OWC DIY Kit (Data Doubler + SSD) and SuperSlim USB 2.0 External Enclosure Review

Storage/SSD by stefan @ 2012-10-18

The OWC DIY Kit is compatible with the latest Mid-2012 non-Retina Macbook Pros and helps us install an additional disk drive by replacing the Apple SuperDrive. The kit also incorporates a high-performance SSD from the same manufacturer (SandForce powered) and for $39.99 extra we can also have the Super Slim USB 2.0 Enclosure for the removed SuperDrive.

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Introduction

 

At first I would like to thank OWC for offering their OWC DIY Kit and SuperSlim USB 2.0 External Enclosure for testing and reviewing.

 

About OWC:

"Other World Computing (OWC) has been providing quality hardware products and support to the computer industry since 1988 and features one of the largest online catalogs of computer, iPod, and iPhone enhancement products through its e-commerce portal www.macsales.com. As an Apple Certified Developer, OWC also provides extensive US based technical support for Macintosh users around the world as well as Internet access via www.fastermac.net and www.owc.net."

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Comment from jmke @ 2012/10/18
bit of a markup for the Mac Superslim drive swap, as most SSD are now sub $1 per GB, still a nice kit, much more useful than a DVD drive.

Excellent installation pictures and benchmarks.

Can you use this drive as boot drive for Mac OS X? (while in the new superslim enclosure) ? or do you need to swap the internal HDD?
the Sata speed is 3Gbps on the DVD port?
Comment from Stefan Mileschin @ 2012/10/18
Of course you can use the drive as bootable for OS X. This is the best use for it basically in my opinion. My benchmarks done in OS X show SATA 6Gbps speeds for the SuperDrive bay interface.
Comment from jmke @ 2012/10/18
that's pretty awesome, most OEM systems have no 6Gbps for their DVD drives
Comment from Stefan Mileschin @ 2012/10/18
From what I have read, 6Gbps works well since the 2011 Late versions of Macbook Pro on the SuperDrive interface. This is why Mac Pro Unibody is still awesome compared to Retina or Air regarding possible internal storage space .
Comment from jmke @ 2012/10/23

 

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