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

[xanderx007]

what would be the consensus of the best drive?
Intel 660p ?
Or Crucial p2?

for best reliability and low power consumption?
Or a WD SN750 better overall?
I’m intending on installing on A1466 MacBook Air so I’ll be limited to about 1400 read/write regardless.
any thoughts or comments appreciated.

<Best> is rather subjective, as there seems to be certain SSDs that work right away, depending on the model, and some that require tweaking. Some work with very high power consumption, while some have <lower> power consumption without tweaking.

After reading a few of the entries here, I decided on the Kingston A2000, knowing that Kingston has an <unspoken> support for Apple products, at least when it comes to RAM upgrades, and is very reliable. So my decision, logical as it may be, was still basically a shot in the dark that the M3 Full Stick adapter + the A2000 will work on my 11.3. I don't believe in luck, but I can say I lucked out in my choice as an expression.

So, those are the things you need to consider: You MBP's Model, the adapter, and the SSD you're going to choose. But, do not, my choice had nothing to do with what I read here. Let's say it was more a mix of instinct, knowing Kingston, and wishful thinking.

 

[deepblonde]

<Best> is rather subjective, as there seems to be certain SSDs that work right away, depending on the model, and some that require tweaking. Some work with very high power consumption, while some have <lower> power consumption without tweaking.

After reading a few of the entries here, I decided on the Kingston A2000, knowing that Kingston has an <unspoken> support for Apple products, at least when it comes to RAM upgrades, and is very reliable. So my decision, logical as it may be, was still basically a shot in the dark that the M3 Full Stick adapter + the A2000 will work on my 11.3. I don't believe in luck, but I can say I lucked out in my choice as an expression.

So, those are the things you need to consider: You MBP's Model, the adapter, and the SSD you're going to choose. But, do not, my choice had nothing to do with what I read here. Let's say it was more a mix of instinct, knowing Kingston, and wishful thinking.

Ok thank you, I just purchased an A2000, 1TB couldn’t find a 2TB anywhere; I’ll see how it goes

 

[otosan]

I've upgraded my mid-2014 Macbook Pro 13 with 970 EVO Plus and it seems to be working fine with Mac OS Big Sur. But I need to install Windows on this machine and that's where all the issues begin. I've installed Windows 10 ignoring the error during the installation as in all the instructions. I've installed Bootcamp drivers as usual and hoped for the best.

But it simply unstable as hell. Windows freezes as soon as I unplug power cable. I've trying installing Samsung SSD drivers, updated chipset drivers, installed all updates in windows, updated bandcamp, but still nothing.

I'm not sure what is causing issues and where to start. Does anyone even have working Windows 10 with the same 970 EVO Plus SSD?

Any ideas and/or suggestions?

You might want to try to update your EVO Plus firmware first from windows PC.

because EVO Plus is not that a good choice to begin with due to hit or miss firmware, heat & power consumption, and price.

Also, try using Windows 10 build 2004 ISO. Thats one of the build which never have problem in installation process (at least in my & my customer own experience)

 

[xanderx007]

Ok thank you, I just purchased an A2000, 1TB couldn’t find a 2TB anywhere; I’ll see how it goes

The A2000 doesn't have a 2TB version, unfortunately, and may very well be being phased out, with the NV1 as <replacement>.

You'll be the fifth one (that I know) so far here who opted for the A2000. Keep us updated when you do, especially if you install any additional kext.

 

[User9]

There’s also the SK Hynix P31 Gold. I can vouch for that one since I’m currently using one. Awesome battery life performance.

how much improvement or difference did you get between 660p and Hynix Gold? 30 min or more? Price wise is almost doubled.

 

[flaminghawk546]

I'm trying to upgrade the ssd in a 13 inch Early 2015 macbook pro a1502. I've been reading and have been getting conflicting answers. Currently I have a 128gb ssd, looking for 1tb upgrade. Use computer mostly for digital graphic software such as Photoshop, Illustrator. I'm currently on MacOS Monterey.

What would be my best SSD option for the upgrade? I was looking at 970 evo plus but ive been reading that it does not work well.

 

[xboxbml]

I keep plugging the ADATA SX8200 Pro 2tb I have in my 2015 MBA.. anyone else have it and have opinions on parameters? power, writes etc.?.. I'm curious... I've had it for about 2 years now and no issues... just wondering if anyone else uses it and what their thoughts are..

 

[Antikapitalista]

MZ-KKW1T00/0A6 1TB SSPOLARIS PCI 655-1995C
or
Hynix HFS001TDE9X0732 Gold P31 SHGP31-1000GM-2?

