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

[otosan]

Hola all. I have a:

Macbook Pro retina 13 Early 2015
2.7GHz Dual-core Intel i5
8GB 1867 MHz DDR3
1TB apple storage.

macOS Monterey

I wanted to upgrade the SSD speed as my older macbook pro retina 13 early 2013 had 500GB but the speed of it was noticeably faster compared to my current model.

I bought the WD SN850 NVMe SSD and tested it with 2 Sintehc NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapters.

Wild Your Garden: Create a sanctuary for nature

Prepare for the next evolution of speed with the WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD, giving you supreme PCIe Gen4 technology for your PC so you don’t lag out on the next generation of games.

www.amazon.co.uk

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card, for Upgrade 2013-2015 Year Macs(Not Fit Early 2013 MacBook Pro)

NOTICE:because too many customers can use it,I suggest you to try it again if your MAC can't detect nVME SSD. Pls notice to insert card fully into SSD slot and you must prepare bootable USB disk(see third point) with High Sierra to format M.2 SSD first, it can't support recover from internet. mai...

www.amazon.co.uk

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card For Upgrade 2013-2015 MacBook

NOTICE:because too many customers can use it,I suggest you to try it again if your MAC can't detect nVME SSD. Pls notice to insert card fully into SSD slot and you must prepare bootable USB disk(see third point) with High Sierra to format M.2 SSD first, it can't support recover from internet. mai...

www.amazon.co.uk

I noticed the following...

The CPU temperature ran 10-15 degrees hotter (it's why I tested 2 adapters to confirm)
The disk speed readings didn't significantly increase. I know the macbook limits the read and write speeds but was I wrong to think there would be a more noticeable increase?

Just wanted to get some advice if anyone had the same issues or any suggestions? Did all of your SSD upgrades cause an increase in CPU temp?

TIA for any responses

One thing you need to make sure of before doing any benchmark is :

Does the macbook still doing indexing ? (you can hit spotlight, and type something to check) ,

MacOS will do full indexing after each clean install/update. And it use considerable amount of CPU & Disk IO performance.

If you do benchmarking within this time window, result would be slower.

And during this period, CPU also will be running hotter.

I normally use iStat Menus to monitor my CPU, Disk, Temperature & Power status.

As for you Macbook Model,

it should be able to hit around 1500Mb/s read speed easily, and around 1300Mb/s write.

Although, i would say that WD is not really a good choice. It use it's own controller, which happen to use more energy and doesn't really have perfect compatibility with macOS. Especially, i saw that you choose to use PCI 4.0 SSD. That is way too overkill for A1502 Macbook. The SSD bandwith can hit 7000Mb/s, while the macbook barely able to reach <50% of that number.

I would suggest you to pick another SSD. Use PCI 3.0 version. And look for one that have maximum speed around 1500-2500 Mb/s. One of the best option for price and performance would be Kioxia (Toshiba) Exceria. It have maximum speed of 1700Mb/s (just perfect for the macbook mainboard) and it has 512MB-1GB DRAM, a rare stuff for budget SSD. It random R/W also quite stellar.

During normal use (Zoom Meeting and Browser) , my CPU temp average is 45-50° and my SSD temp average is 35-40°. Power consumption for SSD is around 0.1-0.5W

 

[otosan]

As far as I remember, you need to use a USB stick to install macOS on the new SSD. Internet Recovery cannot do that for you.

Download macOS and use createinstallmedia to create an installation USB. Then, you can format the new drive and install macOS.

You can use Mr. Macintosh's blog or MDS (https://twocanoes.com/products/mac/mac-deploy-stick/). I prefer MDS because it downloads the .app file, not the .pkg. Inside the .app you can find createinstallmedia (https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201372)

Good luck!

Internet Recovery would able to detect the new NVME SSD, as long as you access the Recovery version greater than 10.13.6

What you need to do is pressing Command + Option + R (instead of Command + R)

"Option" here will ask Apple server for latest available OS Recovery eligible for your mac (which will be decided based on your BootRom version)

Example : Command + R will only give you the earliest OS available for your Macbook. If it shipped with Maverick, it will give you Maverick. (in which it won't be able to detect the NVME drive)

but if you already on, let say BigSur prior to ssd upgrade, by pressing option, it will ask Apple server to check latest available OS, like for MBP 2014, would also be a BigSur,

by accessing BigSur internet Recovery, it will give you ability to detect NVME drive, and installing OS into it

 

[whack3r24]

An increase in temperature is considered normal. Other people in this thread also mentioned an increase in temperature after the SSD upgrade.

