In the basic configuration McaBook Pro Apple sets hard drives to 5400 rpm. And their performance with modern operating systems Mac systems OS X (10.6-10.8) leaves much to be desired. And it’s not for nothing that Apple is gradually but confidently moving to installing everything laptops ssd drives.
We think it's time to make your favorite MacBook even better. You just need to install an SSD drive in it. And so that you are not confused by the limited capacity of the ssd, you can install a second one hard drive in place of the DVD drive.
What laptop models is this solution suitable for? — Yes, to almost all MacBooks and MacBook Pros except MacBook Pro Retina
| SSD 120Gb | SSD 240Gb | SSD 500Gb | SSD 1Tb | SSD 2Tb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,000 rub. | 12,000 rub. | 20,000 rub. | 55,000 rub. | RUB 94,600 |
In laptops, a combination of read/write speeds from/to the hard drive at a disk spindle speed of 5400 rpm. does not even reach 50 Mb/sec. A 7200 rpm disk will revive your MacBook almost twice: the read/write speed can fluctuate between 80...105 MB/sec.
It is worth noting that there are also hybrid hard drives from Seagate on the market, which feature a 7200 rpm hard drive with a 16 MB data cache and an 8 GB SSD drive. With such a “combined” disk, the read/write speed can increase by another 5-7% compared to regular disk at 7200 rpm.
The read/write performance of SSD drives varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and from model to model. In addition, prices for SSD drives have still not reached a level comparable to conventional ones hard drives. The price is gradually falling, and even top-end ssds with a capacity of 500 and 960GB are approaching $1 per 1GB of storage.
Since Mac OS X is a very compact operating system, and comes with most necessary programs The total volume on the disk usually does not exceed 30-50GB. You can safely look at an ssd with a capacity of 120GB or more.
Although, in our opinion, it is already worth considering an ssd with a capacity of 180GB or more.
Precisely because the volume of the ssd in combination with its price limits the majority of users in choosing using ssd- We invite you to consider the option high speed ssd and good capacity hdd installed in place of the DVD drive.
For upgrade Apple MacBook Pro 2011-2012 model year, we will need 3 screwdrivers: torx 6, torx 8 and a Philips 00 or 000 Phillips screwdriver.
Remember! Before disassembling any device, you should remove any residual static electricity from yourself.
On the bottom cover, unscrew 10 screws, 3 of which are longer.
This is what the MacBook Pro 13 looks like from the inside
Before changing anything in the laptop configuration, you MUST disconnect the battery from the motherboard. We don’t want to start a repair with you and replace the system board after a short circuit, do we?
In place of the standard “slow” hard drive install the ssd drive and we can old disk put it in optibay in place of the DVD drive. In our case, we set in Optibey new disk with a capacity of 750GB at 7200 revolutions, in order to increase the speed when accessing user data, which we plan to store on the hdd.
Unscrew the two screws on the plate that holds the hard drive.
We transfer 4 screws (torx 8) around the perimeter of the “old” hard drive to the SSD drive.
We install the ssd in place of the system disk and secure it with a bracket and two screws.
We install the hard drive into the Optibay and be sure to screw it on the back side with two screws.
Remove the optical drive.
We need to disconnect 5 cables.
We do this very carefully.
Disable
- hard drive cable
- optical drive cable
- WiFi cable
- camera cable
- speaker cable
Unscrew the speaker and disconnect the antennas from Wi-Fi module and put the speaker aside.
DVD superdrive. Unscrew the three screws and pull it out.
We rearrange the data cable and mounting bracket from the DVD drive to optibay, observing the direction in which the bracket is installed.
We install optibay with a hard drive in place of the DVD drive.
We reinstall the plastic speaker bar and connect the antennas to the Wi-Fi module.
We connect the cables and cables to the system board in reverse order. And connect the battery.
Close and screw the bottom cover.
Installing the system from external boot drive or through the system Mac recovery OS X via the Internet (using the Cmd+R combination when booting the computer).
Now, at the owner's disposal, very fast Apple MacBook Pro 2011: the system itself and all programs launch several times faster than with a standard hdd. The system responds instantly. With a significant number of applications open, there are no freezing or freezing of the “spinning colored candy.” Programs that use work data caching work with large files without any delays. And when processing very large amounts of information, the execution time was reduced (according to the owner of the laptop) by 2-3 times.
