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

[Colin0317]

Yes, I have done this, no change at all on the behavior...

I got it down to 9-10 seconds by doing a “verify disk” while in “didk utility” using my Mojave boot disk. I didn’t have to repair it either.
[doublepost=1560686200][/doublepost]I am using a SiliconPower 1TB nvme that is double sided with a Sintech long adapter. Should I be using the short adapter? Is using the long adapter causing more heat issues for me?

I am getting around 42c idle, but it goes to around 65-70 with multiple tabs and YouTube.

 

[djangoreinhardt442]

I went and bought the Corsair MPS510 for my MacBook Pro 15" 2015. However, I'm having issues. Kernel seem to be gone for now, but I'm having x2 link width. I already re-applied it twice. I did use the small sintech adapter without any extra thermal pad. What can I do?

Re-seat. Make sure you have full contact between adapter and ssd and also adapter and logic board. You should be barely able to see any pins once installed

Which adapter are you using?

Did you install Mojave from scratch? Not a time machine restore?

 

[Allistah]

Re-seat. Make sure you have full contact between adapter and ssd and also adapter and logic board. You should be barely able to see any pins once installed

Which adapter are you using?

Did you install Mojave from scratch? Not a time machine restore?

I think he said he is using the long Sintech adapter and that his drive is double sided. I would spend the money and try the short Sintech one and see how that goes. It’s pretty inexpensive.

 

[Allistah]

I'm pleased with the idle power utilization of the Sabrent 2TB NVMe drive. Sabrent's 0.2A draw vs. 0.04A for Apple's SM0512G AHCI SSD. Even if you called it a 0.2A increase at idle (worst-case with rounding error), it only represents a 6% increase in the idle power draw of the computer as a whole (11.5W with the Sabrent SSD vs. 10.84W with the Apple AHCI SSD). So: about 6-10% reduced battery life in exchange for 4X storage capacity, less latency, and faster performance.

How are you measuring these power numbers at idle? Since I have a Sabrent 2TB drive, I'm happy to hear those numbers are lower than Apple's numbers but I would love to hear how you're getting them so I can get more data myself. Love this stuff!

I feel like we should start building more of a library of configurations on post 1 that tells people what bootROM they should have, what drives work, and if there are any delays in booting due to older bootROMs. Then people wouldn't waste so much time trying to solve something that cannot be solved.

So far, it is appearing that anything 2014 and below may have these delayed boot up issued because the bootROM is not as friendly to nvme drives as the 2015 models are.

 

[coen22]

I've got connector issues, do I need to apply tape?

 

[mobilemario]

Which MacBook do you have?

The Samsung drives are known for much higher battery drain and heat.

Just installed the 970 Evo Pro in a Early 2015 MBP.

Temp usually around 45°C most of the time. Many times the fan would kick-in.
Battery life affected but don't have exact measures but easily noticeable.

What would be next best choice? ADATA XPG SX8200?

Also only getting ~1300/MB R/W speeds on the Evo is that to be expected?

 

[BombKilla]

The Sabrent's NVMe current draw is _higher_ than Apple's AHCI power draw. That's why the battery life will be shorter with the Sabrent.
The numbers came from sensors provided by iStat Menus 6.31; @gilles_polysoft published his "NVMe consumption test procedure" earlier in the thread and I used that to get these numbers. The software lets you drag icons to your Menu Bar to display sensor readings as you run various tests or as the machine is sitting idle. I used the following setup:


Which for the Sabrent yielded numbers such as:



The menubar current sensor only shows one digit past the decimal point. If instead you use iStat's pull-down menu & sensor graph (as shown in the test procedure), you get two digits past the decimal point. I used that to get the Apple SM0512G AHCI idle current because the Menu Bar showed 0.0A; 0.04A was the typical value shown on the graph.