You have a 2015 MacBook 13. Check what System Report shows for Hardware->NVMExpress:

Link Width:x4 / Link Speed:5.0 GT/s (Max speed is 1500)
OR
Link Width:x4 Link Speed:8.0 GT/s (Max speed is greater than 2200)

An increase in temperature is considered normal. Other people in this thread also mentioned an increase in temperature after the SSD upgrade.

You have a 2015 MacBook 13. Check what System Report shows for Hardware->NVMExpress:

Link Width:x4 / Link Speed:5.0 GT/s (Max speed is 1500)
OR
Link Width:x4 Link Speed:8.0 GT/s (Max speed is greater than 2200)

Hello!

Thanks for getting back to me. At the time of writing my original post, I had switched back to the apple ssd so couldn't check the NVMExpress link width but I've popped it back and it's link speed is 5.0GT/s. Is that set by the ssd or the mac hardware?

Sorry if i'm asking dumb questions. I'm good with superficial tech stuff and have dabbled with chaning components before but it's the finer details like this that i'm not great with.

 

[whack3r24]

One thing you need to make sure of before doing any benchmark is :

Does the macbook still doing indexing ? (you can hit spotlight, and type something to check) ,

MacOS will do full indexing after each clean install/update. And it use considerable amount of CPU & Disk IO performance.

If you do benchmarking within this time window, result would be slower.

And during this period, CPU also will be running hotter.

I normally use iStat Menus to monitor my CPU, Disk, Temperature & Power status.

As for you Macbook Model,

it should be able to hit around 1500Mb/s read speed easily, and around 1300Mb/s write.

Although, i would say that WD is not really a good choice. It use it's own controller, which happen to use more energy and doesn't really have perfect compatibility with macOS. Especially, i saw that you choose to use PCI 4.0 SSD. That is way too overkill for A1502 Macbook. The SSD bandwith can hit 7000Mb/s, while the macbook barely able to reach <50% of that number.

I would suggest you to pick another SSD. Use PCI 3.0 version. And look for one that have maximum speed around 1500-2500 Mb/s. One of the best option for price and performance would be Kioxia (Toshiba) Exceria. It have maximum speed of 1700Mb/s (just perfect for the macbook mainboard) and it has 512MB-1GB DRAM, a rare stuff for budget SSD. It random R/W also quite stellar.

During normal use (Zoom Meeting and Browser) , my CPU temp average is 45-50° and my SSD temp average is 35-40°. Power consumption for SSD is around 0.1-0.5W

Hi hi!

Thanks for getting back to me.

It was indexing and once that was done the temp went down but the R/W didn't change much. Checking the link speed advised by the previous post, did identify it would max out at the slower speed. I went for the WD based on this website:

PassMark - APPLE SSD SM1024G - Price performance comparison

I knew it was way more than the mac can handle but didn't think it was that much 😅

But obv you guys know more and I appreciate your alternate suggestion and will try the toshia exceria and hopefully I'll see better results. It's mad to me that a newer model of macbook retina would have a slower R/W speeds making the system noticeably slower than my previous model.

 

[otosan]

Hello!

Thanks for getting back to me. At the time of writing my original post, I had switched back to the apple ssd so couldn't check the NVMExpress link width but I've popped it back and it's link speed is 5.0GT/s. Is that set by the ssd or the mac hardware?

Sorry if i'm asking dumb questions. I'm good with superficial tech stuff and have dabbled with chaning components before but it's the finer details like this that i'm not great with.

5.0GT/s is your board capability.

As for the PassMark that you use as reference, that's not a direct comparison between the apple original ssd and other ssd. But rather a comparison of the average PassMark score for each ssd model (which run on different platform, not on macbook platform)

so that's not an ideal way to compare which ssd would work best on macbook. Since the test environment itself is not standarized.

 

[0134168]

5.0GT/s is your board capability.

As for the PassMark that you use as reference, that's not a direct comparison between the apple original ssd and other ssd. But rather a comparison of the average PassMark score for each ssd model (which run on different platform, not on macbook platform)

so that's not an ideal way to compare which ssd would work best on macbook. Since the test environment itself is not standarized.

With 5.0GT/s practically every modern Nvme will get the same speed. So here it´s better to look for the one with less comsuption, with or without SSdPmEnabler.

 

[Loki_89]

Has anyone tried the WD Blue SN570? Its listed as incompatible, but I don't see an actual post about it. Very inexpensive drive if it does work.

