Apple Compatible Solid-State Drive Upgrades
Shopping for the best SSD for Mac? Internal or external, there's a great range of SSD upgrades you can perform on your Macintosh desktop or MacBook laptop to bring it up-to-speed with high-performance storage.Upgrading MacBook Pro to SSD is the best move to boost Mac's performance. Now, almost all Macs including MAC Book Pro and MAC Book Air are coming with built-in Solid State Drives. Two years before, I shop around SSD for MacBook and finally end up with Samsung Pro 840 Pro SSD. Secure your critical data and projects with this titan gray Samsung T7 portable solid state drive. The slim, lightweight design easily fits in your bag or pocket, while the USB 3.2 interface offers blazing-fast. Last Updated: July 8, 2018 Upgrading MacBook Pro to SSD is the best move to boost Mac's performance. Now, almost all Macs including MAC Book Pro and MAC Book Air are coming with built-in Solid State Drives. Two years before, I shop around SSD for MacBook and finally end up with Samsung Pro 840 Pro SSD.
Mac Compatible SATA SSD's
For upgrading many legacy Mac's and MacBooks, a very affordable off-the-shelf 2.5' laptop-size 6Gbps SATA III SSD is the right choice. When used with a 2.5' to 3.5' drive adapter, sled, or tray it's also the right choice for older Mac Pro towers and iMac computers which used full-size 3.5 inch drives. They're also ideal for building a DIY external SSD Macintosh backup drive with a low-cost USB or Thunderbolt enclosure.#1 Choice: 2.5' Samsung SATA SSD For Mac
Delivers Peak Read / Write SSD Performance
Mac Compatible SATA & NVMe PCIe SSD Blades
For upgrades inside your Mac, you need CUSTOM PINOUT Apple compatible SSD modules. Companies like OWC, Fledging, MCE Technologies, and Dataram make Mac-specific SSD blades appropriate for your particular model/year of Macintosh laptop or desktop.Best Internal Ssd For Mac 2018 Download
Custom Apple M.2 PCIe SSDFor 2013-2016 Macs
For Apple users with modern Thunderbolt 3 equipped Macs, you can build your own SSD backup drive using standard pinout ultra-fast NVMe PCIe SSD modules and either a very affordable 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen2 USB-C enclosure or a costlier 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 drive case designed to hold standard M.2 form-factor solid-state modules. We reccomend the Western Digital Black or a Crucial P1 Series SSD blade.
For New Macs with USB-C Thunderbolt3 Ports
Enclosure For M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Blades
MacBook Compatible SSD's
From the original white MacBooks and early MacBook Pro's through around 2012, a standard 2.5' SATA SSD was generally an easy upgrade. As with other Mac's, solid-state modules supplanted standard drive form factors, first with custom M.2 SATA and then as by 2014, custom pinout PCIe NVME SSD modules. Adapters are available to convert a standard M.2 SSD blade to Apple's custom pinouts if needed, but it's best to buy direct replacements from OWC, Transcend, or Fledging who make Apple compatible modules.MacBook Pro - Air SSD Upgrade Kits
May Be SATA or PCIe Modules Depending On Model
The compatible MacBook Air SDD timeline is most complex. As the 1st Macs to feature solid-state storage, it has transitioned from 1.8' ATA-IDE to 1.8' SATA I, then II, then III, then onto custom-pinout M.2 SATA modules, to the more recent M.2 PCIe modules.
iMac Compatible SSD's
White Plastic iMac's - both G5 and Intel used full-size 3.5' SATA interface drives. Thick bodied Aluminum iMac's used full-size SATA drives as well. However with the ultra-Slim Aluminum iMac, Apple moved towards 2.5' laptop size SATA hard drives with (optionally) a custom SATA SSD module. We recommend complete iMac drive upgrade kits specific to your model with the proper tools and other things needed to safely complete the drive swap.Drive Upgrade Kit For iMac Desktops
Complete SSD Drive Swap Kits
Mac mini Compatible SSD's
For Intel CPU based Mac minis, a 2.5 inch SATA SSD is generally the right choice, for older G4 Mac mini's you want an IDE-ATA interface 2.5' laptop size drive for upgrading.Mac Pro Compatible SSD's
The Mac Pro cylinder models use a custom pinout PCIe SSD module. There aren't many aftermarket Apple compatible SSD upgrade options. OWC/MacSales is your best bet, followed by MCE which supplies larger, factory original Apple PCIe modules in larger capacities than your Mac Pro came with.The Aluminum Mac Pro Towers offer two solid-state drive upgrade options. One is to use a readily available drive tray/adapter to convert an off the shelf SATA SSD to 3.5' drive bay. Another option is the use of a PCIe SSD card in one of the slots which can typicially support either 1 or 2 2.5' SATA SSD drives, or more recent ones that support M.2 SATA or even PCIe SSD modules.
