is there any SSD difference in 2014 rmbp and rmbp 2015?

Hi all ...

Can anyone explain to me the difference between the SSD in the 2014 mid rmbp and early 2015 early rmbp?
*both 13"

I assume the bus is faster in the 2015, but:

1. Can you swap the drive between them?

2. Is the "connector" the same? or does it take an adapter?

3. Do they use the same type of SSD?


I'm going to look for a cheap replacement of the 250 gb ssd in my 2015 rmbp.

Cheapest would be to swap the 500 one from my 2014 macbook pro to the 2015 and visa versus.

Otherwise I'll go hunting for an adapter and a good cheap disk for it.

Thank you all, for the always great inputs

My recollection is that the 2015 MacBook Pros had SSDs that are twice the speed of the 2014 models.

pshufd said:

My recollection is that the 2015 MacBook Pros had SSDs that are twice the speed of the 2014 models.

Thank you, I should go hunting for one of those then ...
What low power drives and adapters do ppl advice for such an old machine these days?

Besides that though, would it be able to plug it in and run with it anyways?
It would just be slower (less lanes) or is it another adapter / drive?

Everymac confirms:

Compared to its predecessor, this model looks nearly identical externally, but it has a more advanced processor and architecture, more advanced graphics processor, faster RAM, a faster SSD, and a higher capacity battery as well as the aforementioned more advanced "Force Touch" trackpad.

pshufd said:

Everymac confirms:

Compared to its predecessor, this model looks nearly identical externally, but it has a more advanced processor and architecture, more advanced graphics processor, faster RAM, a faster SSD, and a higher capacity battery as well as the aforementioned more advanced "Force Touch" trackpad.

MacBook Pro 13-Inch "Core i5" 2.7 Early 2015 Specs (Retina Early 2015 13", MF839LL/A*, MacBookPro12,1, A1502, 2835): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro 13-Inch "Core i5" 2.7 Early 2015. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

Click to expand...

There is a thread in this forum about how to replace/upgrade the SSDs in the Retina MacBook Pros. It is not as straightforward as just replacing the NVMe SSD with another one.

It's the second sticky thread at the top.

pshufd said:

Everymac confirms:

Compared to its predecessor, this model looks nearly identical externally, but it has a more advanced processor and architecture, more advanced graphics processor, faster RAM, a faster SSD, and a higher capacity battery as well as the aforementioned more advanced "Force Touch" trackpad.

MacBook Pro 13-Inch "Core i5" 2.7 Early 2015 Specs (Retina Early 2015 13", MF839LL/A*, MacBookPro12,1, A1502, 2835): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro 13-Inch "Core i5" 2.7 Early 2015. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

Click to expand...

Sure perhaps it can still run with the older / slower ssd though?

Or perhaps it can just take more advantage of the drive?
Not sure if it's the drive or lanes that is the limiting factor?

pshufd said:

There is a thread in this forum about how to replace/upgrade the SSDs in the Retina MacBook Pros. It is not as straightforward as just replacing the NVMe SSD with another one.

Well I know if you just use a non mac ssd you need an adapter.
But since these are all mac ssd's, should they not be able to use the same drives then?

I mean faster drives might benefit the 2015 but not 2014; so I will look for a faster low energy drive.
But in theory ... if I was happy with the drive speed of the 2014, perhaps it could use it?

pshufd said:

It's the second sticky thread at the top.

is that not for 2013/2014, machines?

Heliotropen said:

Well I know if you just use a non mac ssd you need an adapter.
But since these are all mac ssd's, should they not be able to use the same drives then?

I mean faster drives might benefit the 2015 but not 2014; so I will look for a faster low energy drive.
But in theory ... if I was happy with the drive speed of the 2014, perhaps it could use it?

I don't know the details - this is just from forum threads that I've read in the past. I actually have both 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros but they are 15-inch models but I think that they use the same SSDs as their respective 13 inch models. The 2014 and 2015 are both quite similar. There are some small differences but I don't notice them in actual use.

Heliotropen said:

is that not for 2013/2014, machines?

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 having started this thread.
This post has now been converted by MacRumors administrators to the present wiki post you are reading.

pshufd said:

I don't know the details - this is just from forum threads that I've read in the past. I actually have both 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros but they are 15-inch models but I think that they use the same SSDs as their respective 13 inch models. The 2014 and 2015 are both quite similar. There are some small differences but I don't notice them in actual use.

There is a difference between 13" and 15" ... as I recall 15" is twice as fast in the bus as the 13" 2015, the 2015 twice as fast as the 13" 2014 and 2013.

Sadly the 15" size is not useable for me, I need something more mobile and also have my Imac for really heavy stuff.

My logic is that since all seems to be adviced to use the same

Sintech adapter for the "fake" drives; then the "connector" should be identical... that is the 2014 should fit into the 2015 physically ... *sadly I'm not sure*
(might even to the 15" as well).

Since I have the macbook 2014 13" 500 SSD drive lying around, I wonder how much faster it would be to buy a Sintech adapter and an NVME? ... *perhaps someone in here knows?*

yyzguy said:

https://eshop.macsales.com will have definitive answers

Thank you that guide: Seems to sell the same drives to all of these, so they should be compatible with each other right?

Heliotropen said:

Thank you that guide:

SSD Upgrades for 2013, 2014, and 2015 MacBook Pro

Upgrade the SSD of any 2013-2015 MacBook Pro for up to 16x the capacity of the original factory drive. Kit includes all tools needed for DIY installation.

eshop.macsales.com

Seems to sell the same drives to all of these, so they should be compatible with each other right?

Click to expand...

You can find an Apple original SSD on eBay for about $70.

Check the photos for the following: Model: MZ-JPV5120/0A4
SSUBX next the capacity
Try to find a 2016 or 2017 unit (date below the QR), probably newer with fewer hours

diego.caraballo said:

You can find an Apple original SSD on eBay for about $70.

Check the photos for the following:
View attachment 2039232

Model: MZ-JPV5120/0A4
SSUBX next the capacity
Try to find a 2016 or 2017 unit (date below the QR), probably newer with fewer hours

Thats really cool ... would be my best option I think.
Though I'm not sure they deliver fast to Denmark, I guess I have to go and see.

1. Does the 2016-2017 units use the same connector / pins?
2. Is the 2016-2017 as low energy consuming? (heat / battery) or more preforming?

diego.caraballo said:

You can find an Apple original SSD on eBay for about $70.

Check the photos for the following:
View attachment 2039232

Model: MZ-JPV5120/0A4
SSUBX next the capacity
Try to find a 2016 or 2017 unit (date below the QR), probably newer with fewer hours

The one from my 2014 macbook pro is obviously also an Apple original.

I read something once that they are more optimized for the cpu? so the cpu preform better with an original.

Anyways: how much slower would my Apple original 2014 SSD be compared to this one?

The 2015 13" moved to a PCIe 2.0 x4 bus for the SSD (formerly had a 2.0 x2). The 2015 15" moved to a PCIe 3.0 x4 bus.

Heliotropen said:

Thats really cool ... would be my best option I think.
Though I'm not sure they deliver fast to Denmark, I guess I have to go and see.

1. Does the 2016-2017 units use the same connector / pins?
2. Is the 2016-2017 as low energy consuming? (heat / battery) or more preforming?

The 2016+ models are all soldered storage - you can't swap it out.