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Upgrading 2013-2015 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe
- Thread starter maxthackray
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Thats not what I said
Please re-read. I'll condense my points for you again:1. If you have a 2015+ model; pop in any Apple SSD to have it run out of the box. SSPOLARIS drives will require that your bootrom is sufficiently up-to-date to support NVMe drives.
2. If you have a 2015+ model; pop in any NVMe SSD drive with the correct Sintech adapter and it will run out of the box. The same bootrom requirement is applicable as (1)
3. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in an Apple SSD with the SSUA or SSUBX serial-prefix to have it run out of the box. No hibernation issues occur as these are not NVMe drives. No bootrom requirements are applicable here.
4. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in an Apple SSPOLARIS NVMe drive. These require your bootrom to be sufficiently up-to-date to boot. Now hibernation will not work correctly unless the following is done:
a. You must patch your bootrom with an updated NVMe driver taken out of a 2015 MBP. Search the thread for instructions. This requires a hardware programmer to flash the bootrom. Once you have the bootrom patched; you will be able to native hibernation (i.e. as if you've got a 2015 MBP)
b. You can workaround the hibernation issue by simply turning it off via pmset. The downside is increased battery usage when 'sleeping'.
5. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in any NVMe drive with the correct Sintech adapter. These require your bootrom to be sufficiently up-to-date to boot. Now hibernation will not work correctly unless the following is done:
a. You must patch your bootrom with an updated NVMe driver taken out of a 2015 MBP. Search the thread for instructions. This requires a hardware programmer to flash the bootrom. Once you have the bootrom patched; you will be able to native hibernation (i.e. as if you've got a 2015 MBP)
b. You can workaround the hibernation issue by simply turning it off via pmset. The downside is increased battery usage when 'sleeping'.
Hi, here’s the short and long Sintech adapters. Does both work similarly with Intel 760p and MBr 13” early 2015?
Hi, strange thing here. I have been testing all kinds of M.2 NVMe drives. I have been testing on MacBook Air (2014-2015), MacBook Pro 2013-2014. I wanted to try the Intel 760p since it uses half the power opposed to the 600p. I wrote before how the EVO 970 (and 960) just get freakin hot and use at least twice as much power both in use and idle:
https://us.hardware.info/reviews/8181/13/samsung-970-evo-a-970-pro-ssd-review-power-consumption
It seems the EVO 970 is less efficient than the EVO 960, although faster. For all my testing I have never seen a faster drive than the EVO 970 in a MacBook.
I know the 2015 MBP is PCIe 3.0 but on MBP 2014 (13", not on my 15"!) with 4-Lanes at 5 GB/T I get roughly:
Samsung EVO 970 500GB 700 MB/S write (1300 on 2015 MBP) and 1500 MB/s read (1800 on 2115 MBP)
Intel 600p 540 MB/s write - 1200 MB/s read
Intel 760p 500 MB/s write - 1500 MB/s read
My question is why the Intel 760p is so slow sine you say you have 1355 write speed? When I start BlackMagic Disk Speed the write guage jumps up to over 1000 MB/s for a moment but then drops back to under 500 MB/s.
I tested with the long black Sintec adapter and it gave me 210 MB/s write!! So I changed to the small green Sintec and got much better results. What can be wrong? I am not using any tape with the long adapter but carefully kapton-taped the short green version.
On thing I noticed now whas that I did a clean install, did not touch pmset settings and opened a lot of documents, left the MBP 13" 2014 closed overnight. Everything was normal when I opened it, all docs were up and running and hardly any battery was used (from 80% before to 77% after). I am using OS X Mojave and it seems there are improvements for sleep issues for 3rd party M.2 drives.
[doublepost=1539355686][/doublepost]
Both will work. I have not tested the small black one, only the small green and found no difference, even the small green gave me better speeds. Just be careful and do the taping.
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People in the US how long does it usually take to get the Santech adapter from them directly? It's already been a week and haven't gotten it.
