Mce Ships 1tb Pcie Based Flash Storage Upgrade For Mac

OWC to Bring Aftermarket SF3700 PCIe SSD Upgrades to 2013 Macs. The only one I know ships with one is the Mac Pro. Samsung\'s XP941 based PCIe SSD used by Apple and several other PC.

Options to update the SSD in Late 2013 Mac Pro?Mac Pro has 256GB which is nearly full despite moving all large files (Photos, Downloads, etc) off the drive. I\'m at a point where updating the drive seems to be a must.OWC\'s option seems a bit of a kludge using a slower drive and a controller.MCETECH claims to use a new Apple authorized drive with proper Trim support and the ability to bootcamp to use Windows (important to me).There are eBay sellers which claim to use the current part in recent builds of the Late 2013 Mac Pro.andboth sellers have very high ratings but I\'m suspicious of eBay.The MCETECH seems to guarantee continued compatibility as it\'s an Apple part.Any thoughts or experiences with any of the above or other known good options?

Grant, it\'s not the external case. They\'re using a \'daughter\' card of some sort on the card. As lllaass notes below, their SSD is half the speed of Apple\'s. MCETECH and others are actually using Apple\'s Samsung supplied PCIe SSDs that run as fast as Apple\'s. My guess is that somehow they\'re buying from Samsung or someplace in the supply chain. Apple hasn\'t shut them down so I suspect it\'s all legit.I actually contacted OWC a while back about their SSD and they said that the OS sees it as an external drive which is why it wasn\'t bootcamp compatible (although they\'ve patched that).

I have the same question. I spent over 2 hours on 2 different calls to Apple Support in the past 10 days. I was trying to buy a 512 or 1024 SSD to replace my 256 in my Mac Pro and decided to try and get one from Apple.

Both calls resulted in me being told I could buy one, but only from an authorized Apple Servicer (NOT the Apple Store, btw). They even called 2 local servicer centers while I was on hold and verified this, so I was happily going to spend $600 to get a real 1024 Apple SSD that would be covered by Applecare.When I called to purchase though (2 different service centers), I was told that when they put my serial number into the computer to order the part from Apple, it would not let them order anything other than a 256 because that is what came with the computer.Does anyone know why Apple won\'t let folks get a larger SSD? And.

don\'t they tell you this when you buy a MacPro? I would have spent the $ for it when I bought if I had known I would be locked into the 256.One dealer suggested MCE so I checked them out and I will probably buy from them.I have been a big Apple user/supporter since 1992, but they continue to make it harder to want to stay with Apple. PC\'s are starting to look a lot more attractive to me.

Apple Footer.This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the efficacy of any proposed solutions on the community forums. Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site.

All postings and use of the content on this site are subject to the.

Hello all,I ended up popping for the 1TB SSD here:They\'re still doing a deal (it\'s normally $800, I saw $1150 or so at one point), and thought I would let you know the initial thoughts. The 512GB one is still $50 off at $449:An Apple reseller wanted over $1K for the 1TB drive alone (since it wasn\'t a replacement, think it was $1100), so that gives you an idea of the price to expect if you try to purchase the Apple drive.So, the 1TB is a PCIe 4.0, though I think the MBP 13\' can\'t use all four lanes because it\'s not a quad core (haven\'t bothered to check).Instructions are kinda crap, and so are the tools, so use ones you have. Command R to boot from Time Machine, and the restore is coming along. I\'ve benchmarked the old drive (guess which computer it was on ), and I\'ll post the before and after. In theory, performance should be about the same as the old one. On the specs page, I\'ve found that the advertised speed was the same as the old one.Anything you want me to check as a guinea pig, let me know.

Any sort of battery life comparisons would be tough, as I use it on the mains almost constantly and very stingy about using the battery to begin with.EDIT: Drive is up and running, but TRIM isn\'t enabled and their site says it should be. I have some speculation, but shot them an email. Hello,I am considering making financial investment to upgrade my Mid-2014 13\' Macbook Pro with Retina Display with the the MCE 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

This topic review was really helpful for me and has me leaning towards the MCE replacement over the OWC drives which offer the same space upgrade. Especially because of the Boot Camp support and Internal Drive Recognition advertised by MCE - 1TB is probably slightly more than I need (although I worry about 500GB being too small) and so it would be nice with the extra space to create a partition and utilize Bootcamp to install Windows for running certain programs/software I sometimes need.I am curious how your computer is running 10 months after the upgrade and if you have had any issues? Did you ever follow-up about the 4-lane drive compatibility with the 13\' macbook pro - would this cause me problems?The immediate improvements are impressive and I would definitely consider doing this upgrade, I just want to know how the drive held-up over time and if you think it was worth the price. If you did have any issues, were they resolved? How was customer support from MCE? Any other advice you could offer?Thanks! I can\'t speak for the 2014 line, but overall I\'ve been very satisfied so far.

