Upgrading hard drive and memory for MBP Mid 2012

[thinhpham]

Hello everyone,

I want to upgrade my MacBook Pro mid 2012 using 5400 rpm hard drive to an SSD and buy an optibay for the current hard drive, and also upgrade it's RAM, but I don't have much experience in hardware and have a few things still unclear:

1. Do optibays have SATA 2 and SATA 3 difference? I have checked that the interface of the DVD drive is SATA 3 (it says 6 Gbps in the System Report), do I need to find a correct optibay?
2. I have read some articles on the internet about a terminal trick that combines an SSD and a HDD to create a DIY Fusion drive. Does that trick really work, or it's just a myth? Has anyone here tested yet?
3. I have read about the different between DDR3 and DDR3L RAM, many people say DDR3L RAM will work fine with DDR3 socket. But how can I test whether I buy the DDR3L RAM and get cheated by the seller? Every piece of information I found only said that I can check via the DDR3L label sticked on the RAM. Can I check that inside the Mac OS itself?

Thank you,

 

[hallux]

I would not put the platter drive in the Optibay, I would put the SSD there.

2 reasons for this -
Less work. You say you're not horribly technically inclined, only having to remove the optical drive and install the optibay adapter and SSD in its place is much less work
You don't lose SMS (sudden motion sensor) protection on the platter drive. If you move the platter drive to the optical bay you won't have that protection.

The optical bay in your Mac will support SATA-3, the OptiBay is not much more than a pass through. I do see multiple items listed on Amazon, with different model compatibility, as long as it says it works with yours you should be fine.

Installing memory is probably the simplest of tasks you could do (besides booting the computer). Take your time, BE CAREFUL, follow a how-to and make sure you note where the longer screws are supposed to go (usually 2-3 if I recall). Just make certain the notches in the memory modules line up with the nibs in the socket. I have a Corsair Vengeance memory kit in my 2015, and have for 4 years. I don't believe it's DDR3L but it still works perfectly fine.

 

[thinhpham]

hallux,

You don't lose SMS (sudden motion sensor) protection on the platter drive. If you move the platter drive to the optical bay you won't have that protection.

Thanks for this advice, I didn't know this.

For memory, I am looking for different sources to get cheaper price, most of the resellers are selling their stuff online. I just want a way to check if the RAM I buy is DDR3L or not, because DDR3L costs more than DDR3, and I don't want to get cheated and spend more money for DDR3.

 

[hallux]

If you're looking for 16 GB of RAM, this is the kit I have that has been working fantastically in my 2012 15 MBP since 2012:
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory at Amazon.com

Here's the DDR3L version of the same kit. This memory actually has better timings than the non-L version and might be worth the $2 premium
Corsair Vengeance Performance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3L 1600MHz PC3 12800 Laptop Memory Kit at Amazon.com

There's also an 8 GB kit if you want to save some money and don't plan to max out the memory in the future. You can also buy one 8 GB module and upgrade to 16 GB later on but that will cost you $20 more in total.


As for checking within the OS. I don't believe there is a way. I have DDR3L in my Mini but it reports the same in System Report as the DDR3 in my MBP.