Hi Gilles,
Here's the auction link: 512GB New MacDrive Shark PCIe NVMe SSD MacBook Pro 2015 2016 3yr Warranty
They have actually sent me the wrong drive so I am going through a replacement process, but I wanted to figure this one out before the real one gets sent to me. The drive I have currently is an ADATA SX6000NP, but the adapter is heat shrinked onto the drive and leaves very little exposed. I will share images on the off chance you might still be able to get details. There are numbers on on side: "23121SF349 490626" (I think) with lettering "NF" circled. Images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iezyjxe6g0yixnk/AAC0i6fA8up04vFZ70iv7TXOa?dl=0
Is it normal for the overhang to go that far? The bolt barely goes in without bending the drive.
Hi, I'm new to this thread, but I wanted a little clarification on something (forgive me if this has already been summed up in previous messages):
Under what scenarios do you have to force-flash your firmware to update it, and under what scenarios can you just use a USB installer to update the firmware? Thanks in advance!
Under what scenarios do you have to force-flash your firmware to update it, and under what scenarios can you just use a USB installer to update the firmware? Thanks in advance!
I'm having issues with battery drain whilst sleeping. I've installed a SX8200 480GB with the long Sintech adapter in a mid 2015 Macbook pro using Mojave so it should work ok as per reviews above. I'm not having any issues with heat, stability or wakeup after reinstallation from a time machine backup.
The problem is when I leave it over night its losing 30% battery at least which seems much more than other people are experiencing. Activity monitor shows chrome is using the most energy but no of the apps are preventing sleep. Any ideas on what this could be or how to troubleshoot?
The problem is when I leave it over night its losing 30% battery at least which seems much more than other people are experiencing. Activity monitor shows chrome is using the most energy but no of the apps are preventing sleep. Any ideas on what this could be or how to troubleshoot?
Hi mattlabbe,
I'm sorry but you should send back your adapter and SSD and ask for a refund...
The adapter you have is clearly a "cableCC - chengyang" one, which is well known to not have the proper wiring and being incompatible with NVMe drives, deep sleep, etc.
Cable CC adapters have been found having kernel panics / reboot issues a year ago, oldest post is #396
Some contributors did found that cableCC /sintech rev.A adapters have incorrect wirings : #534
Only sintech ST-NGFF2013-B and ST-NGFF2013-C adapters have the good wirings. #767
Sintech ST-NGFF2013-A and CableCC adapters should be retired from sale.
I think that, as of today in 2018, selling kits with NVMe SSD and cableCC adapters on eBay is at least a big mistake.
This shows clearly a lack of knowledge at least.
You should simply ask the seller for a refund and you can send him directly a link to this thread..
Also, it is recommanded to have insulating tape on the connectors to prevent them from being in touch with the metal shield of the motherbord connector :#659 #671
You mean from http://eshop.sintech.cn ? Allow at least 2-3 weeks. Took over 2 weeks to get it from Sintech to Norway.
I also use the SX8200 with the Sintech rev. C (long black) and the JSER adapter, I had only two nights of testing sleep but only 1-2% loss on both nights with either adapter (over 10 hours).
After waking it up, please go into terminal and enter:
pmset -g log | grep -e " Sleep " -e " Wake " -e " DarkWake "
I suppose your device doesn't really go to sleep, maybe Power Nap or tcpkeepalive is at fault. 30% sounds too much in any case though, maybe try with a fresh installation.
I have problems with write speed on a Intel 760p 256 GB when using any Sintech adapter. On a MacBook Pro 13, 4-lanes/5.0 GT/s . With the same adapters (short and long) I get 800 MB/s write with a Samsung EVO 970 500GB. With the Intel 760p I get 240 MB/s . It seems the new long Sintech doesn't need taping since it already is isolated. Take a look at the pics and how I tape the short Sintech. Anyone get better speeds with Intel 760p with the same adapters?
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Sorry I can't find instructions for how to patch bootrom. Can you link to the instructions? Can I use something like these instructions? -> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WNkM9LuGPq1sArO9EedWBHYq14NU7m-mDBLAWWJipyM/editThats not what I said
1. If you have a 2015+ model; pop in any Apple SSD to have it run out of the box. SSPOLARIS drives will require that your bootrom is sufficiently up-to-date to support NVMe drives.