Storage has been great, haven\'t noticed any speed issues, Bootcamp does work (though I don\'t spend as much time in it as I expected, my operational needs changed). The price seems a little steep right now, and I\'d wait until it was on sale.Honestly, overall I\'d wait a little while after High Sierra hits, as the APFS shift has me a little nervous. I think it\'ll be fine, but doesn\'t hurt to be safe.

I\'ll get a performance test running in a few minutes, so we\'ll see if there\'s anything different in the time span. Secretmanofagent, it\'s closing in on 2 years since your upgrade to the 1TB MCE.

How are things going for you?I ask because I am mulling the following 2TB MCE upgrade to replace my Apple 1TB SSD inside my 2015 15\' MacBook Pro:I wrote to MCE requesting benchmarks and the sent me the following Black Magic Disk Speed Test screenshot:MCE said they booted from an external drive and then ran Black Magic to get the most accurate results.There is an utter dearth of reviews on the MCE SSDs, so I am interesting in knowing how well you are faring after nearly 2 years. Yes, in theory a Samsung 970 EVO with adapter would work, but that is only theory until someone shows us what the caveats are, if any.

In contrast, the MCE SSD is built specifically for the 2015 15\' MacBook Pro and needs no adapter. The MCE costs $230 more than a 970 EVO with adapter, but we know it works. We also know that when we increase complexity (i.e., with an SSD and adapter), we increase risk that bad things could happen. That is why I still think the MCE 2TB is a valid option, at least until we hear user experiences that say the 970EVO + Adapter really works well in the long haul and won\'t increase temperatures above the stock Apple SSD. MCE said they booted from an external drive and then ran Black Magic to get the most accurate results.There is an utter dearth of reviews on the MCE SSDs, so I am interesting in knowing how well you are faring after nearly 2 years. Thanks.Amazing that it’s been almost two years! I’m guessing the performance will be different because the structure might be different, but my drive is going on strong as my daily work/main computer, no issues.

As full disclosure, the only thing I’ve seen is more that my boot-up takes a bit longer after an OS update, but I would attribute that more to CPU performance/OS than the drive. I might be having an SMC issue outside of the drive that might be the root cause (see below).

All of my tests (then and now) were done booting on the same drive.Read performance in the benchmark has definitely dropped a little but write is still the same (I honestly can’t remember if I had stress test as 5GB or 2GB, the one shown is 5GB), but I don’t know whether installing BootCamp would impact that (would have to discover if OS X does defragmentation) or if any of the OS updates have played a role, but I can say that I\'ve haven\'t seen a noticeable change in real-world performance. Kernel Task seems to interfere a bit with the testing after a few runs, and the fan doesn\'t seem to kick on when I think it should so I think that\'s impacting things. Spoiler for size, and direct link is here. Thank you for the helpful information!Since I already have a 1TB Apple branded SSD in my mid 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro, I of course am considering a 2TB internal SSD replacement. The 2TB OWC SSD costs $150 more than the MCE 2TB SSD, and my experience with a OWC SSD’s in the past it’s mixed. However, the OWC Envoy Pro enclosure is cheaper than the MCE enclosure (for the SSD you remove from your MacBook Pro):But if you read that OWC Envoy Pro webpage you’ll see a warning message that says you could possibly damage the OWC SSD if you put it in that enclosure!

They say that enclosure is only for the Apple SSD, which is totally weird and makes one think there must be a problem inherent to the OWC SSDs for that to be the case.Right now I’m torn between choosing the MCE 2 TB SSD or choosing the Samsung 970 EVO with adapter. The Samsung and adapter cost $230 less than the MCE.