It is worth noting once again that the hard drive is limited by the physical ability to read/write to spinning metal plates. Therefore his " throughput» does not exceed 115 Megabytes/sec. (at best). There are no mechanical elements in the ssd, so the read/write speed on the ssd can reach 550 megabytes/sec. There is an option to theoretically increase this value to 1.2 Gigabytes/sec., but for this you need to use an external hardware RAID array that is NOT a system drive connected at best via a Thunderbolt bus of 10 Gigabit/sec (or 1.25 Gigabyte/sec .) and exchanging data with another similar RAID array via the same Thunderbolt bus.
If you are an Apple owner Mac Pro— you can install four or more SSD drives, make a large RAID array (but keep in mind that it will not be hardware, but software, if you do not use a special RAID controller). And even in this case, you can achieve theoretical data transfer rates of up to 750 Megabytes/sec (which corresponds to a data transfer speed of 6 Gigabit/sec via the sata bus).
In the next article we will tell you how to make Fusion Drive yourself on Apple laptop with two or more hard drives installed. And how, in our practical opinion, does Fusion Drive differ from the operation of a conventional SSD+HDD combination.
The article was prepared based on the results of repair work at the MacFix Service Center.
The cost of installing an SSD on a MacBook in our service center
| SSD 120Gb | SSD 240Gb | SSD 500Gb | SSD 1Tb | SSD 2Tb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,000 rub. | 12,000 rub. | 20,000 rub. | 55,000 rub. | RUB 94,600 |
Fair, not overpriced and not underestimated. There should be prices on the Service website. Necessarily! without asterisks, clear and detailed, where technically possible - as accurate and concise as possible.
If spare parts are available, up to 85% of complex repairs can be completed in 1-2 days. Modular repairs require much less time. The website shows the approximate duration of any repair.
Warranty and responsibility
A guarantee must be given for any repairs. Everything is described on the website and in the documents. The guarantee is self-confidence and respect for you. A 3-6 month warranty is good and sufficient. It is needed to check quality and hidden defects that cannot be detected immediately. You see honest and realistic terms (not 3 years), you can be sure that they will help you.
Half the success in Apple repair is the quality and reliability of spare parts, so a good service works directly with suppliers, there are always several reliable channels and your own warehouse with proven spare parts for current models, so you don’t have to waste extra time.
Free diagnostics
This is very important and has already become a rule of good manners for service center. Diagnostics is the most difficult and important part of the repair, but you don't have to pay a penny for it, even if you don't repair the device based on its results.
Service repairs and delivery
Good service We value your time, which is why we offer free shipping. And for the same reason, repairs are carried out only in the workshop of a service center: they can be done correctly and according to technology only in a prepared place.
Convenient schedule
If the Service works for you, and not for yourself, then it is always open! absolutely. The schedule should be convenient to fit in before and after work. Good service works on weekends and holidays. We are waiting for you and working on your devices every day: 9:00 - 21:00
The reputation of professionals consists of several points
Company age and experience
Reliable and experienced service has been known for a long time.
If a company has been on the market for many years and has managed to establish itself as an expert, people turn to it, write about it, and recommend it. We know what we are talking about, since 98% of incoming devices in the service center are restored.
Other service centers trust us and refer complex cases to us.
How many masters in areas
If there are always several engineers waiting for you for each type of equipment, you can be sure:
1. there will be no queue (or it will be minimal) - your device will be taken care of right away.
2. you give to Macbook repair an expert in the field of Mac repairs. He knows all the secrets of these devices
Technical literacy
If you ask a question, a specialist should answer it as accurately as possible.
So that you can imagine what exactly you need.
They will try to solve the problem. In most cases, from the description you can understand what happened and how to fix the problem.
A solid state drive (SSD) has many advantages over a regular hard drive (HDD) - it is faster, more reliable and takes up less space during installation. But the choice specific model of a particular manufacturer almost always ends with the words “all are the same, I’ll take the one that’s cheaper.”
When choosing an SSD for Mac, you need to know what type solid state drives generally exist and what is suitable in your case. And we will help in this matter.
