sintech adapter I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CWWAENG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No errors, noticeable speed decrease with either drive, nothing heavy in the background. Just these tests.

 

[liberace]

Has anyone noticed a significant reduction in battery life with the ADATA SX8200 Pro?

I have both the ADATA and the Rocket SSD here and I’m debating between which one I should install/keep.

sure go to Rocket, better battery, the same speed (even a bit faster than adata), potentially better controller

Just installed the Sabrent Rocket. Am I doing something wrong? My speeds aren't looking anything like that's in here. Bigger tests run the same.

Even my 970 Evo was getting 1600/1500 on the first seq test. This was the Sintech adapter I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CWWAENG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No errors, noticeable speed decrease with either drive, nothing heavy in the background. Just these tests.

looks like you have pre 2015 laptop and already bottlenecked

 

[ste12100]

Hi, Similar to one of the posts on this page I recently bought the sabrent rocket 1TB. I've installed in a mid 2015 macbook pro, using the sintech long adapter.

I'm getting good speeds, read: 2345 MB/s write 2740 MBs,

What i'm concerned about is the read speed is lower than the write speed. As anyone else experienced this?

Mac specs:
Cpu: 2.5 i7
ram: 16gb
gpu: r9 m370x

 

[Colin0317]

Hi, Similar to one of the posts on this page I recently bought the sabrent rocket 1TB. I've installed in a mid 2015 macbook pro, using the sintech long adapter.

I'm getting good speeds, read: 2345 MB/s write 2740 MBs,

What i'm concerned about is the read speed is lower than the write speed. As anyone else experienced this?

Mac specs:
Cpu: 2.5 i7
ram: 16gb
gpu: r9 m370x

What are you getting for temperatures? Idle and browsing/YouTube?

 

[coen22]

Is the Corsair Force MP510 similar/identical to the Sabrent Rocket?
I'm mostly worried about power usage and the corsair has better availability in the Netherlands.

 

[ondrejz]

sure go to Rocket, better battery, the same speed (even a bit faster than adata), potentially better controller

looks like you have pre 2015 laptop and already bottlenecked

Yeah 2014 15 inch pro. Rereading the first post, it sounds like it's just a limitation of the board then? Oh well, doesn't seem any different and runs cool.

 

[TaterSalad]

Hi,

I have a mid-2015 15" MacBook Pro Retina, which allegedly has the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. However, after installing a Sabrent Rocket 1TB (via this Amazon link), I am only seeing PCIe using x2 channels and speeds to reflect only x2 channels. I'm working off a fresh install of Mojave and using the Sintech Long adapter (via this Amazon link). I've tried reseating the SSD a few times and resetting the SMC.

Any other ideas?