That’s a huge price difference. Something interesting I discovered, seems they sell it on Amazon directly as well:This ugly link takes you to their reviews:So, you might be interested in some technical information, so I started poking more. The MCE drive I have in claims it\'s a Kingston SHPM2280P2/960G in the System Report, and I went into Bootcamp which says the same. This is then a HyperX Predator PCIe SSD.What I\'m concerned about is any firmware updates that are available, as I have never updated mine. I don\'t know of any utilities provided by MCE for firmware updates, either. On a scary whim, I installed the Kingston software in Bootcamp and started poking.

So, according to the software, this is the following:- No firmware updates are available- Failures/Warnings/Overall: None/None/Healthy- SSD life remaining is 98%- SSD Spare Blocks is 69%- Power On Hours = 33684880 (Which doesn\'t make sense. My guess is that\'s seconds, which is about 390 days which seems right.)The Evo seems to have an application by Samsung to update the firmware within the Mac, while Kingston doesn\'t.

It\'s definitely worth mentioning that this may just impact me, Kingston doesn\'t seem to have an equivalent 2TB option with that performance so I don\'t know offhand who they would use for it. It may be worthwhile to do the following:- Ask MCE how firmware for the drive you\'re looking at gets updated.- Ask MCE about the compatibility note they list about High Sierra. (\'Please Note: Your 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Mid 2015) must be updated to macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) prior to installation of this drive.\' ) The reason is this:- Try to figure out who they\'re using for the SSD.

I don\'t remember well enough for mine (I don\'t remember seeing an adapter), but it would be interesting to see if they\'re just rebranding things (and you can buy the actual one cheaper) or if they\'re actually doing something. I thought it was interesting that it was listed there and selling it directly (and did see the price difference). I checked CamelCamelCamel as well, and there haven\'t been any price changes that it\'s recorded. I looked back through my posts, and they did a sale on their site that extended to the beginning of December 2016. I THINK it was for Cyber Monday, so they might be doing that again if you\'re willing to wait a couple of months.

Curious to hear what they say about the firmware and High Sierra question. Mine\'s working just fine on High Sierra, and I had it installed before it.

After several days of patient waiting, I finally received a reply from MCE moments ago. The reason why it took this long was in part due to Monday being a Labor Day holiday in the US, and also in part to my contact at MCE taking another 2 days off after that. Here\'s is what I learned.1.

About Firmware Updaters. MCE said, \'We work with major SSD manufacturers in testing and qualifying our SSDs for compatibility on the Mac and once they\'re brought to market the firmware has been fully tested and is stable. For this reason there is no need for firmware updates. Firmware updates generally exist on the PC side as SSD manufacturers have to support so many different PC makers and logic board designs whereas on the Mac side we come out of the gate already supporting each of the different Mac systems compatible with a particular SSD.\'

About MacOS High Sierra Requirement. MCE said, \'Our NVMe based SSDs are only compatible with Macs running macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later because during the update to 10.13 Apple updated the EFI (BIOS) on those Macs to be able to recognize and utilize the newer NVMe interface.

A pre 10.13 Mac does not have the proper resources to use an NVMe based SSD and won\'t even recognize it.\' MCE\'s response to OWC\'s Warning Message (you can only put the Apple branded SSD in it, and putting an OWC SSD in it can damage the unit): \'Unfortunately, a USB enclosure is a far less complex device then a Mac computer. I\'m going to come to OWC\'s rescue here a little bit which is weird as they\'re a competitor of ours but the enclosure issue is actually a simple issue to understand. I don\'t know why they don\'t just explain this in their literature. Remember that the SSD from the MacBook Pro is PCIe-based. Now, a PCIe bus on a computer can support a myriad of different types of PCIe cards storage, communications, video, meaning that there are tons of different interfaces out there and a computer is advanced enough to be able to recognize what type of card and interface is connected to its PCIe bus and talk to them all and, if not, its EFI or BIOS can be updated so that it can. The USB chip inside the USB enclosure, however, cannot be updated.

To create an updatable version would be insanely expensive and those enclosures are already pricey! Therefore the USB chip inside the enclosure is locked into being able to support only PCIe SSDs with a particular version of AHCI interface that corresponds with the original Apple SSD because, at the end of the day, that is what will be housed by the enclosure.

