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My Review of the Transcend JetDrive 520 480GB SSD in a 2012 11" MBA.
My Review also includes a comparison of the JetDrive with the OWC Aura Pro Drive.
I ordered the OWC Aura Pro Drive the day before the Transcend Drives were announced. Before I received the drive, I called OWC to see if they would price match, and the answer was no. So, I thought Shame on Me. OWC's pricing was $449. for a bare drive and $475. for one that included tools and an enclosure for the old SSD. (OWC's pricing has since been reduced to $398. and $419. respectively) I opted for the bare drive. I installed the drive, and as others have noticed, the vertical dimension of the circuit board the components are mounted on is a millimeter or 2 larger than the stock SSD. Others have cut the board, I didn't, I applied a little pressure and it snapped into place. OWCs installation video is, IMO, far better than the Transcend video. Once set up, the SSD seemed to work fine, for awhile, but less than a day later, the drive started giving me problems. I tried repairing it with both Disk utility and Tech Tool Pro, both to no avail. Two days later it happened again. I called OWC and asked for an RMA. They agreed but said I would have to pay a restocking fee and pay for return shipment. I challenged that, saying this was not a capricious return, that the unit was defective and I expected OWC to pay for shipping and refund the full amount. They agreed, and sent me a UPS label.
When ordering the Transcend JetDrive I was quoted a delivery time of from 2 to 4 weeks. The unit was shipped 3 days after the order was placed and I received it one day later, that's 4 days after order placement! The price of the JetDrive 480 GB SSD from Amazon was $350. + Sales Tax (OWC charges no tax in Arizona). If I could have waited longer, I could have bought it from my memory Supplier, Data Memory Systems and not paid Sales Tax, but Transcend has not yet supplied it's distributers with this product.
Upon receipt of the JetDrive, yesterday, the first thing that jumped out at me was the packaging. The OWC SSD came packed in an anti-static bag enclosed in a thin gauge blister packed piece of cardboard with blue printing. It looked the packaging used by Ace Combs. The Transcend packaging on the other hand was impressive. A heavy gauge white slide out box with a full color picture of the SSD. The box was multi layered and contained the drive, the enclosure for the OEM drive, and the tools necessary for installation. Each layer was a plastic bed with depressions sized to fit the associated parts. It also contained an instruction booklet and warranty information. The instructions are, IMHO, inadequate, and only two pages apply, the other 26 pages being written for other languages.
The tools worked very well, and installation was a breeze. the form factor of the circuit board is the same as apple's so no undue pressure was needed for installation. My old SSD fit into the supplied enclosure with no issues.
I then cloned the JetDrive using Tech Tool Pro from the external Hybrid Drive I had been using as the main drive for my MBA. I foolishly ordered my MBA with only the 64GB SSD.
No issues. Everything is working as expected. In terms of speed. I have not measured the speed, but it feels very snappy. I believe the OWC and Transcend drives to be equal here. Transcend even supplies software to enable Apple's Trim support, OWC does not. There is however, third party software that enables Trim, Trim Enabler. I use that anyway for the SSD I use in my Mac Pro.
The Transcend drive seems to run color than true OWC drive. When feeling the bottom of my MBA where the SSD is mounted, the area while warm, is not as warm as it was with the OWC unit.
In ending, I would urge anyone installing the JetDrive in a MBA to watch the OWC installation video, again, it is superior to the Transcend video, and will make things more understandable to you.
The JetDrive is by far the superior product, and as of right now is $69. cheaper than the OWC Aura Pro. When I bought the OWC product, it would have cost $125 more than the corresponding Transcend product.
That IMHO is Value.
Currently, Apple charges $500. to go from a 128GB SSD to a 512GB SSD in the MBA. So, $350. for a 480GB SSD AND you get to keep your old drive, you can't beat that.
The Transcend drive seems to run color than true OWC drive. When feeling the bottom of my MBA where the SSD is mounted, the area while warm, is not as warm as it was with the OWC unit.
