2009 Mac Pro v4.1 to 5.1 Graphics Card Help

[rodedwards]

First, make a backup of your files. Then burn a CD, right click on the ISO file and select Burn. Next you boot from the CD to upgrade the firmware.

Thanks to you all for your help ... but I'm a little stuck with the firmware update procedure ... Sorry to be a little stupid, but this is new to me and i don't want to make any mistakes.

So i've downloaded the Mac Firmware update :
https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

It gives me a file called "Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso". I've right clicked on the file and selected "Burn Disk Image "Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso" and it burns a dvd. BUT when i restart holding down the Option key to try and boot up from the dvd it only gives me an option to boot up from standard hard disk. No CD / DVD option and so my standard desktop screen etc boots up.

Am I Burning Disk Image of the right file ? Should i first double click the file "Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso" to get the disk image celled "CDROM" and burn that file or the one indide that called "ISOLINUX" ?

Am i missing something please ?

 

[h9826790]

Thanks to you all for your help ... but I'm a little stuck with the firmware update procedure ... Sorry to be a little stupid, but this is new to me and i don't want to make any mistakes.

So i've downloaded the Mac Firmware update :
https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

It gives me a file called "Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso". I've right clicked on the file and selected "Burn Disk Image "Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso" and it burns a dvd. BUT when i restart holding down the Option key to try and boot up from the dvd it only gives me an option to boot up from standard hard disk. No CD / DVD option and so my standard desktop screen etc boots up.

Am I Burning Disk Image of the right file ? Should i first double click the file "Samsung_SSD_840_EVO_EXT0DB6Q_Mac.iso" to get the disk image celled "CDROM" and burn that file or the one indide that called "ISOLINUX" ?

Am i missing something please ?

Can you hold "C" to boot directly to the disc?

 

[rodedwards]

Can you hold "C" to boot directly to the disc?

Ahhh yes ... that seemed to work ok !
It seems to have allowed for Samsung Evo 840 firmware update ... it said "Firmware Updated, please restart" but didn't give me the option to restart so i had to press the main power button on my Mac. It booted up ok so does that sound hunky dory ? I assume it now has latest firmware ?

I'll have a play for a bit then i'll try and turn on TRIM. Don't want to do too much all at once ...

 

[Squuiid]

Ahhh yes ... that seemed to work ok !
It seems to have allowed for Samsung Evo 840 firmware update ... it said "Firmware Updated, please restart" but didn't give me the option to restart so i had to press the main power button on my Mac. It booted up ok so does that sound hunky dory ? I assume it now has latest firmware ?

I'll have a play for a bit then i'll try and turn on TRIM. Don't want to do too much all at once ...

Nice work. Check in System Profiler if the firmware is now shown as the latest, EXT0DB6Q.

 

[rodedwards]

Yippee ! Yes all seems to be updated ! Thank you everyone ...

Now i just need to turn on TRIM using Terminal :

• Open the Terminal application (Use spotlight and type ‘Terminal’)
• Enter this text in to terminal – sudo trimforce enable – and hit enter
• Enter your administrator password
• follow the on screen steps and your Mac will restart
• TRIM is now active on your Mac

and then manually TRIM the SSD :

1) boot into Recovery Partition
2) run Disk Utility
3) select SSD
4) run First Aid

Is that correct ?

How do i 'boot into Recovery Partition? I tried downloading Lion Disk Maker and installing OSX 10.13.6 on an 8GB Memory Card but there was a error. So is there another way ? Is this manual 'second' TRIM important ?

Then can i sleep better at night knowing all my bits and bytes are in the right place ?!

 

[bookemdano]

The recovery partition is built in. Reboot while holding command-R, or reboot holding the option key and choosing the recovery partition from the picker.

 

[rodedwards]

The recovery partition is built in. Reboot while holding command-R, or reboot holding the option key and choosing the recovery partition from the picker.

Wow - i never knew that. Thanks !

I've also managed to get http://diskmakerx.com/ (previously Lion Disk Maker) to work. So i have two options.

Will report back if i have any problems ... These long Summer evenings in with my Mac just fly by don't they ....

 

[rodedwards]

Ahhhh ... It seems i need a little more help please !

I've updated the firmware, and I'm now trying to enable TRIM on my Samsung Evo 840 using "Terminal".

• Open the Terminal application (Use spotlight and type ‘Terminal’)
• Enter this text in to terminal – sudo trimforce enable – and hit enter
• Enter your administrator password
• follow the on screen steps and your Mac will restart
• TRIM is now active on your Mac

HOWEVER !!! I've typed text ' sudo trimforce enable ' and hit enter. It then askes for administrator password but I can't seem to type the four digit pssword as there is a "locked" icon in Terminal.

Any suggestions ?

 

[tsialex]

Ahhhh ... It seems i need a little more help please !

I've updated the firmware, and I'm now trying to enable TRIM on my Samsung Evo 840 using "Terminal".

