Name: DIY KIT: 480GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools
SKU: OWCY3SSDMP480
Price: 219.75 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.96 (156 reviews)

DIY Bundle

Includes: 480GB 2.5" OWC Solid State Drive 7mm, OWC Express Silver Enclosure, and OWC 5 Piece Toolkit Mac / PC / USB 3.0 & 2.0

Get more storage when you upgrade/replace the existing 2.5" drive in your Mac.

Includes a 2.5" drive, enclosure, and toolkit to upgrade/replace the internal drive in your Mac.

Upgrade/Replace your internal drive

The Drive and Tools you need to Upgrade/Replace the existing 2.5" Drive in your laptop, Mac mini, Xbox, PS3, etc + make the drive being replaced an External for data transfer, backup, and/or additional portable storage.

Everything you need in one package, immediately ready to assemble and:

Backup and store your data with style and confidence.
Take your data with you - small enough to keep in a pocket!
Easily add additional laptop storage with no AC adapter required.

Examples of how this bus-powered Express bundle can be used in real world situations:

Power Users / Travelers: Relocate your "home folder" to your Express and have your files with you at home, at work or on the road without the need to synchronize your machines.

Laptop Owners: Clone your current internal SATA hard drive in your laptop to the new drive. Then install the new, larger drive in your laptop and keep the smaller drive in your Express for additional storage space.

iTunes Aficionados: Keep a copy of your iTunes library on your external drive to play on multiple machines.

Gamers: Add additional storage to your XBox 360 or PS3 game console to store music, media, and other downloads. PS3 even includes a backup utility to protect your internal drive's data.

For Everyone: Have the piece of mind of a complete backup plan. Create a bootable clone of your hard drive at regular intervals so if your computer goes down, your productivity doesn't go down with it. Boot to another computer and keep on working!

The Right Tools for the Job

Before attempting to perform this installation, please watch the following instructional video in its entirety to determine your ability to perform this complex procedure. OWC assumes no responsibility for damage that may occur during the install. Technical support for this DIY product consists only of this video.

Everything you need in one package, immediately ready to assemble and:

OWC Express 2.5" USB 3.0 Drive Enclosure
OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD 480GB
OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit
- Nylon Spudger
- Phillips #00
- Straight Blade 1.8mm
- Torx T8
- Torx T6
High quality double-shielded USB 3.0 B to USB 3.0 A/USB 2.0 A connector cable
Express Installation Guide
Carrying sleeve
1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty with 48-Hour Turnaround Time

48 Hour Warranty Service

Yes, You Can Do-it-Yourself

OWC is committed to your success. If you need a bit more guidance, simply contact OWC's award-winning U.S. based Technical Support. We'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Take a closer look at
the OWC Express.

How to install a Hard Drive in an
OWC Express Enclosure.

*Bus powered via USB port on most computers, provided computer's bus supplies appropriate power needs.

This OWC SSD Model is compatible with nearly any Mac or PC model with a Serial ATA connection (SATA, SATA 2.0, or SATA 3.0) including: Learn how to find your Mac's model ID

MacBook Pro (15-inch 2012)

(June, 2012)

Model ID: MacBookPro9,1

2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (13-inch 2012)

(June, 2012)

Model ID: MacBookPro9,2

2.5GHz, 2.9GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch 2011)

(October, 2011)

Model ID: MacBookPro8,3

2.4GHz, 2.5GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch 2011)

(October, 2011)

Model ID: MacBookPro8,2

2.2GHz, 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (13-inch 2011)

(October, 2011)

Model ID: MacBookPro8,1

2.4GHz, 2.8GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011)

(February, 2011)

Model ID: MacBookPro8,3

2.2GHz, 2.3GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011)

(February, 2011)

Model ID: MacBookPro8,2

2.0GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.3GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011)

(February, 2011)

Model ID: MacBookPro8,1

2.3GHz, 2.7GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid 2010)

(April, 2010)

Model ID: MacBookPro6,1

2.53GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.8GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010)

(April, 2010)

Model ID: MacBookPro6,2

2.4GHz, 2.53GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.8GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010)

(April, 2010)

Model ID: MacBookPro7,1

2.4GHz, 2.66GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid 2009)

(June, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,2

2.8GHz, 3.06GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2009)

(June, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,4

2.53GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2009)

(June, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,3

2.66GHz, 2.8GHz, 3.06GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009)

(June, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,5

2.26GHz, 2.53GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2009)