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From the manufacturer
Features
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Running out of storage space?Stop fretting about storage space. Transcend's JetDrive SSD upgrade kit offers up to 960GB of storage capacity. Upgrading your Mac to a JetDrive SSD ensures you'll have plenty of space for all your favorite music, videos, and photos. |
Supercharge your MacWith file transfer performance that far exceeds stock SSDs, JetDrive SSDs provide both speed and stability. Whether you're browsing the internet, gaming, or running multiple applications simultaneously, JetDrive SSDs deliver the performance you need. |
One deal. Double benefits.The JetDrive comes with an additional external enclosure. This sturdy aluminum case is ready to house your original SSD for use as a new external drive. Thanks to its USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface, waiting for transfers to complete becomes a thing of the past. |
Features
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Sleek. Solid. Pocketable.Its clean, simple lines and solid aluminum construction make the included enclosure a perfect companion to your Mac. With a thickness of 1.08 cm and a weight of 60g, transporting your data becomes a breeze. |
JetDrive ToolboxExclusively developed by Transcend, JetDrive Toolbox helps maintain a healthy and efficient SSD by keeping it up-to-date, preventing functional degradation, and predicting problems before they happen. JetDrive Toolbox clearly displays drive information, S.M.A.R.T. status for possible drive failure, health indicators for estimated lifespan, and facilitates firmware upgrades. It can also identify your Mac to quickly find out which of our Apple product suits your computer. |
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Compare with similar items
This Item  Transcend 240GB JetDrive 520 SATAIII 6Gb/s Solid State Drive Upgrade Kit for MacBook Air, Mid 2012 (TS240GJDM520) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | -13% $151.57 List: $174.20 | $74.99 | $49.99 | $173.18 | $57.99 | $56.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 4 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 4 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 4 | Get it May 7 - 10 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 4 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 4 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Easy to install | ||||||
| Storage Capacity | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Tech Support | ||||||
| Sold By | Amazon.com | OWC (Other World Computing) | Hard Disk Expert | Hot Deals 4 Less® | OWC (Other World Computing) | HZ PXX |
| storage capacity | 4 GB | 500 GB | 256 GB | 512 GB | 240 GB | 256 GB |
| hardware interface | sata 3 0 gb | sata 1 5 gb, sata 3 0 gb, sata 6 0 gb | pci express 4.0 | sata 3 0 gb | pci | solid state drive |
| compatible devices | Laptop | Laptop | MacBook Air(2013-2017), MacBook Pro(2013-2015), iMac(2013-2017), Mac mini (2014) | Desktop | MacBook Pro Retina, 13-inch and 15-inch, Late 2013-2015 (MacBookPro11,1 MacBookPro11,2 MacBookPro11,3 MacBookPro12,1 MacBookPro11,4 MacBookPro11,5 MacBookPro11,4 MacBookPro12,1), MacBook Air 11-inch and 13-inch, Mid 2013- Mid 2017 (MacBookAir6,1 MacBookAir6,2 MacBookAir7,1 MacBookAir7,2), Mac mini Late 2014 (Macmini7,1) | MacBook Air A1465 A1466 (Mid 2013-2017), MacBook Pro A1502 A1398 (Retina 2013-2015), iMac A1418 A1419 (2013-2017), and Mac Mini A1347 (Late 2014), Mac Pro A1481 (2013) |
| write speed | 460 | 530 megabits per second | 1300 | 470 | — | 2000 megabits per second |
| read speed | 495 megabytes per second | 530 megabytes per second | — | 560 megabytes per second | — | — |
Videos
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Videos for this product
2:11
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Upgrade your MacBook with Transcend's JetDrive
Merchant Video
Videos for this product
5:02
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How to install JetDrive 500/520 for MacBook Air
Transcend
Videos for this product
0:35
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How to reuse your old SSD after JetDrive update
Transcend
Videos for this product
0:30
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Max it out with Transcend JetDrive 500/520/720/725
Transcend
Reviews with images
Use Caution
The screws that held my MacBook Air on were easily stripped. I am not sure if this is just the material they are made from, or if the driver supplied is just ill-fitted to the screws, but I trashed a good portion of them trying to get them back on.I ended up buying some new screws and a different driver here on amazon that worked much better. Anyway after much frustration I have the drive installed and it works. I hope that it stays working because probably never getting that back off again.Also: formatting your replacement drive as APSF was a bit of a mystery. Finally found a link that helped me overcome the convert error obstacle. Added some screenshots to step you through.You will need an extra drive to back up your current SSD so be aware of that too.
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Sergio
Excelente opción para actualiza ru MAC BOOK AIR
Reviewed in Mexico on October 2, 2019Capacity: 240 GBVerified Purchase
Sergio
Reviewed in Mexico on October 2, 2019
En definitiva es la opción si estas pensando en actualizar un equipo que funciona muy bien y que si no has necesitado de mas potencia seguro que si has necesitado mas almacenamiento, en este caso el ordenador es de mi esposa y ya tenia que hacer respaldos muy continuamente por falta de almacenamiento (64Gb), con lo que 4 veces mas seguro que hace la diferencia.
En contra tiene el precio casi USD 170 lo hace una solución no muy barata pero si consideras un ordenador nuevo vale la pena.
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