I previously got lazy ("Must be my Hogwallop blood.") and pulled the Sabrent idle current from the MenuBar, then made a worst-case correction for rounding error. Doing it right this time, I just checked the Sabrent number on the graph and it showed 0.20-0.21A at idle. So a more accurate calculation would be:

<<<<Removed my battery runtime calculations; I failed to read the previous work done by others and learn from their experience. NVMe impact goes beyond increased SSD current draw vs. AHCI. @lucaros stated a real-world -20% runtime impact of using an NVMe SSD on a 2015 rMBP, and that seems to be the reality of the situation.>>>>


@Earl Urley has made the first post in this thread a WikiPost to accomplish exactly what you are recommending. If he and all the others hadn't been compiling and organizing this information, I wouldn't have attempted it. My thanks to Earl, @gilles_polysoft, and all the others who have brought us this far. Please contact Earl to see what you can do to add to the combined body of knowledge.

How are you measuring these power numbers at idle? Since I have a Sabrent 2TB drive, I'm happy to hear those numbers are lower than Apple's numbers...

[doublepost=1560712349][/doublepost]

I've got connector issues, do I need to apply tape?

The exposed pins on your adapter may short to the metal connector housing and cause problems. It looks like there is some tape already on your connector but that it doesn't completely cover the exposed pins. Just to be sure, I'd recommend additional kapton tape. This is an example of one that works without issues:

[doublepost=1560713227][/doublepost]

I went and bought the Corsair MPS510 for my MacBook Pro 15" 2015. However, I'm having issues. Kernel seem to be gone for now, but I'm having x2 link width. I already re-applied it twice. I did use the small sintech adapter without any extra thermal pad. What can I do?

Please forgive me if my previous post was confusing; the thermal pad has _nothing_ to do with your situation. It is a separate item to address a completely different issue.

I believe your issues can be resolved by one or more of the following:
1. carefully inspecting and reseating your drive/adapter/system connector combination,
2. making sure the electrical traces on the adapter are properly insulated to avoid shorting them on the metal connector housing. Given the "2-lane" PCIe setting, this may be your winner.
3. reinstalling the O.S. or reinitializing PRAM as recommended by others herein,
4. using the _exact_ make and model of NVMe adapter proven successful by others herein.

 

[coen22]

The Sabrent's NVMe current draw is _higher_ than Apple's AHCI power draw. That's why the battery life will be shorter with the Sabrent.
The numbers came from sensors provided by iStat Menus 6.31; @gilles_polysoft published his "NVMe consumption test procedure" earlier in the thread and I used that to get these numbers. The software lets you drag icons to your Menu Bar to display sensor readings as you run various tests or as the machine is sitting idle. I used the following setup:
View attachment 843225

Which for the Sabrent yielded numbers such as:

View attachment 843226

The menubar current sensor only shows one digit past the decimal point. If instead you use iStat's pull-down menu & sensor graph (as shown in the test procedure), you get two digits past the decimal point. I used that to get the Apple SM0512G AHCI idle current because the Menu Bar showed 0.0A; 0.04A was the typical value shown on the graph.

I previously got lazy ("Must be my Hogwallop blood.") and pulled the Sabrent idle current from the MenuBar, then made a worst-case correction for rounding error. Doing it right this time, I just checked the Sabrent number on the graph and it showed 0.20-0.21A at idle. So a more accurate calculation would be:

<<< Given values preceded by &ampersand, measured values preceded by •bullet, (Calculations in parenthesis)>>>
& System voltage powering the SSD: 3.3V
• Apple SM0512G AHCI idle current: 0.04A
• Sabrent SB-ROCKET-2TB NVMe idle current: 0.21A
(Increased current draw with the Sabrent SSD = 0.21A - 0.04A = 0.17A)
(Increased power consumption with the Sabrent SSD = 0.17A x 3.3V = 0.56W)
• System idle power usage with Sabrent: 11.5W
(System idle power usage with Apple AHCI = 11.5W - 0.56W = 10.94W)
(% additional power usage with the Sabrent = ((11.5W/10.94W) - 1) x 100 = 5.12%)

So the Sabrent 2TB NVMe uses just over 5% more current/power than the Apple 512GB AHCI drive at idle. The Sabrent may use more than +5% under load, but about 80% of typical use is at idle (especially on battery); I believe this is a reasonable number to use for increased draw while on battery.

