Amfeltec x16 PCIe with 4 SSDs: 5900+ MB/s

[papadj3]

startergo thanks again for your expertise and immense help but I think tsialex is right- I don't have the knowledge to do this and am scared I will Brick my machine that I have kept alive! I can't believe the 5,1 Flash I did worked somewhat and was able to update CPU and Memory! I have no idea what you guys even see! Ha! I have been reading since you have responded and I think that Dumping means you are "saving" the BootRom using Darwin so you can use it again if you make a mistake? Then try and "USE" the new MP51.fd??? In my reading I found a website called Bios Mods that had
140-MP51 which I copied- I know you guys offered to guide me, Thats Unbelievable but I'm not sure at this point I can do it-

 

[tsialex]

startergo thanks again for your expertise and immense help but I think tsialex is right- I don't have the knowledge to do this and am scared I will Brick my machine that I have kept alive! I can't believe the 5,1 Flash I did worked somewhat and was able to update CPU and Memory! I have no idea what you guys even see! Ha! I have been reading since you have responded and I think that Dumping means you are "saving" the BootRom using Darwin so you can use it again if you make a mistake? Then try and "USE" the new MP51.fd??? In my reading I found a website called Bios Mods that had
140-MP51 which I copied- I know you guys offered to guide me, Thats Unbelievable but I'm not sure at this point I can do it-

Don't ever flash another Mac Pro BootROM dump into your Mac Pro. Every Mac Pro BootROM is unique, doing so will block iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime.

Some of the most important info into the BootROM are flashed not by Apple, but from the original manufacturer of the backplane at the production time. If you lost this info, you can't get it back, not even Apple can replace the LBSN_BD sector.

 

[startergo]

startergo thanks again for your expertise and immense help but I think tsialex is right- I don't have the knowledge to do this and am scared I will Brick my machine that I have kept alive! I can't believe the 5,1 Flash I did worked somewhat and was able to update CPU and Memory! I have no idea what you guys even see! Ha! I have been reading since you have responded and I think that Dumping means you are "saving" the BootRom using Darwin so you can use it again if you make a mistake? Then try and "USE" the new MP51.fd??? In my reading I found a website called Bios Mods that had
140-MP51 which I copied- I know you guys offered to guide me, Thats Unbelievable but I'm not sure at this point I can do it-

If you are scared to flash the ROM, but you still want to do it there is a MATT CARD, which basically is a card with a chip similar to the one on the logic board, which can hold and execute the boot ROM alternatively. Once installed (it is a plug and play if properly flashed) your mac will read the ROM from that card. The benefit of this card is that you can flash it on another PC, without desoldering skills needed. It is not cheap: 65 euro+ shipping, but it is safe. Anyway, Alex is the expert in the ROM editing and flashing not me, so you should follow his recommendations.

 

[papadj3]

I am looking into the MATT CARD! When I get it please continue helping!! You guys are the best!!
Thanks-Sincerely- papadj3

 

[startergo]

I am looking into the MATT CARD! When I get it please continue helping!! You guys are the best!!
Thanks-Sincerely- papadj3

I would recommend you to dump your rom like I explained before and email it to the MATT card seller so he can modify the newest ROM with your specific data .Make sure you let him know you current ROM maybe corrupted so he does not install it on the MATT card unmodified.

 

[papadj3]

"Can you run the DarwinDumper with the Bios-System option? This will dump your bootrom. startergo"
What do I check in Darwin to dump bootrom? What can I do to show you before I send info. to MATT-
Also, I can get a Gen 2 card just to test in my machine!! Would that help get additional info.? Can I use an old Nvidia 120 and put it in x16 slot 2 and put Squid in x16 slot 1 to see what happens? Will Mojave boot if I do that? have 14.2 now?

 

[crjackson2134]

Some of the most important info into the BootROM are flashed not by Apple, but from the original manufacturer of the backplane at the production time. If you loose this info, you can't get it back, not even Apple can replace the LBSN_BD sector.

That piece if information is a real gem and should get special emphasis. These BootROM’s are not generics and nothing trivial to take lightly. They play a much bigger role in the Apple ecosystem than simply booting up your computer.

 

[startergo]

"Can you run the DarwinDumper with the Bios-System option? This will dump your bootrom. startergo"
What do I check in Darwin to dump bootrom? What can I do to show you before I send info. to MATT-
Also, I can get a Gen 2 card just to test in my machine!! Would that help get additional info.? Can I use an old Nvidia 120 and put it in x16 slot 2 and put Squid in x16 slot 1 to see what happens? Will Mojave boot if I do that? have 14.2 now?

