MacBook Pro upgrade 500gb SSD to 1TB?

Question

I have a 15 inch MacBook Pro from 2011 with a 500gb hard drive that I want to upgrade to 1TB or the largest thing I can get in there. I have an iTunes collection of 100GB and an aperture photo collection of 300GB and growing. I am using an external 1TB drive but find it cumbersome. Can I send out the computer to Apple to get a larger drvie put in? How do I do this and how big of a drive can I install? Is it worth it?Hardware Overview:  Model Name:          MacBook Pro  Model Identifier:          MacBookPro8,2  Processor Name:          Intel Core i7  Processor Speed:          2.3 GHz  Number of Processors:          1  Total Number of Cores:          4  L2 Cache (per Core):          256 KB  L3 Cache:          8 MB  Memory:          8 GB  Boot ROM Version:          MBP81.0047.B27  SMC Version (system):          1.69f3  Serial Number (system):          C0*******F91  Hardware UUID:         ****  Sudden Motion Sensor:  State:          EnabledAPPLE SSD TS512C:  Capacity:          500.28 GB (500,277,790,720 bytes)  Model:          APPLE SSD TS512C                          Revision:          CJAA0201  Serial Number:                  21D******LOZ  Native Command Queuing:          No  Removable Media:          No  Detachable Drive:          No  BSD Name:          disk0  Medium Type:          Solid State  TRIM Support:          Yes  Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)  S.M.A.R.T. status:          VerifiedMaximum Speed:          Up to 800 Mb/secGoFlex Mac:  Manufacturer:          Seagate  Model:          0x60F4  GUID:          0x2037600169F42F  Maximum Speed:          Up to 800 Mb/sec  Connection Speed:          Up to 800 Mb/sec  Sub-units:GoFlex Mac Unit:  Unit Software Version:          0x10483  Unit Spec ID:          0x609E  Firmware Revision:          0x111  Product Revision Level:          111  Sub-units:GoFlex Mac SBP-LUN:  Capacity:          1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)  Removable Media:          Yes  BSD Name:          disk5  Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)  S.M.A.R.T. status:          Not Supported  Volumes:disk5s1:  Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)  BSD Name:          disk5s1  Content:          EFI1TB Firewire Drive:  Capacity:          999.86 GB (999,860,912,128 bytes)  Available:          434.17 GB (434,171,924,480 bytes)  Writable:          Yes  File System:          Journaled HFS+  BSD Name:          disk5s2  Mount Point:          /Volumes/1TB Firewire Drive  Content:          Apple_HFS  Volume UUID:          75BD11D6-6571-3201-A377-1A8D9419351B&lt;Edited By Host&gt;

Ralph Landry1 · Answer

First, if you can edit out the serial number of your computer, not a good idea to publish that on an open forum.Next, Apple does not normally do post-purchase upgrades of hardware...you can install the hard drive yourself without affecting any warranty/AppleCare you might have.  Good source is the Mac specialist OWC, where they even have on-line videos of how to do the installation.

samberl · Answer

If you do not use the DVD optical drive and are your MBP is out of warranty, you can switch the optical drive for a second HDD.A dual drive setup will give you a max of 2tb of internal storage.

Courcoul · Answer

And as far as I can tell, the largest SSD devices, costing half an arm, are in the 512GB size. Conventional HDDs, costing a fifth or less, can indeed be had in 1TB sizes.As for the installation, the standard user manual in the current models even give you detailed instructions on the task. If you go the samberl route and remove the optical drive, the adapter you&#x27;ll need to hold the storage drive in its stead should come with instructions too.

sunblock90 · Answer

ok. I see that the new apple retina display units have very large SSD in the 1tb range. I prefer to avoid the conventional HDD as slow and power hungry. It appears that it may be more economical to purchase the new 15" Macbook Pro.

samberl · Answer

You can install a 960gb SSD drive in your MBP. Look here.Your MBP already has a 512gb SSD. I would save my money and replace the optical drive with a 1tb HDD. The real benefits of a SSD are at startup and loading applications. The largest SSD drive on the retina-MBP is 768gb.

Courcoul · Answer

On the new Retinized MBPs and contrary to RAM &amp; battery, IFixIt.com discovered that the SSD component comes in a discrete card. It is not a true off-the-shelf SSD per se that you can subsitute directly, but at least it is not soldered or glued on. If these Macs continue to sell as they do, it would not be unreasonable for third party suppliers to begin offering some sort of rMBP-specific SSD cards.