2. If you have a 2015+ model; pop in any NVMe SSD drive with the correct Sintech adapter and it will run out of the box. The same bootrom requirement is applicable as (1)
3. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in an Apple SSD with the SSUA or SSUBX serial-prefix to have it run out of the box. No hibernation issues occur as these are not NVMe drives. No bootrom requirements are applicable here.
4. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in an Apple SSPOLARIS NVMe drive. These require your bootrom to be sufficiently up-to-date to boot. Now hibernation will not work correctly unless the following is done:
a. You must patch your bootrom with an updated NVMe driver taken out of a 2015 MBP. Search the thread for instructions. This requires a hardware programmer to flash the bootrom. Once you have the bootrom patched; you will be able to native hibernation (i.e. as if you've got a 2015 MBP)
b. You can workaround the hibernation issue by simply turning it off via pmset. The downside is increased battery usage when 'sleeping'.
5. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in any NVMe drive with the correct Sintech adapter. These require your bootrom to be sufficiently up-to-date to boot. Now hibernation will not work correctly unless the following is done:
a. You must patch your bootrom with an updated NVMe driver taken out of a 2015 MBP. Search the thread for instructions. This requires a hardware programmer to flash the bootrom. Once you have the bootrom patched; you will be able to native hibernation (i.e. as if you've got a 2015 MBP)
b. You can workaround the hibernation issue by simply turning it off via pmset. The downside is increased battery usage when 'sleeping'.
Hi
Hi i have few questions about upgrading ssd to macbook air 13” early 2015
1. Can we upgrade future mac OS softwares directly to newly replaced ssd without the need of original apple ssd?
2. Will bootcamp for installing windows 10 work fluently as on original apple ssd?
3. Is there any way to install heat sink on third party ssd, Bcoz heat sink itself requires at least 5mm space in macbook air.
4. Is kapton tape really necessary on latest sintech adapter for sheilding from metal connector?
Thnks in advance
Thats not what I said
1. If you have a 2015+ model; pop in any Apple SSD to have it run out of the box. SSPOLARIS drives will require that your bootrom is sufficiently up-to-date to support NVMe drives.
2. If you have a 2015+ model; pop in any NVMe SSD drive with the correct Sintech adapter and it will run out of the box. The same bootrom requirement is applicable as (1)
3. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in an Apple SSD with the SSUA or SSUBX serial-prefix to have it run out of the box. No hibernation issues occur as these are not NVMe drives. No bootrom requirements are applicable here.
4. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in an Apple SSPOLARIS NVMe drive. These require your bootrom to be sufficiently up-to-date to boot. Now hibernation will not work correctly unless the following is done:
a. You must patch your bootrom with an updated NVMe driver taken out of a 2015 MBP. Search the thread for instructions. This requires a hardware programmer to flash the bootrom. Once you have the bootrom patched; you will be able to native hibernation (i.e. as if you've got a 2015 MBP)
b. You can workaround the hibernation issue by simply turning it off via pmset. The downside is increased battery usage when 'sleeping'.
5. If you have a pre-2015 model; pop in any NVMe drive with the correct Sintech adapter. These require your bootrom to be sufficiently up-to-date to boot. Now hibernation will not work correctly unless the following is done:
a. You must patch your bootrom with an updated NVMe driver taken out of a 2015 MBP. Search the thread for instructions. This requires a hardware programmer to flash the bootrom. Once you have the bootrom patched; you will be able to native hibernation (i.e. as if you've got a 2015 MBP)
b. You can workaround the hibernation issue by simply turning it off via pmset. The downside is increased battery usage when 'sleeping'.
Hi i have few questions about upgrading ssd to macbook air 13” early 2015
1. Can we upgrade future mac OS softwares directly to newly replaced ssd without the need of original apple ssd?
2. Will bootcamp for installing windows 10 work fluently as on original apple ssd?
3. Is there any way to install heat sink on third party ssd, Bcoz heat sink itself requires at least 5mm space in macbook air.
