MP 1,1-5,1 4 port SATA PCIe card cMP 5,1 options

[Php4u]

I have a 2010 Mac Pro 5,1 and have it running smoothly with a RAID 0 NVMe card. I want know if it is possible add a x4 PCIe card with 4 SATA ports, then connect the 4 HDDs to it (replacing the HDDs with SSDs).

I am looking at something like this card.
Also, are there OS X drivers for the Marvell chipsets?

Thanks!

 

[joevt]

I have a 2010 Mac Pro 5,1 and have it running smoothly with a RAID 0 NVMe card. I want know if it is possible add a x4 PCIe card with 4 SATA ports, then connect the 4 HDDs to it (replacing the HDDs with SSDs).

I am looking at something like this card.
Also, are there OS X drivers for the Marvell chipsets?

That looks like a nice card. Drivers shouldn't be a problem. I think macOS will use the standard AHCI drivers.

You could probably mount multiple 2.5 inch SSDs (at least two, maybe three?) to each drive bay. You can split the SATA power of a drive bay to connect to multiple drives (while still being able to connect a drive to the drive bay).

SATA 22 Pin Male to SATA 7 Pin and 2 X 15 Pin SATA Female Connectors - 6

This is a splitter cable allowing the cable to split off power from an existing SATA 22 Pin Power and DATA connection. Perfect for adding an addition SSD drive with limited power sources.

www.microsatacables.com

To boot Windows using legacy BIOS boot, a drive needs to be connected to one of the four internal drive bays. If you try to boot Windows using UEFI boot, then Windows might work from this card - but you should probably use OpenCore boot loader (protects NVRAM from being corrupted by Windows EFI stuff).

OpenCore on the Mac Pro

This guide explains how to use the excellent OpenCore boot loader to install, run, and update the latest version of macOS on the MacPro5,1, resulting in a clean, unaltered operating system just like on a supported Mac.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Php4u]

Thank you joevt. The cabling was going to be my second question. The data cables from the PCIe card to each SSD is easy. The power cables to each SSD is my question.

I am looking into OpenCore as an option to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina.

 

[joevt]

One problem with that card is that it is only 1 PCIe lane, so you can't get more than 4 Gbps (~ 400 MB/s) from a drive (or all drives put together). An SSD can do up to 550 MB/s.

Maybe consider a card with a 88SE9235 chip instead of the 88SE9215. It is x2 so I wouldn't recommend it for MacPro3,1 or earlier which would only connect x2 as x1 in slot 3 and 4 (I think MacPro4,1 and MacPro5,1 do support x2 in those slots?). I can't find any PCIe cards that use the 4 lane 88SE9345. I had a card with a PCIe x4 switch and two 88SE9182.

Windows legacy BIOS booting may have problems booting with some SATA cards (even if you are not booting from the SATA card). Maybe Windows UEFI booting changes that.

 

[minifridge1138]

Is this in addition to the 4 sata drive the Mac Pro comes with (6 if you repurpose they optical drive cables)?

Mia this for more storage or for more speed?

I’m just curious if you’re trying to get faster sata drives or more total storage.

 

[joevt]

Is this in addition to the 4 sata drive the Mac Pro comes with (6 if you repurpose they optical drive cables)?

Yes, a SATA card in a PCIe slot can add additional SATA devices to a computer. You just need to split SATA power for the extra drives.
Maybe you are asking if Mia intends to stop using the built-in drive bay connections (SATA II 3 Gbps) and move those drives to the SATA card (SATA III 6 Gbs)?

Mia this for more storage or for more speed?

I think mostly speed since 4 drive bays should be enough for storage (but Mia has an NVMe raid for speed, so maybe this is for storage). The built-in SATA bays are SATA II (3 Gb/s * 8b/10b = 2.4 Gbps = 300 MB/s max so maybe ~250 MB/s of actual data?). A PCIe 2.0 x1 card will allow at least ~450 MB/s of data (5 GT/s *8b/10b = 4 Gb/s = 500 MB/s) which is less than SATA III (6 Gbps = 600 MB/s so ~550 MB/s)

 

[zedex]

One problem with that card is that it is only 1 PCIe lane, so you can't get more than 4 Gbps (~ 400 MB/s) from a drive (or all drives put together). An SSD can do up to 550 MB/s.

This is an essential observation by @joevt - you will be bitterly disappointed if you purchase the amzn-linked card expecting speeds of 1000Mbps +

There are many more "SATA III via PCIe Card" options/solutions from where your investigation has started. If your learning curve is anything like my own - you risk spending a lot of money to get to the gold medal of candidates.

Here's what you want..

Don't be confused - it's all SATA
- it costs $4 less
- it has the right chipset for maximum speed
- no SATA cabling or power considerations
- 5 discrete SATA III ports over PCIe 3.0 x2 means 5 extra SATA SSDs in your device tree. You can even RAID them (speeds will top out at 900-1000 Mbps in a cMP 5.1)

I've tried to hit your sweet spot (price v performance) but there is quite an impressive range of PCIe cards that are engineered to use ALL available lanes using PCIe switch technology.

 

[Php4u]

This is an essential observation by @joevt - you will be bitterly disappointed if you purchase the amzn-linked card expecting speeds of 1000Mbps +

There are many more "SATA III via PCIe Card" options/solutions from where your investigation has started. If your learning curve is anything like my own - you risk spending a lot of money to get to the gold medal of candidates.

