A Complete SSD Upgrade Kit for MacBook Pro (Early 2011)

Our Final Thoughts

The OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD is one of the fastest 2.5″ form factor SATA III SSDs on the market running with the SandForce SF-2282 controller. Its incredible speed of up to 556MB/s really shows off what this solid-state drive is capable of. With the applications we have tested, and the benchmarks we have done, we can highly recommend the Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G to any extreme enthusiast. Whether they want to just do basic document editing, surfing the net or other related activities, all the way up to the professional video editing software that can use high-definition video and much more, the Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G will not disappoint. Also, a 5-Year Warranty is greatly appreciated from OWC.

Even though we do not necessarily consider this as a major con, there are no accessories that come with the Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G that would allow the user to install the SSD in a Desktop system; the buyer would have to go out and spend extra money on other mounting accessories in order to mount the SSD in the system properly. Fortunately, when ordering from macsales.com, a bracket can be added for only $2.99 after rebate, which is a very good price. If bought separately, the 2.5″ to 3.5″ SSD bracket will cost about $14.99.

OUR VERDICT: OWC 240GB Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD

Performance 10 Value 9 Quality 9 Features 9 Innovation 10 We are using a new addition to our scoring system to provide additional feedback beyond a flat score. Please note that the final score isn’t an aggregate average of the new rating system. Total 9.5 Pros Cons Excellent PerformancePlenty of storage if there is a Hard Drive also installed. Expandable to 480GB. SATA 6.0Gbps Compatibility with SandForce SF-2282 Controller 5-Year Warranty Expensive

Summary: The OWC 240GB Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD not only provides plenty of space to install your operating system on, but also enough to get most of your other applications and files on it as well providing a much smoother and snappier system. With its excellent performance, it earns the Bjorn3D Golden Bear Award.

OWC Data Doubler

The Data Doubler is a very handy, useful and high-quality mounting adapter for the MacBook Pro that allows users to install additional storage devices like SSDs into their system for expanded storage space with extra performance. Overall the Data Doubler gets the job done and is very sturdy, meaning that it will handle heavy devices and keep everything fit perfectly, however, we are a bit worried about its price of around $74.99, which seems a bit on the expensive side for just an adapter considering that products like these could be designed for much cheaper.

While not a con for the product itself, with the installation of additional storage devices, the user must remove their optical DVD player in order to install the Data Doubler.

OUR VERDICT: OWC Data Doubler

Performance N/A Value 6 Quality 10 Features 9 Innovation 9 We are using a new addition to our scoring system to provide additional feedback beyond a flat score. Please note that the final score isn’t an aggregate average of the new rating system. Total 8 Pros Cons Very Sturdy and High Quality Easy installation Expensive for what it does

Summary: Even though the OWC Data Doubler is a very high quality sturdy and straight forward product to work with, we believe it is very expensive for what it actually does. We will be awarding the OWC Data Doubler the Bjorn3D Silver Bear Award.

OWC SuperSlim

Finally the OWC SuperSlim is a very handy enclosure to have around when you upgrade your MacBook Pro with additional storage devices, as the Data Doubler will take up the space where the optical DVD player is currently located. While the SuperSlim performs very nicely with the same performance as the internal setup, the OWC SuperSlim is missing some key features. One of the features would be a small LED indicating whether the unit is powered on or not. The 2nd LED should be showing read/write operations when the drive is used. We find these features to be essential parts of a proper enclosure, because users need to know whether their device is working, or is even turned on.

Other than that, we were not big fans of the overall construction and quality of the SuperSlim, as it is made out of thin plastic that easily bends. With the optical DVD player placed inside the enclosure, the enclosure gains a bit of strength, though this is only because of the sturdier construction of the DVD player itself. Overall the anti-vibration and non-sliding design is excellent with the rubber feet that comes with the OWC SuperSlim.

OUR VERDICT: OWC SuperSlim

Performance 10 Value 7 Quality 6 Features 8 Innovation 7 We are using a new addition to our scoring system to provide additional feedback beyond a flat score. Please note that the final score isn’t an aggregate average of the new rating system. Total 7 Pros Cons Easy installation of the DVD drive Very light and easy to carry around Dual USB power cable in case one is not enough to power up the enclosure. Construction feels weak No power or read/write LED indicator No power Adapter included

Summary: Even though the OWC SuperSlim gets the job done and allows us to run DVDs externally through a USB 2.0 port, we are still not quite satisfied with its overall construction, and the features it provides.

As a conclusion, it is worth looking into OWC’s SSD upgrades for your MacBook Pro, as they offer much faster SSDs than what Apple offers for the same price, while also providing you with additional upgrade options and different solutions to fit your needs.