Why install an SSD at all?
- SSD is faster than HDD - read/write speed increases significantly. This speeds up system loading, launching and working with applications. For example, we took the MacBook Pro 15″ 2009:
- SSD is more reliable than HDD - in case of falls and impacts, the probability of SSD failure is much less, since the drive has no moving parts inside, unlike HDD
Which SSDs can be installed in Mac
There are two types of SSDs that come in Macs: the 2.5-inch format and Apple's proprietary format, which is very similar to the M.2 form factor. The first type is the most common, which is what all solid-state drive manufacturers focus on. Such disks are universal and can be installed in any computer (where there is room for it).
In the case of Apple computers, a 2.5″ solid-state drive can be installed in:
- MacBook (late 2008 – mid 2010)
- MacBook Pro 13″ Unibody (mid 2009 – mid 2012)
- MacBook Pro 15″ (early 2006 – mid 2012)
- iMac (early 2006 – late 2015)
- Mac mini (late 2005 – late 2012)
Storage in MacBook Air starting from 2008, it can also be replaced, however, an SSD of a proprietary form factor is installed in this laptop model. Apple also began using this format in the MacBook Pro with Retina display(since 2012). There are much fewer such drives on the market, they are more expensive, and they also differ depending on the year of manufacture and model of the MacBook. In most cases, owners simply replace proprietary SSDs with the same ones, but with an increased capacity. This is what these drives look like: 
What is the difference between SSDs from different manufacturers?
Solid state drives may differ in write/read speed, reliability, stated service life and, accordingly, price. UiPservice specialists recommend drives from two manufacturers for installation: Intel and Samsung. Here's why:
- Reliability tests show that Intel and Samsung drives are among the most durable on the market
- components from these manufacturers are used by Apple itself
- not all SSDs can function adequately on a Mac, while Intel and Samsung drives work without errors and do not cause the system to freeze
- optimal price-quality ratio
In the case of drives of a proprietary form factor, which are installed in MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with a Retina display, there is also a choice: original components from Apple (more expensive), drives from Transcend and OWC (cheaper). Drives from Transcend and OWC can come with an optional case that turns the internal SSD drive into an external USB drive. Also, depending on the MacBook model and year of manufacture, SSDs from Transcend and OWC may differ slightly from the original ones in read/write speed.
How much does it cost to install an SSD in UiPservice
It all depends on what kind of Mac you have and how much storage you need - it requires less time and skill than, for example, a 2015 iMac. In addition, prices for SSD drives change regularly - you can find out the latest information from UiPservice managers: in Messenger on the website or by phone.
Good to know: about preparation and correct setting systems on SSD-equipped Apple computers.
Long live SSD
In the utility, you just need to unlock access by entering the system password and activate the TRIM switch. After this, the computer will reboot and we will no longer need the Chameleon SSD Optimizer program.
By the way, having rummaged through the utility settings, you can find disabling the Sudden Motion Sensor, disabling hibernation and prohibiting dump creation RAM. Theoretically, these options extend the life of the drive, but it has long been proven that the impact of these processes on the drive is extremely small and will not greatly affect shared resource solid state SSD.
2. Connect an external drive
If 128 or 256 gigabytes SSD drive and it will not be enough for you, and this is really not enough for the majority active users, you should think about purchasing external hard disk. A house will be enough, but there will be a financial issue.
You can stop at buying a simpler external drive or. The easiest option is to use a USB flash drive as storage for not the most necessary files. Now models with 64 and even 128 gigabytes are cheaper than leather cases for iPhone 6. We recommend purchasing them, it won’t be worse.
3. Set up work with NTFS
When working with external drives, sooner or later you will have to face file system NTFS. By default in OS X, files in NTFS system you can read, but not change or add new ones. It’s better to prepare for this in advance so that at the most inopportune moment the Mac does not refuse to work normally with an “unfriendly” flash drive created in the Windows ecosystem.
All ways to do this have already been collected and described in a separate section. There are free options.
4. Transfer backups to an external drive
It’s not for nothing that we suggested connecting an external drive or flash drive. Alternatively, you can place a system backup on them.
To do this, go to the Time Machine settings and select a location for backups on removable media. That's it, no need to splurge on a Time Capsule.
