Cheapest Way to Upgrade Your Macbook Pro SSD Drive

Who would pay $1400 for a 2TB SSD drive upgrade on the 13" Macbook Pro? I know I wouldn't, and I didn't, I just got the $200 512GB upgrade which isn't big enough for video editing.

So I had two huge issues with my 2017 top of the line 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, the only upgrade I didn't max out was the hard drive. Issue one is not enough SSD space to edit my videos with Final Cut Pro X, so I have to always use an external drive. I was using the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB and 5TB drives, but using the included USB 3.0 to USB-A cable with a USB-A to USB-C adapter does not work well. Any movement from the laptop or hard drive will disconnect the fragile USB-C connection and it will corrupt the session. This happened almost every time I used it, one time losing 3 hours of editing!

Issue two is that my Panasonic GH5 files are too much for this powerful laptop to handle without stuttering during playback. Seriously? It works fine on my iMac at home, I had this issue with my 12" Macbook so I sold it to upgrade to this Macbook Pro.

I was just about to give up and sell this laptop for about an $800 loss and spend another $2000 on a big heavy Windows laptop with 32gb ram and 2TB SSD. But I didn't want the extra weight, Windows, and to have to pay for and learn Premiere. So I kept searching for a solution to these problems.

My first idea was to velcro the drive to the cover so it wouldn't move and disconnect with any movement, and to throw out that USB-A cable and adapter and to get an USB 3.0 to USB-C cable. I thought putting a larger drive on the lid wouldn't be ideal since it may not stay open with the weight. So then I found the Oyen Digital Shadow Mini 2TB SSD Drive which looked perfect. Fast SSD and small and lightweight. Oyen Digital was kind enough to send me one to test out on my last Europe trip and it worked out perfectly!

Then I found out about proxy files, I don't know why it took me so long, I guess you really have to be specific in searching. The proxy files are about 25% of the size of the original files, so during playback there's no stuttering. I guess people do this with 4k footage as well with other cameras. Such an easy solution, but I almost lost and spent so much money because of this.

Now I'm finally (almost) happy with my MacBook Pro, I can edit without these two issues. However the wifi only works about 25% of the time, I even bought a wifi dongle and that works maybe 60% of the time, so I don't know what is wrong with it, but that's another video.

Check out the Oyen Digital SSD drives here on Amazon
(any purchases help me out with a tiny commission)

Shadow Mini External 2TB USB 3.1 Portable Solid State Drive SSD

U32 Shadow External 2TB USB-C (3.1 Gen 2) Portable Solid State Drive SSD

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[davet]

Hi,
Is it 500gb ssd drive enough? or would it be better to get a 1tb instead? what do you think the minimum is to make a good difference? i currently use mojave os, thanks

I have: MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012), 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3. Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB

[BessieKaine]

I don't get the thumbs down--that external attached with the velcro and one cable is genius! ;-) My dream would be a thunderbolt cable setup of some sort as my USB ports are in high demand.

[xraydog]

That's the reason I still use my mid 2012, removed the optical drive and installed a 2 Tb hdd in a caddy, and I use proxy files to edit, works like charm

[patrickmiller]

Awesome tips! never considered attaching a drive to the lid of the Macbook

[jaydenacholabeats]

wait do I need to buy both of these products to ad storage or just one? Also, I work on a 2009 13" Macbook Pro. Would it work?

[john-pdrn]

i have a macbook pro 2015 13inch and i think it's getting slower even if all ive been doing were netflix, youtube, ms word, and facebook. do you think i can use an SSD to solve this problem?

[chiefmcconnell]

sounds good. frustrating to say the least. i see that is a sealed type of ssd enclosure. they actually make a usb3 m2 ssd drive case about 1/5 of that size and you just buy the ssd chip and stick it in. maybe a more streamlined solution for you. plus if a bigger ssd chip is available just unscrew and replace. hope that may help you on your journey. thanks for a really nice video and also seeing some of your cinematic work 😍

[thepicker]

When i edit on imovie i cannot do anything with the edited video because it keeps throwing the error "HD full or out of space" i cant even export the file to youtube or anything. Do you think a external HD will fix this issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[jesseonamotorcycle]

Did you upgrade to the new M1 MacBooks?

[annabelledelmundo]

Hi... do i really need to upgrade my macbook air 2015's hard drive to install my adobe photo shop and premier for video editing? Im afraid it cost me alot.
I cant successfully install it coz it says my disk is full. 😔

Your suggestion is very much appreciated.

[AlexJacksonSmith]

I use iMovie and the problem I have with external drives is that rendering sometimes goes into standby or does standby on the drive... this causes a problem. Have you had the same problem? Is there a solution? Thanks A.,

[maxxlipa]

Hi! What video format you edit? I cant play my 4k format on my macbook.. its laggy.. do you think this solution would work ?

[JLynnJohnston]

This is not an upgrade, but a workaround. Cool clickbait title, though!

[LozsLeisure]

Man I know the struggles, Todd! Works better running FCP off the Mac's SSD and and then the files/projects of an external drive - I've long been using a 4TB HDD but have just upgraded to an SSD! It's SO much smaller and I'm imagining it's gonna be a lot quicker. Hope you're all good buddy!

[natalyramirez]

Yea my Mac can’t play 4K well. So I have to edit in 1080 but export 4K

[oyggraphics]

am about to make the step to buy this, how did you attach it to your computer without shake loose ref: '2:38secs)

[cre]

I just switched to a macbook pro 2018 13 inch, but I swear, if you're trying to save money don't buy a mabbook, go to windows. I'm selling my sick ass windows pc i just bought because now I can afford a mac, but the speed and accessibility with ports was so priceless with pc. :, ( bitter sweet.

[snacksy]

Nice video, but maybe figure out a way to remove the crickets in the background?
Think their distracting, and they make it sound like your video is boring (literally cricket sounds when you're not talking haha)

[joonajks]

Would 256 gb external be adequate for strictly 1080P video editing only?

[albrim]

Hi everyone, I would like to buy the new 13” macbook pro base line with 128gb, do you think that’s enough for it or should I upgrade to 256gb for other 200€, I own 2 hdd with 500gb and 250gb but since they are not ssd they’re not as fast.
Is it possible to use a macbook in this way for many years. The use that I would make for it would be some photo editing with lightroom and some logo design with illustrator, and of course the basic stuff such as web browsing streaming etc.