(March, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,1

2.66GHz 2.93GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2009)

(March, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,1

2.66GHz 2.93GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2009)

(January, 2009)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,2

2.66GHz, 2.93GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Late 2008)

(October, 2008)

Model ID: MacBookPro4,1

2.5GHz, 2.6GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2008)

(October, 2008)

Model ID: MacBookPro5,1

2.4GHz, 2.53GHz, 2.66GHz 2.8GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2008)

(February, 2008)

Model ID: MacBookPro4,1

2.5GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008)

(February, 2008)

Model ID: MacBookPro4,1

2.4GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid/Late 2007)

(June, 2007)

Model ID: MacBookPro3,1

2.4GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid/Late 2007)

(June, 2007)

Model ID: MacBookPro3,1

2.2GHz, 2.4GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch Core 2 Duo)

(October, 2006)

Model ID: MacBookPro2,1

2.33GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Core 2 Duo)

(October, 2006)

Model ID: MacBookPro2,2

2.16GHz, 2.33GHz

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy)

(May, 2006)

Model ID: MacBookPro1,1

2.0GHz, 2.16GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (17-inch)

(April, 2006)

Model ID: MacBookPro1,2

2.16GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook Pro (15-inch)

(January, 2006)

Model ID: MacBookPro1,1

1.83GHz, 2.0GHz, 2.16GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Mid 2010)

(May, 2010)

Model ID: MacBook7,1

2.4GHz

Detailed specs

MacBook (Late 2009)

(October, 2009)

Model ID: MacBook6,1

2.26Ghz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Mid 2009)

(May, 2009)

Model ID: MacBook5,2

2.13GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Early 2009)

(January, 2009)

Model ID: MacBook5,2

2.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Late 2008)

(October, 2008)

Model ID: MacBook4,1

2.1GHz

Install Videos

MacBook (Late 2008)

(October, 2008)

Model ID: MacBook5,1

2.0GHz, 2.4GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Early 2008)

(February, 2008)

Model ID: MacBook4,1

2.1GHz, 2.4GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Late 2007)

(November, 2007)

Model ID: MacBook3,1

2.0GHz, 2.2GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Mid 2007)

(May, 2007)

Model ID: MacBook2,1

2.0GHz, 2.16GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook (Late 2006)

(November, 2006)

Model ID: MacBook2,1

1.83GHz, 2.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

MacBook

(May, 2006)

Model ID: MacBook1,1

1.83GHz, 2.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Late 2012)

(October, 2012)

Model ID: Macmini6,1 & Macmini6,2

2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

Mac mini (Late 2012 Server)

(October, 2012)

Model ID: Macmini6,2

2.3GHz, 2.6GHz

Detailed specs

Mac mini (Mid 2011)

(July, 2011)

Model ID: Macmini5,1 & Macmini5,2

2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.7GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Mid 2011 Server)

(July, 2011)

Model ID: Macmini5,3

2.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Mid 2010)

(June, 2010)

Model ID: Macmini4,1

2.4GHz, 2.66GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Mid 2010 Server)

(June, 2010)

Model ID: Macmini4,1

2.66GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Early 2009)

(March, 2009)

Model ID: Macmini3,1

2.0GHz, 2.26GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Late 2009 Server)

(October, 2009)

Model ID: Macmini3,1

2.53GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Late 2009)

(October, 2009)

Model ID: Macmini3,1

2.26GHz, 2.53GHz, 2.66GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Mid 2007)

(August, 2007)

Model ID: Macmini2,1

1.83GHz, 2.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac mini (Early 2006)

(February, 2006)

Model ID: Macmini1,1

1.5GHz, 1.66GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro

(August, 2006)

Model ID: MacPro1,1

2.0GHz, 2.66GHz, 3.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro (8-core)

(April, 2007)

Model ID: MacPro2,1

3.0GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro (Early 2008)

(January, 2008)

Model ID: MacPro3,1

2.8GHz, 3.0GHz, 3.2GHz

Detailed specs 4-core

Detailed specs 8-core

Install Videos

Mac Pro 4-Core (Early 2009)

(March, 2009)

Model ID: MacPro4,1

2.66GHz, 2.93GHz, 3.33GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 8-Core (Early 2009)

(March, 2009)

Model ID: MacPro4,1

2.26GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.93GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 4-Core (Mid 2010)

(July, 2010)

Model ID: MacPro5,1

2.8GHz, 3.2GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 6-Core (Mid 2010)

