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Mid 2012 model, A1278 / 2.5 GHz i5 or 2.9 GHz i7 processor.

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I want to replace my optical drive with extra USB ports

My optical drive isn’t working and I don’t use it enough to justify spending money on a new one or even upgrading to bluray. I also have a 1 TB SSD and am not looking for more storage. I saw another similar thread in which someone suggested soldering in an additional USB hub. This sounds like a good way to break the motherboard, but if it is possible, how would one go about it? Would USB-C be a possibility?

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Not a great idea since it’s almost impossible w/o modifying outer case to solder an additional USB Hub. And USB-C is not an option w/o an external controller, which requires either PCIe lanes or something else that uses PCIe lanes (like Thunderbolt). My suggestion, get an optibay and install an HDD instead of optical drive. You can use that HDD to store some junk or files that don’t need high speeds. That can help your SSD to live a bit longer (I know, you said that storage expancion isn’t what you want rn, but it’s the safest way to do something right now).

Also soldering an USB Hub will definetely kill something on your MoBo since there will be problems with either not getting enough current, or screwing up those tiny electrical paths on PCB. So there’s that…

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