What is the best value NVME SSD for my Macbook Book Pro Retina 13" (Mid 2014)?

Hi,


I got the basic Macbook Book Pro Retina 13" (Mid 2014) with the stock 128gb SSD (attached is a screenshot of my current SSD speed). This machine has served me really well for almost 6 years. I believe now is a good time to upgrade the hard drive. The prices for NVME SSDs came down a lot over the last few years. I really don't need a lot of storage. Double the storage will do me well. I would like however max out the read and write speed of my machine. Now I can't find any information on how much the maximum write and read speed the MacBook Pro (Mid 2014) supports. I read that the 2015 models are easier to upgrade and/or support higher speeds but it's a bit confusing. I think it has something to do with PCIe 3 for the 2015 model and PCIe 2 for the 2014 but I don't know too much about it.


I found two helpful videos on youtube that show the write and read speed for the Mid 2014 and early 2015 MacBook Pro. One is with a Samsung Evo 970 and the other is a Evo 960. Both show around 1500 mb/s for write and read. So it seems that this is pretty much the most they support since the Evo 970 should be able to support speeds up to 3500mb/s.


This is the first video of the 2014 MacBook Pro with the Samsung Evo 970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOxfuDSmXRg


This is the second video with the 2015 MacBook Pro and Samsung Evo 960.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p145wGFNfPY&t=1133s


I have found 2 SSDs on ebay that seem to be a good fit for my Mac.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Samsung-256GB-Laptop-SSD-Solid-State-Drive-PCIe-NVMe-MZVLW256HEHP-MZ-VLW2560/184083552278?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

This one is a Samsung PM961 with 256gb for only $52 AUD. I have read that this one is pretty much the same as the Samsung EVO 960 for a cheaper price.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Genuine-Samsung-PM981-M-2-2280-NVMe-256GB-SSD-Solid-State-Disk-AU-MZVLB256HAHQ/143276573386?hash=item215bf302ca:g:nb4AAOSw~5dcS6NR

The other option would be the Samsung P981 with 256gb for $79 AUD. This one is pretty much the same as the Samsung EVO 970.


Now which SSD should I decide on and does the MacBook smoothly support either of them? I would decide on the cheaper option if there is not much difference in speed.

Should I maybe wait a few more months until the new NVME SSDs are going to be revealed? I don't think it will make much of a difference for my machine though. I have read that there can be problems with the hibernation after upgrading to a NVME SSD. Any thoughts?

Thank you for your support.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Feb 22, 2020 10:51 PM

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What is the best value NVME SSD for my Macbook Book Pro Retina 13" (Mid 2014)?

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