5. Transfer Photos and iTunes Libraries
If the size of the connected disk allows, then following backup copy you should transfer your iTunes and Photos data there. Active users of these services sooner or later create a huge media library that takes up a decent amount of space on the hard drive.
To make the transfer correctly and not lose anything, follow our instructions for changing the location and .
6. Monitor free space
To prevent a small SSD drive from turning into a trash heap, you need to regularly clean it. Of course, you can manually open all dubious folders and delete everything unknown at your own peril and risk, but it is better to trust specialized applications.
The utility is perfect for visually displaying occupied space. At first glance, it will become clear what exactly is eating up the precious space.
7. Connect cloud storages
If the SSD volume and external drive still not enough, they will come to help cloud storage. For some, the native iCloud will be enough, others will add Dropbox and Google Drive, and someone will not stop and register in the Mail.ru and Yandex clouds.
Each service has a separate client for OS X with the ability to selectively synchronize. You can disable it altogether and only upload data to remote server, and then delete them from the Mac. Send to the cloud those files that you need least often - if necessary, you can always download them back.
8. Keep an eye on your Downloads folder
This directory most often eats up precious space on the SSD drive. To prevent this from happening, we regularly sort out what we downloaded and put everything in the right place - on external drives or to the cloud. You can entrust this process to the utility.
In this simple way, you can get used to the small size of your hard drive and work comfortably with it. Remember the main principle - the less memory in your computer, the more order it has;)
TRIM on Mac: Apple OEM drives only
We already know that SSDs write data in 4KB blocks. The process of moving data, deleting obsolete data, and using the freed space for new data uses larger blocks. This process is known as “garbage collection” and is typical for any SSD.
The problem is that SSDs and operating systems don't usually communicate closely. When you delete a file, the OS marks the space occupied by the corresponding data as free, but the drive itself knows nothing about this. After some time, a lot is formed free space(from the point of view operating system), which the SSD considers as still occupied with the necessary data. And only when the OS gives a command to write information to a block that is filled with data, the SSD finally figures out that this data is no longer needed. Up to a certain point, such data fragments are scattered throughout the entire volume of the drive (the so-called “garbage collection points”, garbage collection), slowing down the operation of the drive and wearing out free NAND memory cells.
This is where the TRIM team comes into play. When a file is deleted, the operating system sends a TRIM command to the SSD, marking such sectors as free. In this situation, the drive “knows” that it does not need to perform “garbage collection” on these sectors.
Of course, TRIM support must be present at several different levels. The drive, controller, and operating system must be compatible. Fortunately, the process of creating an ecosystem to support the implementation of the TRIM command began quite a long time ago. Windows 7 Windows Server 2008, Linux, OpenSolaris, FreeBSD and OS X all have TRIM support.
But just because the combination of hardware and software supports TRIM does not mean that the command will always work. In the case of latest versions Windows is lucky for us because we deal with open operating systems that provide wide compatibility. But Apple is not so friendly. It allows you to use TRIM only on your OEM drives, while the feature is disabled if you install a third-party SSD after purchasing a Mac.
The ways to get around this artificial limitation are not secret. IN this review We will show our readers one of these methods, after which we will conduct several tests to ensure its effectiveness.
Test SSD: Samsung 840 Pro
Unlike the MacBook Air, which requires a proprietary SSD form factor (such as OWC's Aura Pro 6G + Envoy), the MacBook Pro offers greater flexibility: you can use a 2.5-inch SSD. This makes it possible to use any drives that support different controller technologies and firmware versions. Samsung 840 Pro is a good example for today's test. It's one of the fastest SSDs we've ever tested, and as a result, it's what we use in all of our test bench configurations. However, the 840 Pro does not support SandForce/LSI's DuraWrite technology, does not benefit from data compression in speed, and its controller uses its own "garbage collection" technology. In the case of the Aura Pro drive for MacBook Air, the manufacturer says that enabling TRIM is not required: the drive is based on a SandForce/LSI controller, and DuraWrite technology eliminates the need to use TRIM at the hardware level. In fact, everything is not entirely true, since DuraWrite and TRIM are rather complementary technologies that complement each other. One way or another, when using Samsung 840 Pro on MacBook Pro, we have more reason to enable the TRIM command.