(July, 2010)

Model ID: MacPro5,1

3.33GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 8-Core (Mid 2010)

(July, 2010)

Model ID: MacPro5,1

2.4GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 4-Core (Mid 2012)

(June, 2012)

Model ID: MacPro5,1

3.2GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 6-Core (Mid 2012)

(June, 2012)

Model ID: MacPro5,1

3.33GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Mac Pro 12-Core (Mid 2012)

(June, 2012)

Model ID: MacPro5,1

2.4GHz, 2.66GHz, 3.06GHz

Detailed specs

Install Videos

Xserve Quad-Core (Early 2009)

(April, 2009)

Model ID: Xserve3,1

2.26GHz

Detailed specs

Xserve 8-Core (Early 2009)

(April, 2009)

Model ID: Xserve3,1

2.26GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.93GHz

Detailed specs

Includes

OWC Express 2.5″ USB 3.0 Drive Enclosure
OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD 480GB
OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit
- Nylon Spudger
- Phillips #00
- Straight Blade 1.8mm
- Torx T8
- Torx T6
High quality double-shielded USB 3.0 B to USB 3.0 A/USB 2.0 A connector cable
Express Installation Guide
Carrying sleeve
1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty with 48-Hour Turnaround Time

Gallery

480GB Mercury Electra 3G SSD Specifications:

Specifications

Controller

SandForce 2181 Series Processor with 7% Over Provisioning

NAND

Tier 1 Asynchronous MLC NAND Flash Memory

Form Factor

Standard 7mm 2.5"

Interface

SATA 3Gb/s

Capacity¹

480GB useable capacity
Total Flash Memory Components – 512GB
32GB allocated to real-time data redundancy & error correction

Formatted Capacity²

447GiB

RAID Support

Qualified for single drive and multiple drive production workstation RAID 0/1/10/0+1 and SPAN usage.

SMART Attributes

Standard⁵

Native Command Queuing

up to 32 commands

Manufacturer Model Number

OWCSSDEX3G480

RoHS Compliant

Yes

Format

Unformatted (Instructions on formatting here)

Physical

Height (max)

7mm (0.276″)

Width (max)

70.06mm (2.758″)

Length (max)

100.12mm (3.941″)

Weight

77 grams +/- 2 grams
0.170 lbs +/- 2.71 oz

Reliability³

Data Reliability

ECC Recovery: Up to 55 bytes correctable per 512-byte sector

Security

Chip Based Data Encryption: 128-bit AES-compliant

TRIM Support

OS Dependent

Nonrecoverable Read Errors

Less than 1 sector per 10¹⁶ bits read

Performance

Sustained
Reads (up to)

285MB/s

Sustained
Writes (up to)

275MB/s

Read Incompressible
Data Rate (up to)

208MB/s

Write Incompressible
Data Rate (up to)

235MB/s

Random 4K Read⁴

Up to 60,000 IOPS

Random 4K Write⁴

Up to 60,000 IOPS

Read Latency

less than 0.1ms

Write Latency

less than 0.1ms

Environmental (Operating)

Temperature (°F)

32°F to 158°F

Temperature (°C)

0°C to 70°C

Environmental (Non-Operating)

Temperature (°F)

-67°F to 302°F

Temperature (°C)

-55°C to 150°C

Acoustics

Idle (Typical)

0.0 bels

Seek (Typical)

0.0 bels

1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending upon operating environment (typically 5-10% less). The actual total capacity will depend on your own defined file settings/preferences.
In terms of standard gigabytes, 1GiB ≈ 1.074GB and refers to the actual formatted capacity of shown under Mac OS 10.5 or earlier and Microsoft Windows OS.
Specific application environments such as temperature and duty cycle will affect the overall reliability.
Specifications provided by SandForce.
Temperature reporting is currently an unsupported feature because due to the operating characteristics of SSDs, it is highly unlikely one would ever exceed an OWC Mercury SSD's stated operating temperature ceiling of 158F/70C. However, we are looking into supporting this feature in the future via a firmware update. Firmware updates can be found here: http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/OWC/SSD.