You have to select System-bios. Sure you can put the other card for testing but the lspci showed that the system thinks the width is 0 when it really should be 16. When you put the GT-120 do another lspci and post the files generated from the dump .

 

[papadj3]

Hi startergo
I put the GT 120 in x16 slot 2 and the Squid Gen 3 in x16 slot 1 and it was recognized!!! Had a 970 EVO 250GB blade in card- BUT did a speed test (Blackmagic) and only got 1450read and 238wrte!! SLOW-
Any way here is the Darwin Info:
Still So Strange what is going on??

 

[papadj3]

Just switched Squid Gen 3 to x16 slot 2 and the GT120 to x16 slot 1 and the card is not recognized at all!!

 

[startergo]

Hi startergo
I put the GT 120 in x16 slot 2 and the Squid Gen 3 in x16 slot 1 and it was recognized!!! Had a 970 EVO 250GB blade in card- BUT did a speed test (Blackmagic) and only got 1450read and 238wrte!! SLOW-
Any way here is the Darwin Info:
Still So Strange what is going on??

Still in the lspci nnvvt 03:0 nothing attached in the device tree,whereas 07:0 shows GT-120 attached:

04.0-[04]----00.0  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Device [144d:a801]
           +-03.0-[05-0a]----00.0-[06-0a]--+-08.0-[07]--
           |                               +-09.0-[08]--
           |                               +-0a.0-[09]--
           |                               \-0b.0-[0a]----00.0  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Device [144d:a808]
           +-07.0-[0b]----00.0  NVIDIA Corporation G96 [GeForce 9500 GT] [10de:0640]

It looks like if you say the squid works in slot 1, which is probably not x16 width. The problem may be due to some damage on the physical pins in slot 1 . Can you make any x16 wiidth device work in slot 1?

 

[tsialex]

Still in the lspci nnvvt 03:0 nothing attached in the device tree,whereas 07:0 shows GT-120 attached:

04.0-[04]----00.0  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Device [144d:a801]
           +-03.0-[05-0a]----00.0-[06-0a]--+-08.0-[07]--
           |                               +-09.0-[08]--
           |                               +-0a.0-[09]--
           |                               \-0b.0-[0a]----00.0  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Device [144d:a808]
           +-07.0-[0b]----00.0  NVIDIA Corporation G96 [GeForce 9500 GT] [10de:0640]

It looks like if you say the squid works in slot 1, which is probably not x16 width. The problem may be due to some damage on the physical pins in slot 1 . Can you make any x16 wiidth device work in slot 1?

Like I said before, the first thing is to flash MP51.fd, maybe @papadj3 has the same TITAN initialisation problem that I found.

Btw, the cost of a MATT card is almost the same of an used backplane, so it's more sensate to check it first.

 

[papadj3]

The GPU I have is working AMD 7970 flashed boot screen- Does that count?
I can borrow the Gen 2 card for a test and get Darwin info. again? What slot set-up of the gen 2 card should I do when I borrow it?
(The gen 3 card was only recognized in slot 1 with GT120 in slot 2 but it was VERY SLOW- SM970EVO 250gb got 1450read and 238wrte-)

 

[startergo]

The GPU I have is working AMD 7970 flashed boot screen- Does that count?
I can borrow the Gen 2 card for a test and get Darwin info. again? What slot set-up of the gen 2 card should I do when I borrow it?
(The gen 3 card was only recognized in slot 1 with GT120 in slot 2 but it was VERY SLOW- SM970EVO 250gb got 1450read and 238wrte-)

Please consider @tsialex recommendation above as well. It is hard to say what is your problem .It could be solved by flashing the ROM, but maybe the backplane board is damaged? Did you dump the System-bios already?

 

[papadj3]

Thanks Again startergo and tsialex !!
Here is the System-bios info. (dump) I got from Darwin:

 

[papadj3]

I know I should follow tsialex advice:
"the first thing is to flash MP51.fd, maybe @papadj3 has the same TITAN initialisation problem that I found"
BUT, Can I do it?? Don't Understand?

Would doing a Squid Gen 2 card test help determine tsialex info.??
[doublepost=1544276064][/doublepost]Is the flash of MP51.fd the original 4,1 to 5,1 flash??

 

[startergo]

I know I should follow tsialex advice:
"the first thing is to flash MP51.fd, maybe @papadj3 has the same TITAN initialisation problem that I found"
BUT, Can I do it?? Don't Understand?