Hey I've actually got it (before I got to this forum), it was really great deal if you compare performance/money relation - and that's why I bought it. After few months of using 2013 Air (I've swapped it in April 2022) I didn't notice any crashes or bugs. I actually setup a bootcamp on it and everything works pretty well. The only downside is significant difference of battery life. I'm not sure if this is just the battery (I got RDY replacement) or power consumption of that drive is so much bigger. To make some reference I was streaming HD video for 1.5h and it drained battery from 75% to zero during that time.

P.S. - worth to mention that I was not flashing my chipset so I had to disable Deep sleep option, so possibly in this area there are some bugs for those who wouldn't disable it.

 

[otosan]

One of the best SSD you can find in the market with decent price as well ($65 - 500GB)

Kioxia Exceria Plus G2

Controller :
Toshiba TC58NC1201GST
[Rebranded Phison E12S]

NAND :
Toshiba 96-Layer 3D TLC

DRAM :
2 GB SKHynix DDR4-2666

 

[otosan]

Hey I've actually got it (before I got to this forum), it was really great deal if you compare performance/money relation - and that's why I bought it. After few months of using 2013 Air (I've swapped it in April 2022) I didn't notice any crashes or bugs. I actually setup a bootcamp on it and everything works pretty well. The only downside is significant difference of battery life. I'm not sure if this is just the battery (I got RDY replacement) or power consumption of that drive is so much bigger. To make some reference I was streaming HD video for 1.5h and it drained battery from 75% to zero during that time.

P.S. - worth to mention that I was not flashing my chipset so I had to disable Deep sleep option, so possibly in this area there are some bugs for those who wouldn't disable it.

With a BootRom version 4xx and higher you can enable your deep sleep without issue. You might want to test it out

 

[IDMah]

Smart = Failing
Looking for a recommendation for a cool, endurance drive.
Right now I've a WD Blue
My CPU temps are 58-70 Degrees C. also I realized seem to write 10-15 gig a day thus endurance need.

 

[Loki_89]

With a BootRom version 4xx and higher you can enable your deep sleep without issue. You might want to test it out

THX! Seems I have boot loader version 433.140.2.0.0 so I’ll test deep sleep and let you know if it crashes

 

[Loki_89]

View attachment 2037405

One of the best SSD you can find in the market with decent price as well ($65 - 500GB)

Kioxia Exceria Plus G2

Controller :
Toshiba TC58NC1201GST
[Rebranded Phison E12S]

NAND :
Toshiba 96-Layer 3D TLC

DRAM :
2 GB SKHynix DDR4-2666

I’m about to change SSD in my MBP 13” early-2015 i5 2.7 16GB RAM, and I’m considering Kioxia Exceria 1TB. I can choose between G2 and Plus, difference in price is ~$30. What is the power efficiency of plus? I don’t want to significantly reduce life-time on battery. Any recos?

 

[otosan]

Smart = Failing
Looking for a recommendation for a cool, endurance drive.
Right now I've a WD Blue
My CPU temps are 58-70 Degrees C. also I realized seem to write 10-15 gig a day thus endurance need.

WD Blue without firmware update have tendency to get SMART failure.

Either you plug it to Windows and update it's firmware, or you can change it altogether to another model.

Try to get one with Silicon Motion or Phison Controller.

My best recommendation for price : performance ration is Kioxia Exceria

 

[otosan]

I’m about to change SSD in my MBP 13” early-2015 i5 2.7 16GB RAM, and I’m considering Kioxia Exceria 1TB. I can choose between G2 and Plus, difference in price is ~$30. What is the power efficiency of plus? I don’t want to significantly reduce life-time on battery. Any recos?

G2 is the same as Plus. Other option is the one in Orange Packaging (Non Plus)

Get the orange one for Early 2015. It suit the speed of the board. Plus is recommended for 15" model of 2015

Power consumption is good, since it using Phison based controller. Idling mostly on 0,08W on my macbook. (i use SsdPmEnabler.kext btw)

 

[Skypalace]

I found a thread about someone using a 4TB sabrent in a macbook pro 2013

https://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,2431891

The person used the short adapter, it seems better for double sided sticks as they can be thicker.

I wonder how thick the 4TB sabrent is?

Any more updates on experiences with 4TB drives, esp. for MBP late 2013 15" (11,3)? I saw the Corsair speeds, but that was for 2015 which I think is 4 lanes, looked good though. I don't see any 4TB drives in the charts in post #1.

I have a 2TB Sabrent Rocket w / Sintech short that I installed in 2019 (I did a couple posts at the time) but now running out of space and looking to upgrade to 4TB.