OWC Express Specifications:

Chipset

Asmedia USB 3.0 chipset

Interfaces Supported

USB 3.0, 2.0 or 1.1 Backwards compatible

Port Configuration

USB 3.0 SuperSpeed - (1) micro-B port

Max Data Transfer Rate

USB 3.0 - 500MB/s

Port/Interface Bootability

Can I use this solution as an external startup drive?
USB 3.0: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. - Click for more info
USB 2.0: Supported on Macs and PC's meeting minimum requirements. - Click for more info

System Requirements

Macintosh: Macintosh running OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, OS X 10.2.x or later including 'Mavericks' 10.9.x, and an available USB port. Time Machine® Compatible: Mac OS X 10.5 (version introduced) and later.
PC: Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, NT, 98, and an available USB port.
Linux: Linux compatible via supported the USB interface.

Cooling

Super quiet fanless ventilation

Power Supply

Bus Power via USB on all models with USB 2.0 or 3.0 port

Drive Requirements

Any 2.5" Serial-ATA Drive up to 9.5mm height. Important Note: Hard Drive supported for use of this bus-powered enclosure via USB 2.0 or 3.0 port connections, use of Solid State Drive (SSD) only supported with USB 3.0 port connection.

External Case Dimensions

3.07 in (W) x 5.12 in (D) x 0.55 in (H)

Enclosure Weight (no accessories)

2.0 ounces (56g)

Product Manual

Express Installation Guide

Recommended USB 3.0 Cards

Cards that OWC has tested and qualified for the OWC Express
PCIe (PCI Express) for Desktops

CalDigit 2 Port USB 3.0 Host Adapter $94.99

Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 PCIe SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Host Adapter $67.99

Operating Environment:

Temperature

Dependent on mechanism installed

Relative Humidity

Dependent on mechanism installed

Shock

Dependent on mechanism installed

Vibration

Dependent on mechanism installed

Warranty

1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty

The best warranty is one you never have to use, but should the need occur - OWC is proud to provide a superior level of support and warranty coverage to our customers. Even when not used, we understand the peace of mind afforded by a longer warranty period. OWC's industry leading coverage is a testament to our confidence in the reliability of the solutions that we offer. OWC solutions are engineered to demanding quality standards in order to deliver the most reliable, highest performance available on the market in each storage category.

View more information about the 1 Year OWC Enclosure Limited Warranty
(Standard return policy applies.)

Manufacturer provided specifications for Other World Computing p/n Y3SSDMP480 UPC#: 812437027280

Customer Ratings

Write a Review 4.9 / 5 154 out of 156 (99%) reviewers would recommend this product

1 2 3 4

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: JeffsFort Location: Boston, MA Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Easy upgrade July 30, 2018 Used this enclosure to mirror my Mid 2012 MacBook Pro's HDD to be upgraded to give an older machine a new life and it worked well. Toolkit was helpful but is very lightweight. Great for a single job though.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 500GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: twentymiles Location: belvidere,il. Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 perfect July 17, 2018 cut startup time by over a minute. easy to install. best thing you'll ever put in your computer.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 500GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Kevinos

Rating: 5/5 Made my mid 2010 MacBook so much better July 10, 2018 I got this and 16gs of ram for my mid 2010 MacBook pro which had become unusable and now it works like new! Great having the old HD as an external drive for old files I don't really need that often. So easy to install yourself and transfer everything over, had it all done in a few hours!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 500GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: champcaracing Location: mi Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month

Rating: 5/5 easy to use July 7, 2018 I purchased this product along with 16gb of ram, my 2012 MacBook Pro was running slow and lagged big time. yes I'm running beta software, and thought that might be the problem, wiped the hard drive and started fresh, still had problems, was to the point I was going to trade this in and get a new MacBook. after searching for months, I chose to pull the trigger on this combo. but with the install videos and docs found on owc, it went smoothly and fast. my 2012 MacBook is running great!, and fast again, best thing I bought for this laptop!! thank you OWC!!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 500GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Jimmy4000 Location: IL

Rating: 5/5 Excellent product November 30, 2016 Has made my old macbook feel new again! Working great with my 7 year old macbook. Divided into two partitions, one with SnowLeopard for legacy software, and one with ElCapitan for modern stuff. Restarting takes only seconds! No more worries about crashing the hard drive, either. Helpful video showed how to install.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 240GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools. Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: techdad Location: Chicago area Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 just works and easy to install October 7, 2016 This is the first 480GB kit I've installed (into an early 2011 MacBook Pro), but I've also installed two 240GB kits into late 2009 and mid 2012 white MacBooks). Just like the others, this was trivial to physically install using the clear video instructions. Copying over our OS and data was just as clear using the provided web page. I timed two things before and after the change: 1) cold-booting the laptop and getting to gmail and 2) shutting down from the point of starting to close gmail to all lights being off. Both were almost 5x faster after installing this SSD. This takes otherwise sound old laptops which were sadly getting very slow and draggy and makes them very usable again, letting my 3 kids keep using their old Apple college laptops and avoid them having to buy expensive new ones.

