Can I run two 1tb ssd's in my Macbook Pro?

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Level 1

8 points

Can I run two 1tb ssd's in my Macbook Pro?

So I have had my 13 inch, late 2011 Macbook pro for a few years now.

I regularly use Photoshop, After effects and Premiere pro for personal use, but being a Multi skilled Engineering Apprentice moving onto my HNC, I'm gradually needing to use a number of windows only programs - (Autodesk inventor, Festo circuit design sim and various PLC simulators) meaning I'm looking into bootcamp/ a secondary PC.

Rather than go out and buy a completely new MAC, along with a PC I want to make this into the one laptop I have to lug around as I'm very mobile and like the portability of my macbook and I want hold onto it for a few more years.

My specs:

2.4 GHz Intel i5 Processor - (I know this isn't great but obviously I can't upgrade this without a new logic board and it'd be cheaper to buy a new MAC anyway)

16gb (2x8gb) of Apple certified RAM from Corsair - (Recently installed)

500gb SATA Disk

Intel HD Graphics 3000 512mb

I've been looking into my storage as I've nearly maxed out my HDD which is really slowing my MAC down (43.1 MB/s Write and 45.1 MB/s Read!! :O).

With number of uses I have for my macbook storage is becoming needed more and more, so I plan on purchasing a Nifty Mini drive with a 128gb Micro SD for photos/ videos etc along with a 1tb M550 Sata 6Gb/s from Crucial to speed things up.

I also come across the DATA doubler (Optical drive to SSD/ HDD) and wanted to know if I could run a secondary 1tb SSD with maximum performance from both and if it's actually worth it, as it's something I'd really like to do.

The SSD's are £250 each which is considerably cheaper than two new laptops with the specs I'm aiming for. I'd also rather spend more to have the max amount of storage - as like I said, I plan on keeping it for a few more years and with the exception of the outdated processor, I want the ultimate macbook pro for my uses.

By running two 1tb SSD's I can have large amount of space on my bootcamp partition along with great speeds from both OS's.

Look forward to your responses.

Thanks

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Aug 2, 2014 10:55 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 2, 2014 11:04 AM in response to bestmx

Replacing the HDD with SSD will certainly speed things up when I/O is involved. Cannot speed up the processing of data when everything resides in memory. Only max memory, which you already have, can help there.

Replacing the optical drive with another SSD will work and give more internal storage, but, and a big BUT, the secondary SSD will not be running at the same speed as the primary. The optical drive bus speed is lower than the primary bus speed. So, you will gain storage, and it will be fast, but not as fast as your primary SSD.

Keep in mind also, the thermal load of all of those extra chips...they do take energy, i.e., battery/line power, and they do produce heat. How is the heat load of your system now with the applications you run? If you have a lot of heat, a lot of fan operation, it will be even more with all of those chips added.

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Answer 2

bestmx Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 2, 2014 11:47 AM in response to Ralph Landry1

Where I had the original RAM and my HDD being relatively filled for a while, I typically stick to only running three main apps at any given time - Chrome, iTunes and the individual app I'm working in, along with background apps like air display and boom, so I'm never really overworking my system.

When I work on larger files at home, I am looking to move across to a twin monitor display (thunderbolt to hdmi + USB to hdmi), which is obviously more to process, however, with a vertical stand in front of my ThermalTake cool touch fan, the macbook will have a considerable amount of airflow to keep it cool and as I'm sure you're aware, there is the safety net in the form of presets in place to shutdown your mac when it is going to overheat.

I currently have my macbook on my lap (the fan isn't kicking in) and my temps are:

CPU - 65°C

Battery 32°C

Disk - 38°C

And I'm running the above apps along with Photoshop cs6, so I don't think that is bad at all considering there's restricted air flow and there are people who are running there MACs frequently of temperatures up to at 80°C.

Thanks for the advice and insight though, I really appreciate it.

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Answer 3

Aug 2, 2014 12:44 PM in response to bestmx

With that kind of thermal load you should be fine in that regard. The CPU thermal design temp is about 100 C so you have plenty of margin with your usage. And the disk temp will bw replaced by the SSD temp, whatever that turns out to be. Just check it when you do your work so you have an idea of what is going on rather than get surprised. It looks like you should do pretty well.

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Answer 4

bestmx Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 3, 2014 8:27 AM in response to Ralph Landry1

How would you recommend doing the bootcamp? I plan on giving the Windows portion 500gb of storage, but should I run this of the primary or secondary SSD (or does it have to be primary?)

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Answer 5

Aug 3, 2014 8:32 AM in response to bestmx

BootCamp is installed on the primary system startup disk, but seeBoot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions for all of the info and links to the BootCamp Support page where all the manuals, etc., are located.

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Answer 6

Aug 3, 2014 8:38 AM in response to bestmx

By having a Data doubler, you can install 2nd SSD instead of you DvD drive as this will be recognising as HD. but the disadvantage you have is that the DvD drive place support SATA3 only and not SATA6 so you won't get that benefit from SATA6 SSD (even it will work but unstable as SATA4), but I knew that OWC have SATA3 SSD so you can check it out

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Answer 7

Aug 3, 2014 11:54 AM in response to bestmx

I think you should save some money and not buy a second SSD, but instead buy a second hybrid drive. It's significantly cheaper and will get the work done as the SSD(not literally though).

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Answer 8

Aug 3, 2014 12:58 PM in response to JaiJethani

I have a mid-2009 15" Macbook Pro and it is only capable of supporting SATA II, 3Gb/s connections. I have an SSD and it is ridiculously faster than a HDD. Just because your 2nd SATA connection can't run at SATA III (6Gb/s) doesn't mean an SSD running at 3Gb/s won't both please and delight you with its crazy speed. Just my 2¢.

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Answer 9

Aug 3, 2014 4:17 PM in response to rumpledoll

Hybrids Drives are MUCH faster than regular Hard Drives.

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Answer 10

Aug 4, 2014 5:49 AM in response to JaiJethani

I have a Seagate 1TB solid state hybrid drive in my son's computer, and it is indeed faster than a regular non-hybrid drive. However it is still absurdly slower than an SSD. It is great for getting a big boost in performance and a lot of space for less money, but a real SSD blows it away in performance.

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Answer 11

Aug 4, 2014 11:01 AM in response to rumpledoll

Indeed, that's absolutely correct. I never said they were faster than SSD's.

I gave him a recommendation in order to save some money if he wanted to.

😀

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