Priorities are a) compatibility/reliability, b) heat / battery life, b (tie) Performance. ie. I want a balance of decent performance w/ heat/battery life, c) Cost (unless it's ridiculous)

 

[Skypalace]

Hey all, anyone have suggestions for a good battery replacement for an Early 2015 MBP 13"? I got this one two years back and a little while later upgraded to the 1TB Sabrent Rocket, by which point my battery life had dropped to a miserable less-than-an-hour. I thought for a while that it was the Sabrent being power-hungry, but the charts in the wiki post these days put it in the upper quartile for a healthy power draw, so now I'm just confused. Maybe it was a crappy battery the whole time? Are the ones from iFixIt better?

Sorry for the late reply.

TL;DR: Do it at the Apple store.

I did a battery replacement on my late 2013 15" MBP earlier this year. Spent a bunch of time researched all the various batteries etc. and was planning to do it myself, but figured I'd call the Apple Store, just to see what they wanted.

$199 AND they replaced the entire top case, including new keyboard and trackpad. I'd called the store beforehand as had seem some storied about $199 offers but then > $500 billed, and up front they promised the $199 would include the entire top case, as it's all glued on. There was a 90 day warranty, which I needed as all the ports on the right hand side (USB, HDMI, SD Card) stopped working, and I was travelling so not able to get in right away. They were going to take the laptop and send it in, but I convinced the Apple tech to open it up in case it was something simple like a connector, which it was - connector was stuck under the little board for those connectors, and not plugged in.

 

[IDMah]

WD Blue without firmware update have tendency to get SMART failure.

Either you plug it to Windows and update it's firmware, or you can change it altogether to another model.

Try to get one with Silicon Motion or Phison Controller.

My best recommendation for price : performance ration is Kioxia Exceria

I Noticed in Profiler:

NVMExpress: Smart: verified.
But Storage: Smart: failing

Should I bother to RMA it? I'm under warranty.

 

[0134168]

I Noticed in Profiler:

NVMExpress: Smart: verified.
But Storage: Smart: failing

Should I bother to RMA it? I'm under warranty.

Can you send an screenshot?

 

[otosan]

I Noticed in Profiler:

NVMExpress: Smart: verified.
But Storage: Smart: failing

Should I bother to RMA it? I'm under warranty.

You can,

but by the time they plug it on windows, SMART will show OK. So they might reject the RMA.

 

[smoothbit]

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding which 4TB SSD will work best in a 2015 13" rMBP? I'm looking at the Crucual P3 because it's cheap, but would like to know that it doesn't have any problems or drain the battery too fast. If it makes a difference, the MacBook will be running Mojave.

 

[otosan]

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding which 4TB SSD will work best in a 2015 13" rMBP? I'm looking at the Crucual P3 because it's cheap, but would like to know that it doesn't have any problems or drain the battery too fast. If it makes a difference, the MacBook will be running Mojave.

Maybe XLR8 from PNY, or MP400 from Corsair ?

 

[orangjuce]

It might've been answered at some point, but I was hoping to ask if the WD Black 770 would work with a MBA 2014? Because that's the one I'm leaning towards for my MacBook.

 

[otosan]

It might've been answered at some point, but I was hoping to ask if the WD Black 770 would work with a MBA 2014? Because that's the one I'm leaning towards for my MacBook.

It would. With the caveat that you gonna waste a lot of it's performance, since you gonna use a PCI Gen 4 SSD on a board that will run on PCI Gen 2 Speed. It will generate more heat as well. And it might turn out slower compared to if you were putting Gen 3 SSD. (just like what happen with SN850 above)

Not really a recommended choice, i guess.

 

[orangjuce]

It would. With the caveat that you gonna waste a lot of it's performance, since you gonna use a PCI Gen 4 SSD on a board that will run on PCI Gen 2 Speed. It will generate more heat as well. And it might turn out slower compared to if you were putting Gen 3 SSD. (just like what happen with SN850 above)

Not really a recommended choice, i guess.

Oh ok, thanks for the reply. Would a Blue SN570 be better then?

 

[smoothbit]

Maybe XLR8 from PNY, or MP400 from Corsair ?

Thanks for the suggestions. I decided to get a 2TB Crucial P2 instead of the 4TB P3, hopefully that will work out too.

Also, does anyone know of an adapter to take the 500GB Apple SSD that I'll be taking out of my MacBook Pro, so that I can use it in the PCIe slot of a regular desktop computer? Or a USB adapter?