Although Samsung recently introduced new 840 EVO, which should soon replace the “regular” SSD 840, the older model 840 Pro is still the flagship in the line. Let us remind you that this drive is based on its own S4LN021X01-8030 NZWD1 controller and uses the SATA 6 Gb/s interface for data transfer. In models 840 and 840 EVO A 3-bit NAND cell (Tri Level Sell - TLS technology) is used, which affects reliability and performance. But Pro-series drives are based on the familiar MLC memory, produced on the basis of 21-nm technology.
Technical Samsung specifications 840 Pro
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Model | 840 Pro |
| Serial number | MZ-7PD256 |
| Form factor | 2.5" (7 mm) |
| Capacity | 256 GB |
| Price | $240 |
| Controller | Samsung MDX |
| NAND memory type | 21nm MLC Toggle-mode |
| Sequential read/write speed | 540 / 520 MB/s |
| Random read/write performance (4 KB, queue depth = 32), IOPS | 100,000 / 90,000 |
| Volume of reserved space (over-provisioning) | 0,07 |
| Cache | 512 MB |
| Interface | SATA Gbit/s |
| Add-ons | Samsung Magician software |
| Guarantee | Five years |
TRIM Enabler, test system and software
Again, Apple supports TRIM through OS X, but only when you use one of the OEM drives that come with your computer. As soon as you replace a particular drive, TRIM is disabled. We've heard horror stories about enabling TRIM using third party utilities, and it is for this reason that we decided to check the result on our own experience.
Luckily, Apple's restrictions on third-party SSDs aren't too restrictive from a hardware standpoint. There are some manipulations that need to be done to meet Apple's SSD requirements, but the procedure is .
This time, in order not to waste time, we decided to try the utility right away TRIM Enabler. It is as easy as possible to use. In the program, you just need to move the slider from left to right - and you're done. One caveat to keep in mind is that when updating the operating system, you will likely need to repeat this procedure again.
Before using TRIM Enabler, you must enable an option in the system settings that allows you to install software of any origin, and not just those available through App Store or certified developers.
Test system and software
We use a MacBook Pro as our test system. More specifically, we are talking about the most compact model of the eleventh generation, introduced in mid-2012, also known as the 9.2-inch MacBook Pro.
Initially, the laptop is equipped hard drive with a capacity of 500 GB, which we took out and placed in an external box with a USB 3.0 interface. Its place in the laptop case was taken by the Samsung 840 Pro SSD drive. The system would boot from the original hard drive.
| Apple MacBook Pro | |
| Model | MacBook Pro |
| Model number | MacBookPro9,2 |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-3210M |
| Clock frequency | 2.5 GHz |
| Number of cores | 2 |
| L2 cache (per core) | 256 KB |
| Shared L3 cache | 3 MB |
| Memory | 4 GB |
| System hard drive | Seagate ST500LM012 (500 GB; 5400 rpm) |
Test software
We'll put the Samsung 840 Pro through two rounds of benchmark tests. Firstly, we will perform complete cleaning drive - for this task, the secure erase procedure is used, which instructs the controller to clear all blocks on the disk. Then we bring the drive to the state in which it was at the time of sale, that is, in this state it had the highest possible performance. We'll then run the first round of tests, which involves running AJA System Test and DiskTester twice without using TRIM. This provides a clear comparison of the performance of a fresh drive out of the box and a drive that has been used for quite a long time under standard everyday load.
In the second round of testing, we will repeat the secure erase procedure again, and then run the set of benchmarks twice again with the TRIM command enabled. Thus, in total we get four results:
- TRIM disabled, first test run (out of the box state).
- TRIM disabled, second test run (drive after active use).
- TRIM is enabled, first test run (out of the box state).
- TRIM is enabled, second test run (drive after active use).
Here is a detailed report on the test progress:
- Installing TRIM Enabler and restarting the MacBook Pro is only for the second round.
- Fully fill the drive with data using DiskTester three times to simulate a used SSD.
- Fully filling the SSD drive with video files.
- Break 30 minutes.
- Running the AJA System Test benchmark (test file size 16 GB).
- Running the DiskTester benchmark (block sizes 4 KB and 8 KB).