As to how the increased current draw affects battery runtime, drawing +5% current from a battery will have at least a -5% affect on runtime. We're talking about low current rates, so it won't be too impactful. Probably, the effect will be a 5.5-7.5% decrease in runtime.

(also note that the above system power of 9.5W is lower than the 11.5W used in the run time estimate. 9.5W was only achieved with screen backlighting almost completely off and with keyboard backlighting off. 11.5W was typical during daytime indoor illumination usage.)

@Earl Urley has made the first post in this thread a WikiPost to accomplish exactly what you are recommending. If he and all the others hadn't been compiling and organizing this information, I wouldn't have attempted it. My thanks to Earl, @gilles_polysoft, and all the others who have brought us this far. Please contact Earl to see what you can do to add to the combined body of knowledge.



[doublepost=1560712349][/doublepost]

The exposed pins on your adapter may short to the metal connector housing and cause problems. It looks like there is some tape already on your connector but that it doesn't completely cover the exposed pins. Just to be sure, I'd recommend additional kapton tape. This is an example of one that works without issues:
View attachment 843233
[doublepost=1560713227][/doublepost]

Please forgive me if my previous post was confusing; the thermal pad has _nothing_ to do with your situation. It is a separate item to address a completely different issue.

I believe your issues can be resolved by one or more of the following:
1. carefully inspecting and reseating your drive/adapter/system connector combination,
2. making sure the electrical traces on the adapter are properly insulated to avoid shorting them on the metal connector housing. Given the "2-lane" PCIe setting, this may be your winner.
3. reinstalling the O.S. or reinitializing PRAM as recommended by others herein,
4. using the _exact_ make and model of NVMe adapter proven successful by others herein.

I was very careful when I replaced the SSD and my old Apple SSD is still working after I put it back. I completely reinstalled macOS 10.14.5 without having any issues (the issues came later). The SSD seems to work properly as a Corsair MPS510 is almost identical to the Sabrent (which is not easy to get where I live). I reset the PRAM. This is the Sintech adapter that I bought directly from Sintiech. And now I've seen the exposed pins, I do be an isolation issue. Getting tape tomorrow.

 

[chipmunk23]

I tried resetting the PRAM and now I get the black screen for about 20 seconds. It was around 7 seconds before, so it doesn’t work in all cases.

Thanks for the tip though.

This is because the resetting the PRAM makes the Mac 'forget' what drive to boot from. It is now searching for all the potentially available drives before deciding there is only one candidate... Set the 'Startup Disk' in 'System Preferences' to have the Mac 'know' from what drive to boot, and saving you the extra wait.

 

[Audit13]

Just installed the 970 Evo Pro in a Early 2015 MBP.

Temp usually around 45°C most of the time. Many times the fan would kick-in.
Battery life affected but don't have exact measures but easily noticeable.

What would be next best choice? ADATA XPG SX8200?

Also only getting ~1300/MB R/W speeds on the Evo is that to be expected?

You have a Pro or Evo? There is no Pro Evo model.

Yes, those read and write speeds are kind of low. Have you tried removing and reinstalling the drive and adapter?

You are doing a clean install to the drive?

 

[mobilemario]

You have a Pro or Evo? There is no Pro Evo model.

Yes, those read and write speeds are kind of low. Have you tried removing and reinstalling the drive and adapter?

You are doing a clean install to the drive?

Sorry. It is the Pro model.
Clean install.

Hmm didn't think removing and reinstalling the drive could have an effect. Will try that too.

 

[replicon1]

I recently inherited a MacBook Pro Retina 15-inch (Mid 2015) and need to install an SSD. From the information in the initial post the Sabrent Rocket 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 seems to be the most cost effective solution. Coupled with a Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card but am I right in thinking that this is all that is required? I'm unclear as to whether some models of MBP or SSD's require an adapter with the extended backplate that you screw the SSD onto prior to installing into the MBP slot or if I only need the adapter that fixes into the MBP and you just screw the SSD directly into the MBP (apologies if I am not explaining this clearly).
In other words is the length of SSD an issue that may require a different type of adapter in order to be sure that it can be seated and screwed in place?
Thanks.