I would recommend this item to a friend! Customer Videos:

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Oakland, CA Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 3-4 months

Rating: 5/5 SSD kit and USB 3 Enclosure works as expected. June 25, 2016 Installing the Solid State Drive was easy. The instructions on the OWC web site were clear about how to do install the SSD and how to put together the USB 3 enclosure. Both are working smoothly.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Los Angeles, CA Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 3-4 months

Rating: 5/5 The SSD Data Doublers Next –Great price and product! June 6, 2016 Great experience and easy installation, comes with tools. This product rocks! Plus, they give you and extra case for your old HD once you replace it. Cannot wait to get the data doubler! Check it out if you haven't

Thanks alot guys OWC rocks! Great deals on used macs also!

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous

Rating: 5/5 iBook Pro is greatly improved May 22, 2016 The 240 GB Mercury Electra solid state drive really improved the speed of my iBook. And, it was a great price.

Thanks!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 240GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: SoCal Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: over 6 months

Rating: 5/5 New life for my mid-2009 13-inch MacBook May 5, 2016 I already reviewed the maxed out 6 GB memory upgrade I made, which was 5 stars. I coupled that memory upgrade with this SSD hard drive, and my little macbook has a new life. Things run faster than ever, especially after the upgrade to El Capitan, and I am so pleased. My macbook is now a keeper. I have no complaints about the SSD so far, it is a winner. It has been in the macbook since February, and everything is still humming along, snappy and FAST. Very pleased.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 1.0TB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Redlands, CA Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: over 6 months

Rating: 5/5 SSD - Holy Amazeballs! April 10, 2016 First off, I'm not a power user, but do feel comfortable swapping out RAM and laptop batteries. Everyone told me not to do it myself, but the more research I did, the more convinced I could do it myself. I had a backup (1 TB) drive and couldn't wait to install an SSD. This had to be one of the easiest things I've done next to swapping out RAM. I'd forgotten though to reinstall OS X on the new drive before installing it, but it didn't make a difference. Seriously, I feel like a rock star. Thanks guys!

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: NSW Australia Age: 25-34 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 A new lease of life April 4, 2016 Installed in a late 2008 unibody 13'' MacBook. Extremely straightforward install, and the performance of the computer has been restored to that of a new machine. Reliable and well functioning. Excellent purchase, well worth it.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New Jersey Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: over 6 months

Rating: 5/5 Easy Upgrade April 3, 2016 I have a 2009 MacBook Pro that I wanted to keep for many more years and not have to buy a new MBP. The SSD drive installation was easy with the tutorial videos and kit from OWC. The installation doubled the size of my hard drive and sped up the computer as well, which I especially notice when launching Parallels and Windows. I also exchanged the battery at the same time which was also a breeze with the tutorial videos. I highly recommend both. The $450 investment in both was a lot cheaper than $3000 for a new Mac!

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 1.0TB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: oregon Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: over 6 months

Rating: 5/5 a terrific upgrade March 7, 2016 completely "saved-and-revitalized" my mid-2009 17" MacBookPro

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Worked as advertised. March 3, 2016 Compatible with my late 08 macbook. Works like a dream.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 60GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Noob Owned Product: 5-6 months

Rating: 5/5 if i can do this,anyone can. February 20, 2016 i have no experience with computers.this install wasn't bad at all.the tech support was excellent.it was installed in a 2009 macbook 6.1. time from turning on to using is 18 seconds.i did upgrade to 8gb memory a few months ago.between tech support and my research,this is a pretty cool computer for an oldy.i will not be getting rid of it anytime soon.its running El Capitan which was released in 2015-2016.new program like a new computer.hats off to the guys at OQC>

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 240GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Madrid (Spain) Age: 25-34 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: less than a month

Rating: 5/5 The best performance! February 13, 2016 Installed in Macbook 5,1 with the last version of Mac OS (10.11.3) Less hot, more speed, everything works better with this hd Moreover the case fits perfectly with the old one and its very useful.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 120GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer Top 100 Contributor

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Apple Valley, CA Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Good tool kit addition February 6, 2016 The 240GB Mercury Enclosure unit is a must to make the transfer of old information to the new unit very easy and trouble free. Highly recommended for a smooth transfer.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 240GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New York NY Age: 25-34 Experience Level: Noob Owned Product: less than a month

