Upgrading Your Mac Pro Late 2013 Hard Drive: Is It Worth the Hassle?

When it comes to upgrading your Mac Pro late 2013 hard drive, you may be considering a Thunderbolt solution to take advantage of faster storage options. However, before investing in a Thunderbolt setup, it's worth questioning whether the additional expense and troubleshooting hassle are truly worth it.

One of the main limitations of using a Thunderbolt solution is that you're still limited by the speed of your SATA SSDs, which top out at around 550MB/second. Even with Thunderbolt 3, this limitation remains, as your Mac Pro only supports USB 3.1 Gen 1, which is fast enough for SATA SSDs.

In my case, I opted to use a hard drive and an SSD in one bay designated for scratch storage. My Mac has Thunderbolt 3 capabilities, but I decided the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad plugged in through USB 3 would be sufficient for my needs. This solution uses USB 3.1 Gen 1, which is supported by the ports on your Mac Pro and is fast enough for common SATA SSDs.

Some may argue that using a Thunderbolt solution is overkill, but it does provide future-proofing and compatibility with potential future upgrades to your Mac Pro. Additionally, the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad comes with a 3-year warranty, is portable, has upgradeable SSDs, and features no fan noise.

Another option to consider is the OWC Thunderblade 1TB, which offers up to 4 SSDs and compatibility with TB2. At around £600, including the cost of four 250GB SSDs and an Apple TB3>TB2 adapter, it's a more expensive but potentially more versatile solution.

For those looking for a more budget-friendly option, the OWC Express 4M2 offers one SSD at a price of just over £400. Alternatively, you could consider the Samsung X5 connected to a Thunderbolt 3 dock and using an Apple adapter to connect it to your Mac Pro.

Ultimately, when deciding whether or not to upgrade your Mac Pro late 2013 hard drive, it's essential to weigh the pros and cons of each solution and consider what will work best for your specific needs.

Mac pro late 2013 hard drive upgrade