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    SSD help/suggestions

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by desiplaya130, Oct 27, 2019.

  1. desiplaya130

    desiplaya130 Notebook Consultant

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    Hey guys,

    I found a mid 2009 macbook air in my wifes closet, everything works and functions but it's just a bit too slow. I know I cant upgrade the ram, thought I could at least upgrade to an ssd. Any suggestions on a cheap ssd upgrade for this?
     
    desiplaya130, Oct 27, 2019
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  2. carlodelmazo

    carlodelmazo Notebook Geek

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    depends the connector, as far I know it is possible to upgrade to a 860 evo for example with a nvme adaptor as apple uses their own but there are in amazon at around 10 dollars
     
    carlodelmazo, Oct 29, 2019
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  3. Aivxtla

    Aivxtla Notebook Evangelist

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    For a 2009 MacBook you can use a standard SATA SSD like for example the 860 EVO, you don’t need any special connector, or you can save money by getting cheaper drives like Inland’s 1 TB drive for $90 or any other drives. Even those with low write endurance will outlast the usable life of your laptop.


    Until like 2013 MacBooks were easily upgradable with standard drives and RAM, after that they soldered the RAM and by 2016 the SSDs.
     
    Aivxtla, Oct 29, 2019
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  4. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    2011 was the last year MacBook Pros came with upgradable RAM. Everything with a Retina display has been soldered.
     
    saturnotaku, Oct 29, 2019
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  5. desiplaya130

    desiplaya130 Notebook Consultant

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    thanks for the info guys, the 2009 macbook air's are special in that they only fit a 1.8inch hard drive
     
    desiplaya130, Nov 4, 2019
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  6. Aivxtla

    Aivxtla Notebook Evangelist

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    You can technically take the SSD out of the 2.5” casing and use it. The SSD itself is thinner than the casing, but warranty would be voided if you don’t take of that small warranty sticker carefully and save it.

    There are small capacity SSDs in 1.8” casing if you really want but better option may be to use a SATA to mSATA converter and just use a mSATA SSD, it should hopefully take care of the thickness restriction.
    2.5” adapter
    https://www.amazon.com/Micro-SATA-Cables-MSATA-ADPT-Adapter/dp/B004YKJ5TE
    1.8” adapter
    https://www.amazon.com/mSATA-Micro-SATA-Adapter-Converter-Module/dp/B07H3P1VRM
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2019
    Aivxtla, Nov 4, 2019
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  7. desiplaya130

    desiplaya130 Notebook Consultant

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    thanks dude this is very helpful might just end up going this route
     
    desiplaya130, Nov 4, 2019
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  8. desiplaya130

    desiplaya130 Notebook Consultant

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    Not sure if this thread would help anyone else but i did some digging and found that the macbook air uses a LIF type of cable to connect the hard drive to the logic board, making the ability to use a msata drive a bit harder. I found a replacement SSD from ebay for 17 bucks that has a LIF connector, lets see if it provides any significant improvements. Thanks to all for your help and advice
     
    desiplaya130, Nov 7, 2019
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