MacBook Pro Mid 2015 15" SSD upgrade advice

[noxxe]

Good day to everybody
I just bought above-mentioned MacBook, and it had only 256GB of storage. Guess I need 1 or 2 TB of storage for music production, and I would like to ask for advice: what SSD would you recommend? I have some options here, but I'm open to any other, really:
Kingston SNV2S
Western Digital Blue SN570
Netac N930E Pro
Colorful CN600
Which would be best in terms of power consumption, speed, reliability, but would not be an overkill? (Samsung looks great but is way too pricey)
Thanks

 

[Flow91]

Hi, there is a great thread on this forum about this topic. There you can find a table that indicates what SSDs are a good choice. I first chose a Samsung NVME SSD which was one of the fastest storages, but it ran very hot and drained the battery extremly fast. I then went for an Adata SX8200 - it doesn‘t have the same read/write-speeds, but it doesn‘t run too hot and it consumes the battery only a bit faster then the original SSD. It has been running reliably for three years now (daily use). I chose that SSD because it seemed suitable following the thread on this board. Unfortunately, I don‘t have the link anymore, but I‘m sure you‘ll find it.

 

[Flow91]

Upgrading 2013/2014 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

This thread is about upgrading MacBook Airs & Macbook Pros (2013-2015) with new high speed and/or high capacity NVMe SSDs. This thread was one of the first to talk about MacBook Pro NVMe SSD upgrades on Macrumors, and was started by user "maxthackray", which we can thank and give tribute for...

forums.macrumors.com

This is the thread.

 

[JamesMay82]

🤯 I didn't realise you could upgrade the internal on these? I went on crucial and they said they didn't anything for this model.

 

[Flow91]

You need an adapter, then it's possible for the MacBook Pro Retina 2012-2015.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Take time to examine all the potential drives very carefully.

BE AWARE that once you install -some- 3rd party drives, you may not be able to do firmware updates any longer. Possibly OS updates, as well.

In that case, the only solution is to put the factory-installed drive BACK IN.
THEN you can do the updates...

 

[noxxe]

Upgrading 2013/2014 Macbook Pro SSD to M.2 NVMe

This thread is about upgrading MacBook Airs & Macbook Pros (2013-2015) with new high speed and/or high capacity NVMe SSDs. This thread was one of the first to talk about MacBook Pro NVMe SSD upgrades on Macrumors, and was started by user "maxthackray", which we can thank and give tribute for...

forums.macrumors.com

This is the thread.

Thanks, a lot of useful information, but, unfortunately, most of the recommended ssd are no longer available, and, in some cases, were replaced by newer revisions (my conjecture: number one spot is taken by Crucial P2 which is said to have TLC type memory, but every store I checked it's QLC now), and there were some newer models released there is no information on compabilty about - Crucial P3, for example, which, people on internet say, is supposed to replace P2, but how much of it is truth?
Still thanks a lot, a lot of crucial information in that thread

 

[BenPratt]

Thanks, a lot of useful information, but, unfortunately, most of the recommended ssd are no longer available, and, in some cases, were replaced by newer revisions (my conjecture: number one spot is taken by Crucial P2 which is said to have TLC type memory, but every store I checked it's QLC now), and there were some newer models released there is no information on compabilty about - Crucial P3, for example, which, people on internet say, is supposed to replace P2, but how much of it is truth?
Still thanks a lot, a lot of crucial information in that thread

What did you end up going with?

 

[Macdctr]

Good day to everybody
I just bought above-mentioned MacBook, and it had only 256GB of storage. Guess I need 1 or 2 TB of storage for music production, and I would like to ask for advice: what SSD would you recommend? I have some options here, but I'm open to any other, really:
Kingston SNV2S
Western Digital Blue SN570
Netac N930E Pro
Colorful CN600
Which would be best in terms of power consumption, speed, reliability, but would not be an overkill? (Samsung looks great but is way too pricey)
Thanks

Go with the Western Digital Blue SN570 2TB NVMe M.2 storage drive. With a Syntech adapter you will see average read/write speeds on your Mid2015 15 inch MBP of around 2500mb/sec. This is what I am seeing with my Western Digital Blue SN570 2TB storage drive installed in my Mid2015 MBP.

The Western Digital storage drive is the best bang for the buck.

 

[BenPratt]

Go with the Western Digital Blue SN570 2TB NVMe M.2 storage drive. With a Syntech adapter you will see average read/write speeds on your Mid2015 15 inch MBP of around 2500mb/sec. This is what I am seeing with my Western Digital Blue SN570 2TB storage drive installed in my Mid2015 MBP.

The Western Digital storage drive is the best bang for the buck.

What about heat and battery usage? I'm having problems with these things using the timetec ssd I upgraded to. right now i'm less interested in speed.

 

[Macdctr]

What about heat and battery usage? I'm having problems with these things using the timetec ssd I upgraded to. right now i'm less interested in speed.

I have not done a statistical analysis of battery usage vs. temps using the Western Digital NVMe storage drive so I don't have accurate or precise numbers to add to this discussion however with that said, my usecase does not require me to constantly have my laptop out in the field so to speak so I have access to an AC receptacle whenever my battery levels get low and I can easily plug in to recharge my battery.

As for temps, I can say that they are manageable and I haven't noticed an excessive buildup in temps when using my laptop with the Western Digital storage drive. I can easily monitor temps within my laptop using the iStat Menus app. It also monitors battery usage over time and shows a graphic display of how the battery has been discharging when unplugged from an AC source.

 

[BenPratt]

I have not done a statistical analysis of battery usage vs. temps using the Western Digital NVMe storage drive so I don't have accurate or precise numbers to add to this discussion however with that said, my usecase does not require me to constantly have my laptop out in the field so to speak so I have access to an AC receptacle whenever my battery levels get low and I can easily plug in to recharge my battery.

As for temps, I can say that they are manageable and I haven't noticed an excessive buildup in temps when using my laptop with the Western Digital storage drive. I can easily monitor temps within my laptop using the iStat Menus app. It also monitors battery usage over time and shows a graphic display of how the battery has been discharging when unplugged from an AC source.

Thanks so much! Two follow up questions: 1. I assume I need an adapter with this. Should I get the full length on or the one that just goes on the end? 2. The SN570 is no longet available. Will the SN580 work as well?

 

[Macdctr]

Thanks so much! Two follow up questions: 1. I assume I need an adapter with this. Should I get the full length on or the one that just goes on the end? 2. The SN570 is no longet available. Will the SN580 work as well?

Get this while you can:

The Western Digital Blue SN 570 2TB open box:

WD Blue SN570 2TB NVME PCIE SSD WDS200T380C 0 write 100% good health 718037883854 | eBay

WD Blue SN570 2TB NVME PCIE SSD WDS200T380C 0 write 100% good health.

www.ebay.com

and the Syntech adapter needed to install the Western Digital NVMe SSD into your Mac (assuming it is a 2013 or later model):

Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card For Upgrade 2013-2015 MacBook Macs ST-NGF | eBay

Pls notice to insert card fully into SSD slot and you must prepare bootable USB disk(see third point) with High Sierra to format M.2 SSD first, it can't support recover from internet.

www.ebay.com

Get these items and you should be good to go.