Easy to install
Given that you can't buy a MacBook Air without an SSD, you're probably wondering what to do with the expensive slab of silicon you've just taken out. As luck would have it, OWC also sells an external caddy that will take the old SSD and turn it into a speedy USB 3.0 external drive, although the lack of USB 3.0 support on the Mac means you'll be accessing through the slower USB 2.0 standard.
Opening the Air is easy - with the right tools
Source: iFixit.com
This kit can be yours for an extra $30 (£19) when you order it with a replacement SSD and it's definitely worth opting for as it makes setting up the new drive so much easier.
The MacBook Air case uses five-point Torx screws, rather than regular crossheads, and the SSD is held down by a different Torx screw. You can argue about Apple using non-standard screws in the comments section, but screws do hold the screwdriver much more securely and as a result at no point did the head slip out and scratch my MacBook Air during installation, as has happened to me on MacBooks with crosshead screws in the past.
Revealed: the stock Samsung SSD
Source: iFixit.com
OWC includes all the necessary tools, so you can get going straight out the box.
In terms of performance, the news is good and bad. First the good: for some things, the drive is blazingly fast, even compared to the Samsung SSD in my MacBook Air. Turns out I won the SSD lottery after all.
Next page: Speed up
COMMENTS
I don't wish to be pedantic but
calling Torx screws non standard is a bit mistaken.
Back in the 80s Compaq used them on almost, everything the Amiga RF shield used them
Since then the car industry has fallen in love with them.
Ok so they're not common in a domestic setting, but then neither are SSD drives
Whole hearted pedantry
Never apologise for pedantry! You're 100% correct, and the reason they're used is touched on in the article - they're designed to not slip (unlike Phillips) in order to achieve consistent torque (where the name comes from?). Presumably one of the reasons the car industry loves them too.
They're an ISO standard these days.
Clarifications to article from OWC
Some inaccuracies or assumptions here that need to be addressed:
1. the Connectivity spec....it's not mSATA 6Gb/s...we use a custom connector.
2. the heat increase is related to freeing up the 6Gb/s bus so the processor can do more tasks faster. Now the drive is not the bottleneck and the machine can run as it was intended to.
3. related to above then, one won't experience significantly lower battery runtime if the time to complete various tasks is reduced significantly. For most users running multiple tasks....the issue of time spent vs battery life used (compared to stock machine) is a wash....meaning no major difference in battery runtime from factory SSD vs ours. Does ours use more? Yes...but not to the detriment suggested.
And at idle, the power use results are nearly the same.
More pedantry
The Torx screws on the base of the Mac Air are 5-point compared with the usual 6-point which I have in my Uber-Mac User's toolkit. Wondered why my T5 didn't fit ...