 

[liberace]

Allistah, I didn't do any "before" testing in the rMBP. My only previous testing with this drive was in a cMP 5,1, in a carrier with a supplemental heat sink (post #4562). I see that Liberace said it isn't necessary and hopefully, he is correct. But, if this model does throttle, perhaps this mod will delay the onset or effect of a slowdown. I'll certainly pass on any additional findings.



I'm pleased with the idle power utilization of the Sabrent 2TB NVMe drive. Sabrent's 0.2A draw vs. 0.04A for Apple's SM0512G AHCI SSD. Even if you called it a 0.2A increase at idle (worst-case with rounding error), it only represents a 6% increase in the idle power draw of the computer as a whole (11.5W with the Sabrent SSD vs. 10.84W with the Apple AHCI SSD). So: about 6-10% reduced battery life in exchange for 4X storage capacity, less latency, and faster performance.

guys do not forget that idle/read/write battery drain is not only one because nvme protocol somehow cause for more higher temps on CPU I don't know why than AHCI
Means that while some user scenario with ACHI drive will keep for example you fans at min RPMs like 1200-3000 the same scenario could run your FANS on 2k+ RMPs so whole computer battery drain will be much much higher
Every time you write something as well with nvme cause bigger increase on CPU temperature so again your fans is running faster shortly or not depends of your using case but anyway total batter draw will be much bigger not only because of idle difference
very easy to test it yourself try to install 2-3 (with sizes more than 200mb each) apps on same time and check your CPU temps
as well all this I connect mostly with my experience on 2014 mbp without full decompressed NVMe driver from 2015 model
so if somebody with 2015 model or *better* 2014 with modified bootrom explore this to know exactly it is connected with NVMe protocol or not so 'right' drivers on pre 2015 models

 

[Tardegard]

as per battery drain this is what I get by undervolting the processor and tweaking some other stuff with Volta app.
P.s.
2015 Macbook air 11" with 512 ADATA SX8200PNP

 

[BombKilla]

guys do not forget that idle/read/write battery drain is not only one because nvme protocol somehow cause for more higher temps on CPU I don't know why than AHCI
Means that while some user scenario with ACHI drive will keep for example you fans at min RPMs like 1200-3000 the same scenario could run your FANS on 2k+ RMPs so whole computer battery drain will be much much higher
...

That's an excellent point; I hadn't read through the previous efforts well enough to get the well-established secondary effects of running an NVMe SSD. @lucaros stated a real-world 20% runtime reduction for a 2015 rMBP with a 1TB Sabrent SSD; the 2TB can't be any better.

I would love to have a 2TB SSD on my laptop but a 20% runtime reduction is a big price to pay, especially when a 1TB Apple SM1024G remains a viable option. Yes, NVMe is lower latency than AHCI, but how often am I going to really feel the speed difference?

 

[liudayu]

Okay, so I have a MacBookPro11,5, which has PCIe 3.0x4 lines, indeed I can see it in my link speed is 8.0GT/s, but why my SSD speed is bottlenecked around 1600MB/s? I have an Intel 760P with Sintech long black adapter with correct insulation, which should get me at least over 2000MB/s. Tried reset NVRAM, SMC with no luck.

Anyone experiencing similar issues? Any solutions?

 

[Allistah]

Okay, so I have a MacBookPro11,5, which has PCIe 3.0x4 lines, indeed I can see it in my link speed is 8.0GT/s, but why my SSD speed is bottlenecked around 1600MB/s? I have an Intel 760P with Sintech long black adapter with correct insulation, which should get me at least over 2000MB/s. Tried reset NVRAM, SMC with no luck.

I have the same laptop with the short SinTech adapter but I have a Sabrent 2TB drive and get way faster speeds than that. Two thing.. Could just be that is how fast that drive is, or could be the adapter, or maybe some pins are exposed on it which is causing the slowdown. At least on the Sabrent 2TB with the short adapter, this is what I get after a fresh install of Mojave. Also, which bootROM version do you have on your machine? Mine is 187.0.0.0.0. Did you do a clean install or did you use any sort of a backup method?