An NVMe based SSD, although it goes into the same connector, has an entirely different command set than the previous AHCI SSDs and even the Mac had to be updated to be able to support it. There\'s no way to provide the same update to the USB enclosure which is why, although the two types of SSDs plug into the same connector, it will only work with the original Apple SSD. Hope that makes sense!\'

About whether or not the MCE 2TB PCIe SSD is a RAID Configuration. MCE said, \'Our 2TB SSD is not a RAID configuration. RAID infers that you are taking two (or more) discrete drives, each with its own controller, and combining them and using a RAID controller to manage those two separate drives to create a higher capacity drive. Our 2TB SSDs consist of two onboard 1TB NAND Flash chips and all I/O, data flow, etc. Is managed by one controller.\' I also mentioned the Samsung 970 EVO PCIe NVMe + Sintech NGFF M.2 PCIe SSD Adapter (for $719 total, $230 cheaper than the $949 MCE 2TB SSD) but MCE did not comment at all on that.

So it all comes down to who you trust more, MCE or Samsung & Sintech. Would an adapter with the Samsung cause problems? Has anyone used that setup successfully in a 2015 15\' MBP? That\'s really the topic to ponder so as to decide which to buy.

But $230 is no small change.Thoughts? Yes, in theory a Samsung 970 EVO with adapter would work, but that is only theory until someone shows us what the caveats are, if any. In contrast, the MCE SSD is built specifically for the 2015 15\' MacBook Pro and needs no adapter. The MCE costs $230 more than a 970 EVO with adapter, but we know it works. We also know that when we increase complexity (i.e., with an SSD and adapter), we increase risk that bad things could happen. That is why I still think the MCE 2TB is a valid option, at least until we hear user experiences that say the 970EVO + Adapter really works well in the long haul and won\'t increase temperatures above the stock Apple SSD.There\'s a big thread on Macrumors about using the PCIe adapter.

I\'ve been spending some time in that, but it\'s not very helpful because the entire thread is for people who have MacBook Pro machines that are OLDER than my mid-2015 model. So most of my questions in that thread are going unnoticed or unanswered.Anyway, I asked MCE some additional questions which they answered today:1. MCE pre-formats their and also installs MacOS High Sierra. This makes it easy to transfer your data from a backup. If you buy another internal NVMe PCIe SSD solution, it would not come with these benefits.2.

If you purchase the MCE $89 external USB3 enclosure (so you can continue using the Apple-branded SSD you remove from your MBP), you can use CCC to clone the data from the external enclosure to your internal SSD via the following procedure:1) Remove Apple SSD from MBP.2) Put Apple SSD inside $89 enclosure.3) Put MCE 2TB SSD inside MBP.4) Close up everything and connect the $89 enclosure, then boot off the Apple SSD in the enclosure.5) Run CCC and clone the Apple SSD inside the enclosure to the 2TB SSD now inside the MBP.3. Even though you find some YouTube videos that show internal SSD upgrades for MacBook Pros and they disconnect the battery power BEFORE doing the SSD upgrade, MCE says they do NOT recommend disconnecting the battery. They feel it is not only unnecessary but also could cause other problems too.All said, even though the MCE 2TB solution costs $230 more than a Samsung EVO 970 2TB with adapter, you get a pre-formatted SSD from MCE that also has a bootable copy of MacOS High Sierra, and you don\'t need to worry about connectivity issues with an adapter (which is a problem described by some people in that MacRumors discussion thread). Apple too, uses Toshiba & Samsung as supplier for memory chips. In the past they were the PM/SM series (IIRC)The formfactor/adapter could be any kind of 1st or 3rd party solution but make no mistake: you are paying for minor cosmetic changes that should not be hard to track down to DIY.

Brands like this very often don\'t do anything at all but source from China so you don\'t have to.One of the things to always be on the lookout for when it comes to (computer) hardware is which manufacturers actually produce core components. You\'d be surprised how little there are. You can save yourself a lot of money tracking down serials on components, same goes for general electronics & household equipment.Example: i had to replace a display on a synthesizer: cost via industry \'brands\': $70Actual cost buying the LCD component: $3 This is a display used by 4 different brands in a few dozen devices.Producing goods is amazingly expensive, a lot of brands use & reuse components across their entire line. They do 1 base design & change small parts and sometimes the packaging to suggest a totally different product. I appreciate your advice and fully understand what you are saying. But the fact remains that the Apple SSDs, OWC SSDs and MCE SSDs are the only SSDs that will fit internal to a MacBook Pro without an adapter. I suggest you read through some of that MacRumors thread (now 80 pages long) about people having issues with the adapters.

