DIY replacement of DVD drive with an SSD

hard driveremote-discssdupgrade

I have a late 2011 15" MacBook Pro. It has a 750 GB HDD and I'm about to upgrade the RAM from 2×4 GB to 2 x 8 GB. I am looking for do-it-yourself resources/guides to either (depending on difficulty):

  1. replace the HDD with a SSD (obviously the easier scenario if not too difficult, or, …)

  2. a) Remove the internal DVD drive that hardly ever gets used.
    b) Install the DVD drive in an enclosure with a USB or Thunderbolt port for use as an external device when needed.
    c) fill the empty DVD drive space with an SSD and make use of both the HDD (for data) and the SSD (for OS and software).

Obviously the first question is readily dooable and I'm considering the Samsung 860 EVO 1 or 2 TB if I settle on the first upgrade scenario.

Question 1:
I'm just not sure Samsung 860 EVO will fit?

Question 2:
It is really the second scenario that I need the step by step guide for, if it is possible, not overly difficult and, if any of you folk know of a good DIY resource?

Best Answer

Two sites that are very Mac friendly are the iFixit site and the OWC (Other World Computing) site. OWC sells SSDs and many other Mac upgrades. I suggest you search the site for what you are looking for.

An iFixit example guide how to install a second HDD/SSD (with links where to buy all required parts and tools):

Installing MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Late 2011 Dual Hard Drive

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