Here's what you want..
View attachment 945930
View attachment 945930

Don't be confused - it's all SATA
- it costs $4 less
- it has the right chipset for maximum speed
- no SATA cabling or power considerations
- 5 discrete SATA III ports over PCIe 3.0 x2 means 5 extra SATA SSDs in your device tree. You can even RAID them (speeds will top out at 900-1000 Mbps in a cMP 5.1)

I've tried to hit your sweet spot (price v performance) but there is quite an impressive range of PCIe cards that are engineered to use ALL available lanes using PCIe switch technology.

Thanks, zedek

Can you send me a link where I can make a purchase?

Thanks!

 

[zedex]

No worries

IOCREST Online Store

 

[joevt]

No worries

IOCREST Online Store

I suppose you could use a M.2 B-Key to SATA data adapter to connect 2.5" SATA drives instead of M.2 SATA drives.

Here's a PCIe 2.0 x2 card with 6 or 8 SATA ports (with or without data cables)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 8 SATA Cables(SA3008-8C)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 8 SATA Cables(SA3008-8C)

www.amazon.com

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X4 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3008)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X4 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3008)

www.amazon.com

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3006)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3006)

www.amazon.com

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 6 SATA Cables (SA3006-C)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 6 SATA Cables (SA3006-C)

www.amazon.com

 

[Php4u]

I suppose you could use a M.2 B-Key to SATA data adapter to connect 2.5" SATA drives instead of M.2 SATA drives.

Here's a PCIe 2.0 x2 card with 6 or 8 SATA ports (with or without data cables)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 8 SATA Cables(SA3008-8C)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 8 SATA Cables(SA3008-8C)

www.amazon.com

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X4 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3008)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X4 to SATA III 8 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3008)

www.amazon.com

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3006)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices (SA3006)

www.amazon.com

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 6 SATA Cables (SA3006-C)

GLOTRENDS PCIe 2.0 X2 to SATA III 6 Ports Adapter Card (ASM Chipset) for IPFS Mining and Adding SATA 3.0 Devices with 6 SATA Cables (SA3006-C)

www.amazon.com

Thanks again, joevt!

I think I like the GLOTrends idea because I have several unused 500MB SSDs. If I go this route, are there special power cables for the SSDs, or would they be powered by the data cables?

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

 

[joevt]

Thanks again, joevt!

I think I like the GLOTrends idea because I have several unused 500MB SSDs. If I go this route, are there special power cables for the SSDs, or would they be powered by the data cables?

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

You need to provide power to the SSDs from somewhere. The PCIe card only provides 7 pin SATA data connectors (and cables optionally).

The following can get the power from the 4 drive bays (22 pin connector - 15 for power and 7 for data) while letting you still use the drive bay.
SATA 22 Pin Male to SATA 7 Pin and 2 X 15 Pin SATA Female Connectors - 6

Here's some more cable ideas:
https://www.microsatacables.com/cables/22-pin-sata
Here's some adapter ideas:
https://www.microsatacables.com/drive-adapters-and-drive-converters/sata-esata-adapters

Once you get the power from the 22 pin SATA-data+power connector of a Mac Pro drive bay, you can use other SATA 15 pin power extension and/or splitter cables:
https://www.microsatacables.com/cables/15-pin-sata-power

I'm not sure if you need to spread the power of multiple drives to different drive bays or if it's ok to get power from just one drive bay. It depends if the power for each drive bay is separate from each other (the power supply has 4 different SATA power outputs) or if they're all the same (the power supply has only one SATA power output). Maybe you can follow the cables on the motherboard - or do a continuity check.

 

[Php4u]

You need to provide power to the SSDs from somewhere. The PCIe card only provides 7 pin SATA data connectors (and cables optionally).

The following can get the power from the 4 drive bays (22 pin connector - 15 for power and 7 for data) while letting you still use the drive bay.
SATA 22 Pin Male to SATA 7 Pin and 2 X 15 Pin SATA Female Connectors - 6

Here's some more cable ideas:
https://www.microsatacables.com/cables/22-pin-sata
Here's some adapter ideas:
https://www.microsatacables.com/drive-adapters-and-drive-converters/sata-esata-adapters

Once you get the power from the 22 pin SATA-data+power connector of a Mac Pro drive bay, you can use other SATA 15 pin power extension and/or splitter cables:
https://www.microsatacables.com/cables/15-pin-sata-power

I'm not sure if you need to spread the power of multiple drives to different drive bays or if it's ok to get power from just one drive bay. It depends if the power for each drive bay is separate from each other (the power supply has 4 different SATA power outputs) or if they're all the same (the power supply has only one SATA power output). Maybe you can follow the cables on the motherboard - or do a continuity check.

Jovet,

Thank you for the detailed informative advice. I think I will try to use one 15-pin power cable from each drive bay to each SSD. The plan is becoming clear, so now its time to roll up my sleeves.

Thanks again!

 

[joevt]

I think I will try to use one 15-pin power cable from each drive bay to each SSD. The plan is becoming clear, so now its time to roll up my sleeves.

If you use choose a 15 pin SATA power cable instead of 22 pin, then you need to break off one of the tabs on the 15 pin SATA power cable.