OWC to Bring Aftermarket SF3700 PCIe SSD Upgrades to 2013 Macs. The only one I know ships with one is the Mac Pro. Samsung\'s XP941 based PCIe SSD used by Apple and several other PC.

Options to update the SSD in Late 2013 Mac Pro?Mac Pro has 256GB which is nearly full despite moving all large files (Photos, Downloads, etc) off the drive. I\'m at a point where updating the drive seems to be a must.OWC\'s option seems a bit of a kludge using a slower drive and a controller.MCETECH claims to use a new Apple authorized drive with proper Trim support and the ability to bootcamp to use Windows (important to me).There are eBay sellers which claim to use the current part in recent builds of the Late 2013 Mac Pro.andboth sellers have very high ratings but I\'m suspicious of eBay.The MCETECH seems to guarantee continued compatibility as it\'s an Apple part.Any thoughts or experiences with any of the above or other known good options?

Grant, it\'s not the external case. They\'re using a \'daughter\' card of some sort on the card. As lllaass notes below, their SSD is half the speed of Apple\'s. MCETECH and others are actually using Apple\'s Samsung supplied PCIe SSDs that run as fast as Apple\'s. My guess is that somehow they\'re buying from Samsung or someplace in the supply chain. Apple hasn\'t shut them down so I suspect it\'s all legit.I actually contacted OWC a while back about their SSD and they said that the OS sees it as an external drive which is why it wasn\'t bootcamp compatible (although they\'ve patched that).

I have the same question. I spent over 2 hours on 2 different calls to Apple Support in the past 10 days. I was trying to buy a 512 or 1024 SSD to replace my 256 in my Mac Pro and decided to try and get one from Apple.

Both calls resulted in me being told I could buy one, but only from an authorized Apple Servicer (NOT the Apple Store, btw). They even called 2 local servicer centers while I was on hold and verified this, so I was happily going to spend $600 to get a real 1024 Apple SSD that would be covered by Applecare.When I called to purchase though (2 different service centers), I was told that when they put my serial number into the computer to order the part from Apple, it would not let them order anything other than a 256 because that is what came with the computer.Does anyone know why Apple won\'t let folks get a larger SSD? And.

don\'t they tell you this when you buy a MacPro? I would have spent the $ for it when I bought if I had known I would be locked into the 256.One dealer suggested MCE so I checked them out and I will probably buy from them.I have been a big Apple user/supporter since 1992, but they continue to make it harder to want to stay with Apple. PC\'s are starting to look a lot more attractive to me.

Apple Footer.This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the efficacy of any proposed solutions on the community forums. Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site.

All postings and use of the content on this site are subject to the.

Hello all,I ended up popping for the 1TB SSD here:They\'re still doing a deal (it\'s normally $800, I saw $1150 or so at one point), and thought I would let you know the initial thoughts. The 512GB one is still $50 off at $449:An Apple reseller wanted over $1K for the 1TB drive alone (since it wasn\'t a replacement, think it was $1100), so that gives you an idea of the price to expect if you try to purchase the Apple drive.So, the 1TB is a PCIe 4.0, though I think the MBP 13\' can\'t use all four lanes because it\'s not a quad core (haven\'t bothered to check).Instructions are kinda crap, and so are the tools, so use ones you have. Command R to boot from Time Machine, and the restore is coming along. I\'ve benchmarked the old drive (guess which computer it was on ), and I\'ll post the before and after. In theory, performance should be about the same as the old one. On the specs page, I\'ve found that the advertised speed was the same as the old one.Anything you want me to check as a guinea pig, let me know.

Any sort of battery life comparisons would be tough, as I use it on the mains almost constantly and very stingy about using the battery to begin with.EDIT: Drive is up and running, but TRIM isn\'t enabled and their site says it should be. I have some speculation, but shot them an email. Hello,I am considering making financial investment to upgrade my Mid-2014 13\' Macbook Pro with Retina Display with the the MCE 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

This topic review was really helpful for me and has me leaning towards the MCE replacement over the OWC drives which offer the same space upgrade. Especially because of the Boot Camp support and Internal Drive Recognition advertised by MCE - 1TB is probably slightly more than I need (although I worry about 500GB being too small) and so it would be nice with the extra space to create a partition and utilize Bootcamp to install Windows for running certain programs/software I sometimes need.I am curious how your computer is running 10 months after the upgrade and if you have had any issues? Did you ever follow-up about the 4-lane drive compatibility with the 13\' macbook pro - would this cause me problems?The immediate improvements are impressive and I would definitely consider doing this upgrade, I just want to know how the drive held-up over time and if you think it was worth the price. If you did have any issues, were they resolved? How was customer support from MCE? Any other advice you could offer?Thanks! I can\'t speak for the 2014 line, but overall I\'ve been very satisfied so far.