Mac Compatible ATA-IDE SSD's
Even for much older G3 and G4 Macintosh models there are a few 2.5' IDE solid-state drives that can be a drop-in replacement for legacy Mac Mini and iBooks. With an adapter, some can be retrofitted to tuck an IDE SSD into an iMac or other full-size Macintosh 3.5' drive bay common at the time.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
SSD's And Apple Compatibility
Regardless of it's form factor, an SSD drive or module is a platform agnostic device. When formatted for the proper operating system, be it MacOS, Windows, Linux or other OS, it will perform as optimally as it can. Apple owners will most likely need to reformat a new SSD to the proper GUID or Extended formatting and partitioning depending on your Mac model and version of OSX.Top Mac Compatible Internal SSD Manufacturers
Notable companies who make Apple compatible internal SSD blades, modules and drives start with Samsung as the performance leader of the pack. Other venerable solid-state flash memory brands of note include Toshiba / OCZ, SanDisk, AData, Silicon Power, Transcend International, WD-Western Digital and Patriot.Mac Compatible External SSD Drive Companies
For off-the-shelf Apple friendly SSD data backup drives, look to brands such as Akitio, LaCie, Western Digital, OWC, CalDigit and others offering ultra-high performance flash memory based data storage hardware for Macintosh computers.Mac Specs > By Capability > Mac Storage Upgrade Compatibility Guide
Storage info — details on speed, dimensions, and hard drive and SSD interface specifics — for all G3 and later Macs are organized below by category.
Some Macs have a hard drive or SSD that can be upgraded easily, others have storage that 'unofficially' can be upgraded with some effort, and still others have soldered storage that cannot be upgraded at all after initial purchase of the Mac. This section makes differentiation easy.
In general, be sure to purchase your hard drive or SSD from a vendor that has tested the storage it sells with your particular type of Mac to ensure full compatibility and ideal performance. Also, be sure always to read the complete specs page for a specific Mac as some compatibility is dependent on OS version, firmware, or other details.
Be sure to also see EveryMac.com's Mac Upgrades FAQs section for instructional Q&As to upgrade the storage and other parts in your Mac.
If you find this page useful, please Bookmark & Share it. Thank you.
You are providing your consent to Epson America, Inc., doing business as Epson, so that we may send you promotional emails. You may withdraw your consent or view our privacy policy at any time. To contact Epson America, you may write to 3131 Katella Ave, Los Alamitos, CA 90720. Epson 1240u for mac.
Please note that the thumbnail images merely show one of the more representative Macs in a category. Many series also include other models with different designs.
Mac mini Compatible SSD's
For Intel CPU based Mac minis, a 2.5 inch SATA SSD is generally the right choice, for older G4 Mac mini's you want an IDE-ATA interface 2.5' laptop size drive for upgrading.Mac Pro Compatible SSD's
The Mac Pro cylinder models use a custom pinout PCIe SSD module. There aren't many aftermarket Apple compatible SSD upgrade options. OWC/MacSales is your best bet, followed by MCE which supplies larger, factory original Apple PCIe modules in larger capacities than your Mac Pro came with.The Aluminum Mac Pro Towers offer two solid-state drive upgrade options. One is to use a readily available drive tray/adapter to convert an off the shelf SATA SSD to 3.5' drive bay. Another option is the use of a PCIe SSD card in one of the slots which can typicially support either 1 or 2 2.5' SATA SSD drives, or more recent ones that support M.2 SATA or even PCIe SSD modules.
Mac Compatible ATA-IDE SSD's
Even for much older G3 and G4 Macintosh models there are a few 2.5' IDE solid-state drives that can be a drop-in replacement for legacy Mac Mini and iBooks. With an adapter, some can be retrofitted to tuck an IDE SSD into an iMac or other full-size Macintosh 3.5' drive bay common at the time.Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
SSD's And Apple Compatibility
Regardless of it's form factor, an SSD drive or module is a platform agnostic device. When formatted for the proper operating system, be it MacOS, Windows, Linux or other OS, it will perform as optimally as it can. Apple owners will most likely need to reformat a new SSD to the proper GUID or Extended formatting and partitioning depending on your Mac model and version of OSX.Top Mac Compatible Internal SSD Manufacturers
Notable companies who make Apple compatible internal SSD blades, modules and drives start with Samsung as the performance leader of the pack. Other venerable solid-state flash memory brands of note include Toshiba / OCZ, SanDisk, AData, Silicon Power, Transcend International, WD-Western Digital and Patriot.Mac Compatible External SSD Drive Companies
For off-the-shelf Apple friendly SSD data backup drives, look to brands such as Akitio, LaCie, Western Digital, OWC, CalDigit and others offering ultra-high performance flash memory based data storage hardware for Macintosh computers.Mac Specs > By Capability > Mac Storage Upgrade Compatibility Guide
Storage info — details on speed, dimensions, and hard drive and SSD interface specifics — for all G3 and later Macs are organized below by category.
Some Macs have a hard drive or SSD that can be upgraded easily, others have storage that 'unofficially' can be upgraded with some effort, and still others have soldered storage that cannot be upgraded at all after initial purchase of the Mac. This section makes differentiation easy.
In general, be sure to purchase your hard drive or SSD from a vendor that has tested the storage it sells with your particular type of Mac to ensure full compatibility and ideal performance. Also, be sure always to read the complete specs page for a specific Mac as some compatibility is dependent on OS version, firmware, or other details.
Be sure to also see EveryMac.com's Mac Upgrades FAQs section for instructional Q&As to upgrade the storage and other parts in your Mac.
If you find this page useful, please Bookmark & Share it. Thank you.
You are providing your consent to Epson America, Inc., doing business as Epson, so that we may send you promotional emails. You may withdraw your consent or view our privacy policy at any time. To contact Epson America, you may write to 3131 Katella Ave, Los Alamitos, CA 90720. Epson 1240u for mac.
Please note that the thumbnail images merely show one of the more representative Macs in a category. Many series also include other models with different designs.
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External Ssd For Mac
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Best Ssd For Mac Pro
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