• Open the Terminal application (Use spotlight and type ‘Terminal’)
• Enter this text in to terminal – sudo trimforce enable – and hit enter
• Enter your administrator password
• follow the on screen steps and your Mac will restart
• TRIM is now active on your Mac

HOWEVER !!! I've typed text ' sudo trimforce enable ' and hit enter. It then askes for administrator password but I can't seem to type the four digit pssword as there is a "locked" icon in Terminal.

Any suggestions ?

View attachment 771877

Did you typed your password and pressed enter? Terminal do not show password keypresses, you just type it and press enter.

 

[rodedwards]

Did you typed your password and pressed enter? Terminal do not show password keypresses, you just type it and press enter.

Ah ha (again!) - yes, you're absolutely right ... It did accept password on enter even though i could not see the numbers.

However, there is a pretty scary warming that Apple throw up before i go ahead and activate TRIM on my Samsung Evo 840. It prompted me to Google TRIM support on this SSD and i read lots of older reports of problems with the Samsung 8** series of SSDs.

Are these issues now fixed with my recent firmware update or am i better not enabling TRIM as it's a fairly large 1Tb SSD and i tend to just use about half of it (500Gb) at any one time. The rest is empty space.

What do you think ? If i enable and hit problems, can i easily Disable TRIM ?!

Thanks again ...

 

[tsialex]

Ah ha (again!) - yes, you're absolutely right ... It did accept password on enter even though i could not see the numbers.

However, there is a pretty scary warming that Apple throw up before i go ahead and activate TRIM on my Samsung Evo 840. It prompted me to Google TRIM support on this SSD and i read lots of older reports of problems with the Samsung 8** series of SSDs.

Are these issues now fixed with my recent firmware update or am i better not enabling TRIM as it's a fairly large 1Tb SSD and i tend to just use about half of it (500Gb) at any one time. The rest is empty space.

What do you think ? If i enable and hit problems, can i easily Disable TRIM ?!

Thanks again ...

Apple scared you, no?

I had a 840EVO with updated firmware on my Mac Pro some years ago, worked fine with TRIM, but as always, have backup of your files. You can disable TRIM anytime.

 

[rodedwards]

Apple scared you, no?

I had a 840EVO with updated firmware on my Mac Pro some years ago, worked fine with TRIM, but as always, have backup of your files. You can disable TRIM anytime.

Ha ha ! Yes they did ! :O

Thanks again for your advice ... Can i ask, if there are any problems after the TRIM enable, what sort of things do i need to look for ? I'm still seeing how my Mac Pro ticks along after the High Sierra OS upgrade and Samsung firmware upgrade. Maybe i should leave TRIM a few weeks until i feel the system is more stable and familiar. :/

 

[Squuiid]

Ah ha (again!) - yes, you're absolutely right ... It did accept password on enter even though i could not see the numbers.

However, there is a pretty scary warming that Apple throw up before i go ahead and activate TRIM on my Samsung Evo 840. It prompted me to Google TRIM support on this SSD and i read lots of older reports of problems with the Samsung 8** series of SSDs.

Are these issues now fixed with my recent firmware update or am i better not enabling TRIM as it's a fairly large 1Tb SSD and i tend to just use about half of it (500Gb) at any one time. The rest is empty space.

What do you think ? If i enable and hit problems, can i easily Disable TRIM ?!

Thanks again ...

Safe to ignore. I too have run TRIM on this drive before and had zero problems.

Disk issues generally manifest themselves as lots of beach balling. That’s what you would be looking out for but you’ll be fine with that drive and TRIM.

 

[tsialex]

Ha ha ! Yes they did ! :O

Thanks again for your advice ... Can i ask, if there are any problems after the TRIM enable, what sort of things do i need to look for ? I'm still seeing how my Mac Pro ticks along after the High Sierra OS upgrade and Samsung firmware upgrade. Maybe i should leave TRIM a few weeks until i feel the system is more stable and familiar. :/

The only SSD that I had with TRIM problems was a old OCZ one, pre Toshiba, sometimes it just freeze/beachballing.

I don't think 840EVO had TRIM problems, the GIGANTIC problem with 840EVO is reading old files, on the last firmware Samsung made changes to it making the controller rewrite old files frequently.

Btw, think on changing it to a newer model. 840 and 840EVO are the lemons on Samsung SSDs.

 

[rodedwards]

Safe to ignore. I too have run TRIM on this drive before and had zero problems.

Disk issues generally manifest themselves as lots of beach balling. That’s what you would be looking out for but you’ll be fine with that drive and TRIM.

One of the reasons i was looking at a new graphics card and updating OS to High Sierra was due to 'beachballing' with Photoshop etc ... and this also made me think i maybe need to enable TRIM.

It's not so bad now, i've updated all my drivers etc ... but tempted by another fix - TRIM activation.

I think i'll leave it a few days to see how things are and then try enabling TRIM. Been meaning to do it for a long time ... and we all like that extra fix

 

[Squuiid]

One of the reasons i was looking at a new graphics card and updating OS to High Sierra was due to 'beachballing' with Photoshop etc ... and this also made me think i maybe need to enable TRIM.

It's not so bad now, i've updated all my drivers etc ... but tempted by another fix - TRIM activation.