Rating: 5/5 Painless process, peace of mind January 23, 2016 Added RAM and upgraded to a SSD for my mid-2009 Macbook Pro. I was super nervous about setting everything up, but for the most part (outside of formatting the new hard drive) everything was a straight shot. Had to write a positive review because OWC really did make it easy and painless. Than you! It's also worth the peace of mind knowing that there aren't any compatibility issues.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New York

Rating: 5/5 Better than a processor or RAM upgrade January 7, 2016 I was about to dump my 2009 MBP 13", but this SSD made a massive change in boot time and overall usability. I decided to keep it. For less than the price of the cheapest iPad I get iPad performance in a far more useful laptop! Now almost a year of heavy use (video transcoding) and still going strong.

No difference in battery life as far as I can tell. It is also as fast as it was when I bought it.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from DIY KIT: 120GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD + OWC Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure + Tools.

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Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Albuquerque, NM Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Going to Warp with SSD December 26, 2015 This drive is so much faster than the original in my late 2008 MacBook Pro that I'm kicking myself about is not doing this sooner. The physical installation took less than 5 minutes. I did needed the tool kit as I did not have the screwdriver needed to swap the mounting pins from the old drive to the new.

I used the OWC Guide "Migrating Your Mac OS X Installation to a New Drive." To be extra careful about not losing data, I first accomplished this with an external hard drive I was using for redundant backup. Once I had all my information safely stored on it (as well as the old hard drive), I proceeded with the Installation guide to include loading a new copy of OS-X (Yosemite. I have not as yet made the jump to El Capitan). The transfer of data takes a long time (I let the first transfer to the external HD go overnight. Loading the OS X was also slow); however, everything loaded much faster onto the new SSD. Follow the instructions and it is a piece of cake.

Had I not had a 2008 MacBook, I probably would have sprung for the 960 GB SSD. Then again, I can always use this with another system when my '08 gives up the ghost.

SSD is the way to go. My old MacBook is faster than it ever was!

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Berlin, Germany Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 Hard To Believe How Good December 21, 2015 I was not a believer until I installed. My MacBook Pro (2010) has a new lease on life. Everything is better. Very impressive. Thanks!!

I would recommend this item to a friend!

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Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Ljubljana Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 1-3 months

Rating: 5/5 works! simple as that. December 17, 2015 help yourself with youtube, in case of trouble. regards, Matej SI

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Experience Level: Power User

Rating: 5/5 Do it December 13, 2015 Did this mod while changing out my dead battery. This transformed my aging MacBook Pro. The startup speed is dramatically increased. It used to take a few minutes to get going, but now it's less than 30 seconds. Install was pretty simple, and if you are comfortable swapping RAM, you should be fine. Watch the videos and go for it, the results are worth it in my opinion. It's also nice not having to worry so much about the drive getting bounced around when traveling.

I now have some much needed new life for my aging laptop which should hopefully last until something new and shiny gets introduced by Apple.

I would recommend this item to a friend!

Verified Buyer

Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Alaska Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Power User

Rating: 5/5 Installed this into a MacMini 1,1 December 3, 2015 Yes, I just upgraded a 2006 MacMini! HD is working fine but getting old so thought I would install an SSD instead of another HD. This Mini is used mainly as a media server but I do use it for other purposes now and then. It is maxed out with the operating system at 10.6.8 and Ram at 2GB. Not a real powerhouse but with the new SSD installed the Boot time went from 1 1/2 minutes to 17 seconds. Looking forward to the next 10 years of use!! I installed the 500GB HD into an external enclosure, also purchased from OWC, and will use it to hold my music collection and photos (backed up, or course).

I would recommend this item to a friend!

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DIY Bundle

Includes

Gallery

Release Candidate (RC) firmware set

480GB Mercury Electra 3G SSD Specifications:

Specifications

Physical

Reliability3

Performance

Environmental (Operating)

Environmental (Non-Operating)

Acoustics

OWC Express Specifications:

Chipset

Interfaces Supported

Port Configuration

Max Data Transfer Rate

Port/Interface Bootability

System Requirements

Cooling

Power Supply

Drive Requirements

External Case Dimensions

Enclosure Weight (no accessories)

Product Manual

Recommended USB 3.0 Cards

Temperature

Relative Humidity

Shock

Vibration

Warranty

Customer Ratings

Reliability³