Storage has been great, haven\'t noticed any speed issues, Bootcamp does work (though I don\'t spend as much time in it as I expected, my operational needs changed). The price seems a little steep right now, and I\'d wait until it was on sale.Honestly, overall I\'d wait a little while after High Sierra hits, as the APFS shift has me a little nervous. I think it\'ll be fine, but doesn\'t hurt to be safe.

I\'ll get a performance test running in a few minutes, so we\'ll see if there\'s anything different in the time span. Secretmanofagent, it\'s closing in on 2 years since your upgrade to the 1TB MCE.

How are things going for you?I ask because I am mulling the following 2TB MCE upgrade to replace my Apple 1TB SSD inside my 2015 15\' MacBook Pro:I wrote to MCE requesting benchmarks and the sent me the following Black Magic Disk Speed Test screenshot:MCE said they booted from an external drive and then ran Black Magic to get the most accurate results.There is an utter dearth of reviews on the MCE SSDs, so I am interesting in knowing how well you are faring after nearly 2 years. Yes, in theory a Samsung 970 EVO with adapter would work, but that is only theory until someone shows us what the caveats are, if any.

In contrast, the MCE SSD is built specifically for the 2015 15\' MacBook Pro and needs no adapter. The MCE costs $230 more than a 970 EVO with adapter, but we know it works. We also know that when we increase complexity (i.e., with an SSD and adapter), we increase risk that bad things could happen. That is why I still think the MCE 2TB is a valid option, at least until we hear user experiences that say the 970EVO + Adapter really works well in the long haul and won\'t increase temperatures above the stock Apple SSD. MCE said they booted from an external drive and then ran Black Magic to get the most accurate results.There is an utter dearth of reviews on the MCE SSDs, so I am interesting in knowing how well you are faring after nearly 2 years. Thanks.Amazing that it’s been almost two years! I’m guessing the performance will be different because the structure might be different, but my drive is going on strong as my daily work/main computer, no issues.

As full disclosure, the only thing I’ve seen is more that my boot-up takes a bit longer after an OS update, but I would attribute that more to CPU performance/OS than the drive. I might be having an SMC issue outside of the drive that might be the root cause (see below).

All of my tests (then and now) were done booting on the same drive.Read performance in the benchmark has definitely dropped a little but write is still the same (I honestly can’t remember if I had stress test as 5GB or 2GB, the one shown is 5GB), but I don’t know whether installing BootCamp would impact that (would have to discover if OS X does defragmentation) or if any of the OS updates have played a role, but I can say that I\'ve haven\'t seen a noticeable change in real-world performance. Kernel Task seems to interfere a bit with the testing after a few runs, and the fan doesn\'t seem to kick on when I think it should so I think that\'s impacting things. Spoiler for size, and direct link is here. Thank you for the helpful information!Since I already have a 1TB Apple branded SSD in my mid 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro, I of course am considering a 2TB internal SSD replacement. The 2TB OWC SSD costs $150 more than the MCE 2TB SSD, and my experience with a OWC SSD’s in the past it’s mixed. However, the OWC Envoy Pro enclosure is cheaper than the MCE enclosure (for the SSD you remove from your MacBook Pro):But if you read that OWC Envoy Pro webpage you’ll see a warning message that says you could possibly damage the OWC SSD if you put it in that enclosure!

They say that enclosure is only for the Apple SSD, which is totally weird and makes one think there must be a problem inherent to the OWC SSDs for that to be the case.Right now I’m torn between choosing the MCE 2 TB SSD or choosing the Samsung 970 EVO with adapter. The Samsung and adapter cost $230 less than the MCE.