I think i'll leave it a few days to see how things are and then try enabling TRIM. Been meaning to do it for a long time ... and we all like that extra fix

I’d recommend installing AJA System Test (free) and reporting back with your disks speeds...
AJA System Test Lite by AJA Video Systems
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aja-system-test-lite/id1092006274?mt=12

 

[tsialex]

One of the reasons i was looking at a new graphics card and updating OS to High Sierra was due to 'beachballing' with Photoshop etc ... and this also made me think i maybe need to enable TRIM.

Humm, exactly the problem with all 840/840EVO SSDs.

Read more here: https://www.anandtech.com/tag/840-evo

 

[rodedwards]

I’d recommend installing AJA System Test (free) and reporting back with your disks speeds...
AJA System Test Lite by AJA Video Systems
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aja-system-test-lite/id1092006274?mt=12

Actually, I listened to your advice earlier on in this thread and did indeed download AJA System Test. I just got strange consistency results ... First test is usually about 500 / 500 <m/s but later tests show terrible write scores (90Mb/s)
- sometimes as low as 50Mb/s.

Is this normal ?

Will TRIM fix this ?!

Big Grin !

 

[h9826790]

One of the reasons i was looking at a new graphics card and updating OS to High Sierra was due to 'beachballing' with Photoshop etc ... and this also made me think i maybe need to enable TRIM.

It's not so bad now, i've updated all my drivers etc ... but tempted by another fix - TRIM activation.

I think i'll leave it a few days to see how things are and then try enabling TRIM. Been meaning to do it for a long time ... and we all like that extra fix

That beachball should has nothing to do with GPU.

Actually, I listened to your advice earlier on in this thread and did indeed download AJA System Test. I just got strange consistency results ... First test is usually about 500 / 500 <m/s but later tests show terrible write scores (90Mb/s)
- sometimes as low as 50Mb/s.

Is this normal ?

Will TRIM fix this ?!

Big Grin !

View attachment 771880

View attachment 771881

This is exactly because lack of TRIM.

 

[rodedwards]

That beachball should has nothing to do with GPU.


This is exactly because lack of TRIM.

Ok ... I'm going to get a TRIM.

What happens if i hit problems ? Can i turn TRIM off easily ?

 

[tsialex]

Ok ... I'm going to get a TRIM.

What happens if i hit problems ? Can i turn TRIM off easily ?

sudo trimforce disable

Don't fix your mind on TRIM. You have bigger problems with 840EVO than TRIM. It's a cell persistence/degradation problem, not a TRIM one.

 

[Squuiid]

Actually, I listened to your advice earlier on in this thread and did indeed download AJA System Test. I just got strange consistency results ... First test is usually about 500 / 500 <m/s but later tests show terrible write scores (90Mb/s)
- sometimes as low as 50Mb/s.

Is this normal ?

Will TRIM fix this ?!

Big Grin !

View attachment 771880

View attachment 771881

Increase the test file size a bit and also hit the graph button located under the start button for more detailed info.

But yes, as @h9826790 mentioned, you need to enable TRIM to improve performance.

The beach balling you had was very likely due to the 840 EVO problem and nothing to do with the GPU.

The new firmware and TRIM are pretty much all you can do to address it, short of buying a new SSD.

Oh, and have a read here to see what the issue is with the 840 (non Pro) drives:
https://www.anandtech.com/tag/840-evo

 

[rodedwards]

Wow ! I've just enabled TRIM and it seems to have made a massive improvement on Write times according to AJA System Test. Both Read & Write are now near 500Mb/s whereas before, Write times were sometimes near 500 but mostly near to 50-100Mb/s.

This seems to be fantastic news so a big thanks to you all for walking me through all this. Couldn't have done it without you all.

I'll see how i now get on, but i'm surprised at the difference ... it's like the Write speeds are now on steroids.

I'm one happy nerd (at least for now)

 

[tsialex]

Wow ! I've just enabled TRIM and it seems to have made a massive improvement on Write times according to AJA System Test. Both Read & Write are now near 500Mb/s whereas before, Write times were sometimes near 500 but mostly near to 50-100Mb/s.

This seems to be fantastic news so a big thanks to you all for walking me through all this. Couldn't have done it without you all.

I'll see how i now get on, but i'm surprised at the difference ... it's like the Write speeds are now on steroids.

I'm one happy nerd (at least for now)

View attachment 771910

Nice that write speeds are up to speed now. I hope the firmware update plus TRIM helps with the slow read on old cells/beachballs.

 

[rodedwards]

Nice that write speeds are up to speed now. I hope the firmware update plus TRIM helps with the slow read on old cells/beachballs.

I hope so too !

Whilst we're chatting ... and since you used to own a Samsung 840 Evo ... what newer SSD did you upgrade to ? What speeds can the Mac Pro get with a better SSD ? I just tested my MacBook Pro with Apple SSD and it gets nearer 900Mb/s read & write speeds - double my Mac Pro classic !

Now i want more !

Any advice ? What speeds could i get on my Mac Pro ?