Adding SSD to MacBook Pro mid 2012 - swap with HDD or Optical drive?

altomic on 12/07/2016 - 01:29
Last edited 12/07/2016 - 01:30

i've bought a 256gb SSD and 16gb ram for my Macbook pro mid 2012.

also bought a caddy so i can remove the optical drive.

the SSD will be the system drive and hold all applications.

I'll use the current HDD as a the file/media drive.

my query is :

would the SSD (in a caddy) be better situated where the optical drive is? -i.e. read/write times

or where the current HDD is?

does it make any difference the location of the primary drive? -i.e. read/write times

or does the primary drive need to be in the HDD position?

is it possible to have the SSD (in the optical drive position) to be the primary drive? (i use macs but aren't that savvy on "boot bios" options)

thanks

Computing

Comments

  • timmypete on 12/07/2016 - 07:54

    On the older Macbooks both the optical and hdd data connections are SATA, and physical location won't affect speeds. You should leave the hdd in its usual spot as it is likely to be better at preventing vibration. Given the SSD doesn't have moving parts, it is less risky to install in a non-standard spot.

    And yes, you can change the primary boot drive to the SSD in the optical bay.

    • altomic on 12/07/2016 - 09:56

      excellent. thank you very much for your response.

  • a1234my on 12/07/2016 - 10:55

    Better to do fusion drive (CoreStorage) here -> http://www.macworld.com/article/2014011/storage-drives/how-t…

    Having bigger ( ssd + hhd size ) and faster speed ( then hhd ).

    mbp2012 15" have both bay on 6Gb/s, 13" after EFI update, should have 6Gb/s tooo.

  • RockyRaccoon on 12/07/2016 - 17:57
    +1

    You can always check out

    http://www.xlr8yourmac.com

    A wealth of knowledge on adding non standard equipment to your Mac.

    More than likely someone has added the drive you have to their Mac and will advise what to do.

    Worth a look

  • Elwes on 12/07/2016 - 22:12

    Although both bays are SATA, in some MacBook Pros around that age (including my early 2011) the optical bay is SATAII (so it only does 3GB/s) but the HDD bay is SATAIII (6GB/s). That means it's often worth putting the spinning disk in the optical drive, so the fastest drive is in the fastest bay.
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7034311?start=0&tstart=…

    • altomic on 13/07/2016 - 00:45
      +1

      Interesting. when I look at system info I get this :

      APPLE HDD HTS547550A9E384:
      Intel 7 Series Chipset:

      Vendor: Intel
      Product: 7 Series Chipset
      Link Speed: 6 Gigabit
      Negotiated Link Speed: 3 Gigabit
      Description: AHCI Version 1.30 Supported

      MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8:
      Intel 7 Series Chipset:

      Vendor: Intel
      Product: 7 Series Chipset
      Link Speed: 6 Gigabit
      Negotiated Link Speed: 1.5 Gigabit
      Description: AHCI Version 1.30 Supported

      looking further into what the "Negotiated Link Speed" means- it seems to indicate that the macbook will check the capabilities of the component and then work at that speed.

      2011 macbooks seem to have had an issue with swapping in a SSD for the optical drive.

      I think I'll try the SSD in the optical slot and see how that goes. I'll report back in a few days.

    • altomic on 13/07/2016 - 22:39
      +1

      well, i set it all up. quite quick to the change over - swapping the optical drive out and replacing it with the SSD in a caddy. main hassle was a little screw (hidden under wires) that held the optical drive in. RAM was a piece of cake

      other than that, the physical swap over took about 10 minutes.

      have installed El Capitan on the SSD and set it as primary.

      when I look at system info it shows the SSD has a Negotiated Link Speed of 6 Gigabit.

      which means it's hitting the wall for the max link speed.

      it seems be running a lot faster with the SSD primary and 16gb.

      there are still updates to update. so may see more improvement after a few reboots.

      fairly happy with it so far.

  • feizor on 27/08/2016 - 11:19

    OP, do you have a link to the caddy you bought?

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