That’s a huge price difference. Something interesting I discovered, seems they sell it on Amazon directly as well:This ugly link takes you to their reviews:So, you might be interested in some technical information, so I started poking more. The MCE drive I have in claims it\'s a Kingston SHPM2280P2/960G in the System Report, and I went into Bootcamp which says the same. This is then a HyperX Predator PCIe SSD.What I\'m concerned about is any firmware updates that are available, as I have never updated mine. I don\'t know of any utilities provided by MCE for firmware updates, either. On a scary whim, I installed the Kingston software in Bootcamp and started poking.

So, according to the software, this is the following:- No firmware updates are available- Failures/Warnings/Overall: None/None/Healthy- SSD life remaining is 98%- SSD Spare Blocks is 69%- Power On Hours = 33684880 (Which doesn\'t make sense. My guess is that\'s seconds, which is about 390 days which seems right.)The Evo seems to have an application by Samsung to update the firmware within the Mac, while Kingston doesn\'t.

It\'s definitely worth mentioning that this may just impact me, Kingston doesn\'t seem to have an equivalent 2TB option with that performance so I don\'t know offhand who they would use for it. It may be worthwhile to do the following:- Ask MCE how firmware for the drive you\'re looking at gets updated.- Ask MCE about the compatibility note they list about High Sierra. (\'Please Note: Your 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Mid 2015) must be updated to macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) prior to installation of this drive.\' ) The reason is this:- Try to figure out who they\'re using for the SSD.

I don\'t remember well enough for mine (I don\'t remember seeing an adapter), but it would be interesting to see if they\'re just rebranding things (and you can buy the actual one cheaper) or if they\'re actually doing something. I thought it was interesting that it was listed there and selling it directly (and did see the price difference). I checked CamelCamelCamel as well, and there haven\'t been any price changes that it\'s recorded. I looked back through my posts, and they did a sale on their site that extended to the beginning of December 2016. I THINK it was for Cyber Monday, so they might be doing that again if you\'re willing to wait a couple of months.

Curious to hear what they say about the firmware and High Sierra question. Mine\'s working just fine on High Sierra, and I had it installed before it.

After several days of patient waiting, I finally received a reply from MCE moments ago. The reason why it took this long was in part due to Monday being a Labor Day holiday in the US, and also in part to my contact at MCE taking another 2 days off after that. Here\'s is what I learned.1.

About Firmware Updaters. MCE said, \'We work with major SSD manufacturers in testing and qualifying our SSDs for compatibility on the Mac and once they\'re brought to market the firmware has been fully tested and is stable. For this reason there is no need for firmware updates. Firmware updates generally exist on the PC side as SSD manufacturers have to support so many different PC makers and logic board designs whereas on the Mac side we come out of the gate already supporting each of the different Mac systems compatible with a particular SSD.\'

About MacOS High Sierra Requirement. MCE said, \'Our NVMe based SSDs are only compatible with Macs running macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later because during the update to 10.13 Apple updated the EFI (BIOS) on those Macs to be able to recognize and utilize the newer NVMe interface.

A pre 10.13 Mac does not have the proper resources to use an NVMe based SSD and won\'t even recognize it.\' MCE\'s response to OWC\'s Warning Message (you can only put the Apple branded SSD in it, and putting an OWC SSD in it can damage the unit): \'Unfortunately, a USB enclosure is a far less complex device then a Mac computer. I\'m going to come to OWC\'s rescue here a little bit which is weird as they\'re a competitor of ours but the enclosure issue is actually a simple issue to understand. I don\'t know why they don\'t just explain this in their literature. Remember that the SSD from the MacBook Pro is PCIe-based. Now, a PCIe bus on a computer can support a myriad of different types of PCIe cards storage, communications, video, meaning that there are tons of different interfaces out there and a computer is advanced enough to be able to recognize what type of card and interface is connected to its PCIe bus and talk to them all and, if not, its EFI or BIOS can be updated so that it can. The USB chip inside the USB enclosure, however, cannot be updated.

To create an updatable version would be insanely expensive and those enclosures are already pricey! Therefore the USB chip inside the enclosure is locked into being able to support only PCIe SSDs with a particular version of AHCI interface that corresponds with the original Apple SSD because, at the end of the day, that is what will be housed by the enclosure.