4. Is kapton tape really necessary on latest sintech adapter for sheilding from metal connector?
Thnks in advance
You're on an Air 2013 right? Have you flashed it? If not, what pmset options did you use?
Yep, Air 2013, I did not patch my boot ROM (yet, I'm considering it). I tried using the default settings because some people in this thread got their hibernation issues magically solved with that drive+adapter combo but I guess they got lucky. First morning after overnight sleep on battery, it did wake up from hibernation without any loss of battery, though after around 5 hours of sleep in the afternoon, it got stuck on the login screen.
Since I need a stable system for the next week, I went with the usual pmset -a standby 0 autopoweroff 0 hibernatemode 0 for now. Still, surprisingly low standby drain.
The idle power consumption of the SX8200 is really low so I suppose that's why I only lose 1-2% overnight. Active usage battery life has also improved drastically compared to the Evo 960 I used before.
iStatMenu reports around 0.14 to 0.18 Amps on idle and around 0.5 Amps on moderate to high read/write operation, not sure whether that's accurate though.
Edit: With a rough calculation, it seems that the drive gets put to an even lower power state in sleep. Even with 0.14A, that would mean it should drain aroun 3,6 Wh overnight. Considering the MBA2013 55Wh battery, that would mean a loss of roughly 6%, which is, coincidentally, around what my Evo 960 drained overnight if not more. I will keep an eye on it, but since 3 nights now, I have never lost more than 2%.
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I used the long adapter, it has a better reputation.
My post #1999 has links and other info for MBPr 13" Early 2015.
Forgive my ignorance but I rather double check and 87 pages a lot to read.
i have a 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro, I'm running high Sierra and will be until Nvidia drivers get updated. but that means my boot ROM should be good enough to do the upgrade?
I'm wanting to upgrade to Intel 660p 2tb as it's on sale at Newegg in canada
I also hear i should use the new Sintech adapter either rev. B or C.
I'm assuming C would be preferred over B?
I just want to make sure I buy the correct things.
also I know SSD's are forecasted to be even cheaper, I know Samsung Evo would perform better and black Friday is just around the corner, but does anyone know how the Intel 600P compares to the original SSD on the retina MacBook Pro?
I want to decide whether it would be worth waiting or if I should pull the pin.
thanks
i have a 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro, I'm running high Sierra and will be until Nvidia drivers get updated. but that means my boot ROM should be good enough to do the upgrade?
I'm wanting to upgrade to Intel 660p 2tb as it's on sale at Newegg in canada
I also hear i should use the new Sintech adapter either rev. B or C.
I'm assuming C would be preferred over B?
I just want to make sure I buy the correct things.
also I know SSD's are forecasted to be even cheaper, I know Samsung Evo would perform better and black Friday is just around the corner, but does anyone know how the Intel 600P compares to the original SSD on the retina MacBook Pro?
I want to decide whether it would be worth waiting or if I should pull the pin.
thanks
Hi Spammer wanna be a douche that gets reported keep doing what your doing :/
OK - in system report what is the Link Speed of your NVMe. Also are you running the latest bootrom? Latest bootrom on a late-2013 mbp is MBP111.0146.B00; you can google what the latest one for your particular model is or search the forum. Also where did you buy the sintech adapter from? The majority of users here in the forum use the sintech revision c. adapter (i.e. the long black one) and we get full speeds. I get around 1400mb r/w on my intel 760p 512gb
You should really search this thread for your answers. There is a search tool you know! To summarise:
1. So long as you are fully updated on High Sierra; then yes you will be OK.
2. Check you are running the latest bootrom; google to make sure you are.
3. Buy the long Sintech adapter; best source is their official website (sintech.cn) - airmail takes 1-2 weeks; took a week to London for example
With regards to which NVMe, the best ones to use would be either the Intel 760p or the ADATA SX8200. The Samsung Evo 970 are great for performance (better than both the Intel & ADATA) but it does huge a significant amount of power and heat; compared to the Intel & ADATA.