One of them should go into a laptop like this one:

MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.8 15" Mid-2014 (DG) Specs (Retina Mid-2014 15", MGXG2LL/A, MacBookPro11,3, A1398, 2881): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.8 15" Mid-2014 (DG). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

—or, in plain words, into a "MacBook Pro Retina mid-2014 15-inch 2.8GHz with discrete graphics"—with the difference that it has only a 256GB SSD.

I suppose that a SSD upgrade would be useful.
I have read the wiki-post, I have seen the tabulated results, I have been thinking about it for a few days, but I still do not know which one would be better.

The first one is dealt with here in the manner that it is good but expensive and hard to get new, etc. But what if price is not a concern, i.e. if both can be obtained new and roughly at the same price?

As for the performance, I believe that they ought to be roughly the same, both throttled by the PCIe 2.0 interface.

Both seem to utilize charge trapping technology in a vertically stacked design; however,

the Samsung part (the first one) has:
MLC (2-level) NAND chips—so its endurance ought to be better,
but has a higher power consumption—one of the highest in the survey;

whereas

the Hynix part (the second one) has:
TLC (3-level) NAND chips—so its endurance ought to be worse,
but has a lower power consumption—its power efficiency has been lauded in reviews.

Also: the first one is an Apple original part, whereas the second one should be a compatible replacement with a Sintech-like adapter, but I wonder what is the significance—if any—of having an Apple original part versus a replacement.

 

[keepsec]

I just installed a Hynix P31 2TB in my MacBook Pro 15 2015. I used the black short Sintech Adapter. The SSD gets recognized and it detected x4 lanes. Now I have 2 questions:

- In IStat Menu it doesn't show any temperature under SSD A and SSD B. Instead it shows a HARD DRIVE temperature?
- I get 2300 write and 1900 read speed. Shouldn't I get more?

I didn't install any . kext yet.

 

[otosan]

I just installed a Hynix P31 2TB in my MacBook Pro 15 2015. I used the black short Sintech Adapter. The SSD gets recognized and it detected x4 lanes. Now I have 2 questions:

- In IStat Menu it doesn't show any temperature under SSD A and SSD B. Instead it shows a HARD DRIVE temperature?
- I get 2300 write and 1900 read speed. Shouldn't I get more?

I didn't install any . kext yet.

No, that's exactly what you should get on 2015 - 15" Model. Your board limit is around 2500

 

[User9]

I just installed a Hynix P31 2TB in my MacBook Pro 15 2015. I used the black short Sintech Adapter. The SSD gets recognized and it detected x4 lanes. Now I have 2 questions:

- In IStat Menu it doesn't show any temperature under SSD A and SSD B. Instead it shows a HARD DRIVE temperature?
- I get 2300 write and 1900 read speed. Shouldn't I get more?

I didn't install any . kext yet.

Would you mind sharing your max power usage for the Hynix SSD in istat during workload as I heard it is different for 2tb from 1tb? Thanks

 

[keepsec]

While doing a speed test I get max 0.78 while writing and 0.63 while reading.
Idle is 0.04 with SSDPmEnabler. Can I get lower with NVMeFix? Or isn't it worth the hassle of installing it ?

 

[herb2k]

I keep plugging the ADATA SX8200 Pro 2tb I have in my 2015 MBA.. anyone else have it and have opinions on parameters? power, writes etc.?.. I'm curious... I've had it for about 2 years now and no issues... just wondering if anyone else uses it and what their thoughts are..

I had it for about a week (testing it out) last year.

I found it to be much faster than both the Intel 660p and Seagate (Phison-based) SSD I currently use (but not by much - my MBP 13" is limited to PCIe 2.0 x4 speeds).

The tradeoff for the speed was power consumption and heat. With NVMeFix, it could not achieve the lowest power state and ran typically warmer than the other two SSDs I tried. SsdPmEnabler didn't exist at time, so could not comment on how that may improve the situation.

The ADATA SX8200 Pro really was a consistently "fast" SSD!

 

[User9]

Would you mind sharing your max power usage for the Hynix SSD in istat during workload as I heard it is different from 1tb for 2tb? Thanks

While doing a speed test I get max 0.78 while writing and 0.63 while reading.
Idle is 0.04 with SSDPmEnabler. Can I get lower with NVMeFix? Or isn't it worth the hassle of installing it ?

thanks, yes you could go lower but over a month experienced probably twice freezing for unknown reasons since using the kext on Intel 660p

 

[User9]

I had it for about a week (testing it out) last year.

