An SSD is lightweight, fast, and doesn’t draw power from your computer, and they tend to be quieter and lighter than traditional hard disk drives. If you’re in the market for an SSD, look for devices that are known to work well with Macs. To make things easier, we’ve researched and reviewed the best SSDs for MacBook Pro computers. With devices from top brands, including Samsung, SanDisk, Seagate, and LaCie, there are SSDs for every budget. Plus, this SSD enables to you save data quickly and retrieve it even more quickly—up to 20 times faster than your old hard drive—thanks to a 535MB/s sequential read speed and a 445MB/s sequential write speed. With cool, quiet operation and a generous battery life, this SanDisk SSD may transform your older MacBook Pro into the device of your dreams. Does your laptop take forever to startup? This SSD will change that. Are your apps, games, and other programs sluggish and slow to open? Get a fresh start with this affordable SSD. Even when multitasking, you’ll be impressed by how responsive your MacBook Pro will be. Plus, this SSD is guaranteed to be long-lasting, with an estimated reliability of 1.5 million hours. That’s a lot of computing time–and time you’ll be able to use more effectively thanks to your speedier device. If you’re frequently working on location or outdoors, the rugged silicone exterior case is essential for keeping your data safe and keeps your SSD from running hot to the touch. It’s dust and water-resistant and can withstand drops from up to nearly 10 feet, with a rating of IP67. Plus, in the vibrant orange hue, it’s hard to misplace. Operating via USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt 3, it’s easily compatible with Macs. The LaCie Rugged Pro delivers a consistently fast service. The five-year warranty even includes data recovery services, a great bonus for peace of mind. Ajay Kumar is Tech Editor at Lifewire with over seven years of experience in the industry. He’s reviewed everything from HDDs and SSDs, to gaming PCs and laptops. He personally uses a Samsung 860 Evo as an OS drive and the WD Blue 3D NAND as a storage/game drive in the rig he built himself. Alan Bradley is Tech Editor at Lifewire with over a decade of experience in the industry. Previously published on Rolling Stone, Polygon, and The Escapist, he’s reviewed a wide range of products from PC parts to gaming hardware and accessories. He personally uses a Samsung SATA SSD for his gaming rig.
What to Look for When Buying
Storage Size - A key factor to look for in a good SSD is storage. Storage capacity varies according to price, but generally speaking, you’ll want a minimum of 250GB of storage for an SSD you plan to use as an OS drive. That means it should be able to handle your operating system, key programs, and a few additional files and games. Larger storage options range from 480GB, 960GB. 1TB, and 2TB, each with a corresponding price increase. For those who have a lot of photos, videos, and games, you’ll likely want at least 1TB. Read/Write Speed - Sequential read/write speed measure the performance of an SSD. The read speed measures how long it takes to open a file, while a write speed measures how long it takes to save something to an SSD. The higher numbers are better. In most cases, affordable SSDs tends to have lower read/write speeds, but they’re still fast enough for the average person when it comes to booting and multitasking. If you have a more intensive workflow requiring video and photo editing and rendering, a faster and more expensive SSD can pay off. Software - Getting all your files over to a new SSD isn’t always a simple process. Many SSDs will come pre-partitioned, so a portion of the storage has already been allocated as a backup. They may also come with software (as in the case of Samsung) allowing you to easily copy and transfer files from an old drive to a new one and manage firmware updates.