Hi all , I have a MacBook Air early 2014 13”.
I have bought a a syntech long version and waiting for delivery.
I am pairing this with an Adata 1tb sx1600.
I don’t have a donor mac in order to fix the boot rom in order for it not to have any hibernate issues.
Does anyone know if the bootrom mod is still required with BootROM: 140.0.0.0.0 ?
Thanks
I have bought a a syntech long version and waiting for delivery.
I am pairing this with an Adata 1tb sx1600.
I don’t have a donor mac in order to fix the boot rom in order for it not to have any hibernate issues.
Does anyone know if the bootrom mod is still required with BootROM: 140.0.0.0.0 ?
Thanks
Hello everyone, im new here from Canada. i checked some post and i hear people work OK with Intel660p. I'm going to buy a Intel 660p 2TB with the NGFF black long stick.
My MBP is 15" mid 2014
Model identifier MacBookPro11,2
Boot ROM: MBP1120.0146.B00
OS: macOS High Sierra 10.13.6
here are what i going to buy:
Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 2TB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEKNW020T8X1
https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820167461
http://eshop.sintech.cn/mobile/ui/product.php?id=1229&s=3079229714028
or
http://a.co/d/44uSJo6
i believe it is the same one between amazon and sintech, do you know how much for the shipping? i doesnt say it on the websiet and paypal in the final.
Do i have to buy a heatsink for the intel 660p SSD and is it the correct NGFF i need? Do i have to update the bootROM? any user have successful install the SSD with NGFF or recommendation before i go ahead?
Thank you so much
My MBP is 15" mid 2014
Model identifier MacBookPro11,2
Boot ROM: MBP1120.0146.B00
OS: macOS High Sierra 10.13.6
here are what i going to buy:
Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 2TB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEKNW020T8X1
https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820167461
http://eshop.sintech.cn/mobile/ui/product.php?id=1229&s=3079229714028
or
http://a.co/d/44uSJo6
i believe it is the same one between amazon and sintech, do you know how much for the shipping? i doesnt say it on the websiet and paypal in the final.
Do i have to buy a heatsink for the intel 660p SSD and is it the correct NGFF i need? Do i have to update the bootROM? any user have successful install the SSD with NGFF or recommendation before i go ahead?
Thank you so much
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@Trunkz I have bootrom MBP111.0146.B00 which seems to be the latest version for MacBook Pro 13" 2014. I bought the adapter directly from Sintech.cn as I always do. Still the write speed is terrible. The long black Sintech adapter gives even worse speed than the short green. See attached images. What more can I do to get better write speeds?OK - in system report what is the Link Speed of your NVMe. Also are you running the latest bootrom? Latest bootrom on a late-2013 mbp is MBP111.0146.B00; you can google what the latest one for your particular model is or search the forum. Also where did you buy the sintech adapter from? The majority of users here in the forum use the sintech revision c. adapter (i.e. the long black one) and we get full speeds. I get around 1400mb r/w on my intel 760p 512gb
You should really search this thread for your answers. There is a search tool you know! To summarise:
1. So long as you are fully updated on High Sierra; then yes you will be OK.
2. Check you are running the latest bootrom; google to make sure you are.
3. Buy the long Sintech adapter; best source is their official website (sintech.cn) - airmail takes 1-2 weeks; took a week to London for example
With regards to which NVMe, the best ones to use would be either the Intel 760p or the ADATA SX8200. The Samsung Evo 970 are great for performance (better than both the Intel & ADATA) but it does huge a significant amount of power and heat; compared to the Intel & ADATA.
The Intel 660p is not as hot as the Samsung EVO 960/970. I never had problems without a heatsink. Anyway I don't think you have room for a heatsink. I tried this one and there was not enough room since it builds height. It says 3mm but I feel it is more:
http://eshop.sintech.cn/cooling-heatsink-for-m2-ngff-2280-sm951-sm961-960pro-nvme-ssd-p-1195.html
I just installed Intel 760p that is much cooler than anything I tested before.
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