I found it to be much faster than both the Intel 660p and Seagate (Phison-based) SSD I currently use (but not by much - my MBP 13" is limited to PCIe 2.0 x4 speeds).

The tradeoff for the speed was power consumption and heat. With NVMeFix, it could not achieve the lowest power state and ran typically warmer than the other two SSDs I tried. SsdPmEnabler didn't exist at time, so could not comment on how that may improve the situation.

The ADATA SX8200 Pro really was a consistently "fast" SSD!

so NVMeFix not working on Hynix gold when you tested it?

 

[MisterPi]

It has been 5 years (give or take) that this thread has been alive and about two years since I found it.

I just replaced the 512GB SSD in my Mid 2014 MBP (Retina, 15-inch). I bought an ADATA XPG SX800 Pro 1TB NAND MVMe Gen 3x4 ($110 - cheaper now), a Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter ($15), and a MOKiN M.2 NVME SATA SSD Enclosure ($17, $32 now) - all from Amazon. I am running 10.13.6.
This is what I did and how long it took:

1. Put the new drive in the enclosure and backed up the MBP with SuperDuper! (45min)
2. Shut down and booted from the USB drive to make sure everything was OK - no problem. (5min)
3. Took out the screws, removed the back, disconnected the battery, undid the screw holding the old SSD, removed the old SSD, installed the new SSD, reinstalled the screw. (15min)
4. Took the computer to the garage and blew all the dust and crap out of it. (10min)
5. Booted. Re-authenticated with dropbox and removed the old version of the MBP. (3min)
6. Reinstalled screws holding back. (3min)

Absolutely zero problems (yet).
My subjective impression is that the computer is SIGNIFICANTLY faster now. As they say on the Great British Baking Show: It was definitely worth the calories.

Just another data point.

Cheers.

​

 

[keepsec]

So I now added Lilu and NVMeFix on Monterey 12.1. I needed to set the boot argument to get it working without kernel panic. If I reset the NVRAM now, will it Kernel Panic again because the boot argument will be reset? I haven't done the Read/Write permisson thing but the kext are loaded and working now.

I get now 0.03A (28mA) and just with SSDPmenabler 0.04A (42mA) with my 2TB Hynix P31.

 

[otosan]

So I now added Lilu and NVMeFix on Monterey 12.1. I needed to set the boot argument to get it working without kernel panic. If I reset the NVRAM now, will it Kernel Panic again because the boot argument will be reset? I haven't done the Read/Write permisson thing but the kext are loaded and working now.

I get now 0.03A (28mA) and just with SSDPmenabler 0.04A (42mA) with my 2TB Hynix P31.

resetting NVRAM will make it panic again. Yes

 

[keepsec]

resetting NVRAM will make it panic again. Yes

is there another permanent solution without boot attribute on Monterey without OpenCore?

 

[User9]

So I now added Lilu and NVMeFix on Monterey 12.1. I needed to set the boot argument to get it working without kernel panic. If I reset the NVRAM now, will it Kernel Panic again because the boot argument will be reset? I haven't done the Read/Write permisson thing but the kext are loaded and working now.

I get now 0.03A (28mA) and just with SSDPmenabler 0.04A (42mA) with my 2TB Hynix P31.

so its using more energy than 660p at idle…

 

[keepsec]

so its using more energy than 660p at idle…

What are your readings with your 660p? Idle, Reading and Writing?
Since I have a Macbook Pro 15 2015 I benefit from the speed of the Hynix. I think that it has the best balance between power consumption and speed on x4.

 

[User9]

What are your readings with your 660p? Idle, Reading and Writing?
Since I have a Macbook Pro 15 2015 I benefit from the speed of the Hynix. I think that it has the best balance between power consumption and speed on x4.

idle 5-8mA, but when reading writing it shoots all the way up but still lower than most

 

[keepsec]

Could it be that the Hynix P31 has a higher Idle when connected on x4 lanes? Another @vince22 had 0.01A with a Hynix 1TB on a Macbook Pro 13 2015.

Since I have a Macbook Pro 15 2015 could that be the difference? Or is it because I have the 2TB Version?

 

[User9]

Could it be that the Hynix P31 has a higher Idle when connected on x4 lanes? Another @vince22 had 0.01A with a Hynix 1TB on a Macbook Pro 13 2015.

Since I have a Macbook Pro 15 2015 could that be the difference? Or is it because I have the 2TB Version?

I think it may be 2tb, more components more energy but can’t be sure. So it doesn’t go any lower to single digits?

 

[keepsec]

No 28mA is the lowest