However with the ultra-Slim Aluminum iMac, Apple moved towards 2.5' laptop size SATA hard drives with (optionally) a custom SATA SSD module. Thick bodied Aluminum iMac's used full-size SATA drives as well. White Plastic iMac's - both G5 and Intel used full-size 3.5' SATA interface drives. 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.

The compatible MacBook Air SDD timeline is most complex. May Be SATA or PCIe Modules Depending On Model 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. 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. We reccomend the Western Digital Black or a Crucial P1 Series SSD blade.įor New Macs with USB-C Thunderbolt3 Portsįrom the original white MacBooks and early MacBook Pro's through around 2012, a standard 2.5' SATA SSD was generally an easy upgrade. Companies like OWC, Fledging, MCE Technologies, and Dataram make Mac-specific SSD blades appropriate for your particular model/year of Macintosh laptop or desktop.įor 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.

Mac Compatible SATA & NVMe PCIe SSD Bladesįor upgrades inside your Mac, you need CUSTOM PINOUT Apple compatible SSD modules. They're also ideal for building a DIY external SSD Macintosh backup drive with a low-cost USB or Thunderbolt enclosure.ĭelivers Peak Read / Write SSD Performance 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.

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.įor 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. Apple Compatible Solid-State Drive Upgrades

Replacement ssd drive for macbook air