Machine Info:

• Model Info: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
• Model Number: A1398 (EMC 2909)
• 2.8 GHz, Core i7-4980HQ
• Sabrent 2TB w/Sintech Short adapter
• BootROM 187.0.0.0.0

 

[liudayu]

I have the same laptop with the short SinTech adapter but I have a Sabrent 2TB drive and get way faster speeds than that. Two thing.. Could just be that is how fast that drive is, or could be the adapter, or maybe some pins are exposed on it which is causing the slowdown. At least on the Sabrent 2TB with the short adapter, this is what I get after a fresh install of Mojave. Also, which bootROM version do you have on your machine? Mine is 187.0.0.0.0. Did you do a clean install or did you use any sort of a backup method?

Machine Info:

• Model Info: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
• Model Number: A1398 (EMC 2909)
• 2.8 GHz, Core i7-4980HQ
• Sabrent 2TB w/Sintech Short adapter
• BootROM 187.0.0.0.0

View attachment 843424

Hi, I have done the correct insulations to cover all the pins; Intel 760P has the speed of 3230MB/s of read, 1625MB/s of write according to offical website, my read speed is no where close to it. Also it was a fresh install.


Machine Info:

• Model Info: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
• Model Number: A1398 (EMC 2910)
• 2.5 GHz, Core i7-4780HQ
• Intel 760P 1TB
• BootROM 192.0.0.0.0

 

[Allistah]

Huh - interesting. Not sure what's up with it. I do know there are some drives that have a hard time with the adapter and don't work out so well. I don't know if that's the case here but maybe it would be worth trying another drive. I know that some drives have so much trouble they almost don't work at all. Maybe this one works - mostly - but has some trouble getting the speeds it should. Hard to tell unless swapping out the drive with something else to go through the process of elimination.

 

[liudayu]

Okay, so I have a MacBookPro11,5, which has PCIe 3.0x4 lines, indeed I can see it in my link speed is 8.0GT/s, but why my SSD speed is bottlenecked around 1600MB/s? I have an Intel 760P with Sintech long black adapter with correct insulation, which should get me at least over 2000MB/s. Tried reset NVRAM, SMC with no luck.

Anyone experiencing similar issues? Any solutions?



View attachment 843402

Also, kinda strange, my original SSUBX 512G can only runs around 1500MB/s read and write speed too... So I kinda feel like it's the hardware side. I bought this machine as second hand but every parts seems genuine.

 

[Allistah]

Also, kinda strange, my original SSUBX 512G can only runs around 1500MB/s read and write speed too... So I kinda feel like it's the hardware side. I bought this machine as second hand but every parts seems genuine.

Only way to troubleshoot is to swap out the drive and/or adapter for something else. I would try another drive first.

 

[glin90]

Hi!

I have a 13" mid 2014 rmbp running High Sierra. I just bought a Sabrent Rocket 512 GB because based on the consumption charts from the first post seems to offer decent speeds and low power consumption.

I am also planning on applying the bootrom patch to enjoy hibernation. Will I be able to update to Mojave or Catalina after applying the patch? Should I update my OS before?

As per the SPI to J6100 adapter, any suggestion? All I can find is a 50€ adapter on ebay and another one for $150 on aliexpress, which to me, both seem way too expensive.

 

[santitf]

Hi:
I have an Early 2015 13" with the 128Gb stock ssd and I want to upgrade to 512Gb. I have 2 options: the SSUBX 512 second hand from ebay (200€) or the sabrent rocket 512 (80€+10€ Syntech adapter).
I have read in the forum that a lot of people has the sabrent 1TB (best for all: more speeds, capacity, but more power consumption than the 512gb).
I i don't need more capacity, is the sabrent the best option and decent stable?

I see this table with the specifications (from the sabrent web) and the 512 power consumption it's great.

 

[admyrick]

I have a 2015 rMBP and I’m thinking about snagging the Inland SSD from MicroCenter to upgrade. The one question I have is will I run into any issues if I want to beta test Catalina after installing the new SSD?

 

[coen22]

I've got connector issues, do I need to apply tape?

The tape that I applied works. Though it did still crash last night during hibernation. I don't know what caused it, but I may be the same issue still. Might have to check the logs. Otherwise everything is working smoothly.