MBP Internal SSD Upgrade

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Level 1

46 points

MBP Internal SSD Upgrade

For a mid 2012, MBP (9,1), 2.7GHz i7, I want to upgrade the internal SSD as it is running out of space. What has your experience been changing out the internal drive yourself and do you recommend any hardware?

I had put in a OWC Pro a few years ago and now need to upgrade. Although, I didn't suffer any data loss, the drive doesn't really seem to go very fast. So, I was going to have Apple put in one of their drives. But the 3 year AppleCare just ended last month and upon calling Apple they said that they will not upgrade the drive to a bigger one for me and neither do they seem to have a store where I may purchase a larger drive from and install my self.

Changing the drive had seemed simple enough that I can do it myself but on browsing the Support Forum I gather that non Apple drives won't have TRIM enabled by default (although I can run trimforce enable from Terminal).

From the attached image, how can I tell whether my computer has SATA 3 or just 2? Because if it does have 3 then I would like to install 850 PRO otherwise OWC Mercury Electra 3G.

Also, will the computer have any issues with a 2Tb drive?

Posted on Dec 10, 2017 9:54 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Dec 10, 2017 10:16 AM in response to belcantoCali

Your model supports SATA-III. You would want an SSD rated 6G. In your image see where it says 6 gigabits for the Link speed. Non-Apple drives can have TRIM enabled: How to enable TRIM on third-party SSDs in OS X. Your best choice is one of OWC's 6G models or look at SSDs from OCZ. Samsung's 850 should work.

The SSD you now have is fine. Unless it has failed there is little need to replace it unless you just need an SSD with a larger capacity. I believe your model can support 2TB SSDs if you can find and afford one. That is a lot of money to put into a computer that may not be worth the price of the SSD.

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Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,990 points

Dec 10, 2017 10:11 AM in response to belcantoCali

The values for "Link Speed" and "Negotiated Link Speed" you poster show that both your computer and current drive have the SATA III 6GB interface. Please see:

https://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8142/~/difference-between-sata-i% 2C-sata-ii-and-sata-iii

You do not want to install anything advertised as "3G" unless a slower computer is the goal! The OWC 3G models are, as I understand, for legacy Macs with slow SATA buses. Yours is not slow.

...on browsing the Support Forum I gather that non Apple drives won't have TRIM enabled by default...

I recently installed the 500GB SATA III OWC drive on my MacBookPro9,2 (2012 13-inch non-Retina) and am very happy. Recommendations from both OWC and people here said to not enable TRIM on that model--it apparently uses another technology to take care of that.

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Answer 3

kahjot

Level 4

2,462 points

Dec 10, 2017 10:16 AM in response to belcantoCali

I have a Sandisk SSD in my 2012 MacBook Pro, and it is pretty zippy. I have a Crucial SSD in another laptop, also nice and fast. The fact that you are running out of space could account for the slow performance of your system.

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Answer 4

Dec 10, 2017 10:12 AM in response to belcantoCali

Look for compatible SSD upgrade kits at OWC or Crucial.

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