An NVMe based SSD, although it goes into the same connector, has an entirely different command set than the previous AHCI SSDs and even the Mac had to be updated to be able to support it. There\'s no way to provide the same update to the USB enclosure which is why, although the two types of SSDs plug into the same connector, it will only work with the original Apple SSD. Hope that makes sense!\'

About whether or not the MCE 2TB PCIe SSD is a RAID Configuration. MCE said, \'Our 2TB SSD is not a RAID configuration. RAID infers that you are taking two (or more) discrete drives, each with its own controller, and combining them and using a RAID controller to manage those two separate drives to create a higher capacity drive. Our 2TB SSDs consist of two onboard 1TB NAND Flash chips and all I/O, data flow, etc. Is managed by one controller.\' I also mentioned the Samsung 970 EVO PCIe NVMe + Sintech NGFF M.2 PCIe SSD Adapter (for $719 total, $230 cheaper than the $949 MCE 2TB SSD) but MCE did not comment at all on that.

So it all comes down to who you trust more, MCE or Samsung & Sintech. Would an adapter with the Samsung cause problems? Has anyone used that setup successfully in a 2015 15\' MBP? That\'s really the topic to ponder so as to decide which to buy.

But $230 is no small change.Thoughts? Yes, in theory a Samsung 970 EVO with adapter would work, but that is only theory until someone shows us what the caveats are, if any. In contrast, the MCE SSD is built specifically for the 2015 15\' MacBook Pro and needs no adapter. The MCE costs $230 more than a 970 EVO with adapter, but we know it works. We also know that when we increase complexity (i.e., with an SSD and adapter), we increase risk that bad things could happen. That is why I still think the MCE 2TB is a valid option, at least until we hear user experiences that say the 970EVO + Adapter really works well in the long haul and won\'t increase temperatures above the stock Apple SSD.There\'s a big thread on Macrumors about using the PCIe adapter.

I\'ve been spending some time in that, but it\'s not very helpful because the entire thread is for people who have MacBook Pro machines that are OLDER than my mid-2015 model. So most of my questions in that thread are going unnoticed or unanswered.Anyway, I asked MCE some additional questions which they answered today:1. MCE pre-formats their and also installs MacOS High Sierra. This makes it easy to transfer your data from a backup. If you buy another internal NVMe PCIe SSD solution, it would not come with these benefits.2.

If you purchase the MCE $89 external USB3 enclosure (so you can continue using the Apple-branded SSD you remove from your MBP), you can use CCC to clone the data from the external enclosure to your internal SSD via the following procedure:1) Remove Apple SSD from MBP.2) Put Apple SSD inside $89 enclosure.3) Put MCE 2TB SSD inside MBP.4) Close up everything and connect the $89 enclosure, then boot off the Apple SSD in the enclosure.5) Run CCC and clone the Apple SSD inside the enclosure to the 2TB SSD now inside the MBP.3. Even though you find some YouTube videos that show internal SSD upgrades for MacBook Pros and they disconnect the battery power BEFORE doing the SSD upgrade, MCE says they do NOT recommend disconnecting the battery. They feel it is not only unnecessary but also could cause other problems too.All said, even though the MCE 2TB solution costs $230 more than a Samsung EVO 970 2TB with adapter, you get a pre-formatted SSD from MCE that also has a bootable copy of MacOS High Sierra, and you don\'t need to worry about connectivity issues with an adapter (which is a problem described by some people in that MacRumors discussion thread). Apple too, uses Toshiba & Samsung as supplier for memory chips. In the past they were the PM/SM series (IIRC)The formfactor/adapter could be any kind of 1st or 3rd party solution but make no mistake: you are paying for minor cosmetic changes that should not be hard to track down to DIY.

Brands like this very often don\'t do anything at all but source from China so you don\'t have to.One of the things to always be on the lookout for when it comes to (computer) hardware is which manufacturers actually produce core components. You\'d be surprised how little there are. You can save yourself a lot of money tracking down serials on components, same goes for general electronics & household equipment.Example: i had to replace a display on a synthesizer: cost via industry \'brands\': $70Actual cost buying the LCD component: $3 This is a display used by 4 different brands in a few dozen devices.Producing goods is amazingly expensive, a lot of brands use & reuse components across their entire line. They do 1 base design & change small parts and sometimes the packaging to suggest a totally different product. I appreciate your advice and fully understand what you are saying. But the fact remains that the Apple SSDs, OWC SSDs and MCE SSDs are the only SSDs that will fit internal to a MacBook Pro without an adapter. I suggest you read through some of that MacRumors thread (now 80 pages long) about people having issues with the adapters.