Would doing a Squid Gen 2 card test help determine tsialex info.??
[doublepost=1544276064][/doublepost]Is the flash of MP51.fd the original 4,1 to 5,1 flash??

No what he said:
"Btw, the cost of a MATT card is almost the same of an used backplane, so it's more sensate to check it first."
What it means is it is up to you to decide which route are gonna go:
Buy a MATT card and reflash the firmware and hope that will solve the problem
Or simply buy a new backplane logic board and be done with it.
BTW your rom is saved under the biosbackup.rom name. Keep it safe somewhere .if you decide to buy a MATT card email the ROM to the seller and ask him to extract the LBSN_BD sector and replace it in a fresh 140 bootrom before flashing it back to the card.

 

[papadj3]

Thanks startergo - tsialex is doing (everything I don't understand!!) I am trying to get him the info. he needs, (which is a real challenge for me-Ha!) so he can look at the ROM- I will post the outcome-
Thanks to all you Brilliant people!

 

[papadj3]

Hi startergo just to let you know I have been working with tsialex he has rebuilt my ROM twice and did an exceptional job (he's the best) BUT no luck! It might be me just doing everything wrong or it's a Bad Squid! My last try will be to borrow a PC and install the card to see if it works! I want to thank you for helping and giving of your time and expertise-
Sincerely,
papadj3

 

[Cecco]

Has anyone attached heatsinks to their m2 blades in an Amfeltec Squid Gen 2 card (the one without fan)?

I have installed my Amfeltec card in Slot 2 of my cMP with a Radeon RX 580 in slot 1 and an USB3 card in slot 3. The m2 blades on the bottom are almost touching one of the RX 580 fans. Only very low profile heatsinks might work.

As I have installed 512 GB Samsung 951 AHCI blades, which have chips on both sides, I'd likely need heatsinks for both sides with clips to hold them together and dissipate the heat between both sides.

Any proven recommendations?


Then some strange observation I've made after reconfiguring my RAID 0 set:

For quite some time I've used an Amfeltec Squid Gen 2 card with 4x 512GB Samsung 951 AHCI blades configured as RAID 0 as my boot drive (HSF+) in my 5.1 cMP on High Sierra. Was able to achieve barefeats' 5400 MB/s throughput on large sequential reads and writes.

Then I wanted to switch to Mojave. Because of the ongoing issues with RAID boot drives in Mojave, I decided to split the 4 drives RAID 0 into a single boot drive and a 3 drives RAID 0 for the home folder. According to barefeats' benchmark I now should get 1500 MB/s on the single drive and 4000 - 4500 MB/s on the 3 drives RAID 0.

But when I do the AJA System 16G Sequential Test, I get 3000 MB/s on read and 2400 MB/s on write for both, the single drive and the RAID 0. On a Squid Gen 2 card a single M2 blade should max out at 1500 MB/s. I'm a bit puzzled what's going on here. Maybe APFS is confusing the AJA System Test or Mojave or the new bootrom magically increased the speed for a single blade on the Amfeltec Squid Gen 2 card?

Any ideas?

 

[porican]

First I'd like to say thank you for these instructions. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to command line tools but I've been able to catch up on enough to get pciutils installed and use it to view the PCI connections in my Mac Pro 3,1.

When I try to run the command to Set Link Speed, with my rootport set to 00:1 and speed set to 2, I get a "Segmentation fault: 11":

Mac-Pro:~ MacPro$ sudo setpci -s 00:1 CAP_EXP+30.w=2:F

Segmentation fault: 11

What am I doing wrong?

EDIT: I needed to install the DirectHW.kext; after installation and a restart the command finally worked. I can get pciutils to report the following on my PCIe 2.0 x16 Slot 2 on the 3,1:

LnkSta: Speed 5GT/s (ok), Width x4 (downgraded)

But as soon as I restart the machine, it reverts back to:

LnkSta: Speed 2.5GT/s (downgraded), Width x4 (downgraded)

How do I get the change to persist upon restarting?

 

[joevt]

How do I get the change to persist upon restarting?

Some methods that might work are discussed in #288. You need to do some research on each method to see if they can run that command for you at startup.

 

[TrumanLA]

Has anyone attached heatsinks to their m2 blades in an Amfeltec Squid Gen 2 card (the one without fan)?

The issue isn't the temperature as far as I know; it's the amount of DRAM amongst other things...

I too, have installed many an Amfeltec ... yet I have never gotten those speeds (with SM951 and other drives). Yes, using all 4 slots, etc. I don't get it.

I'd love to see the results of your question.


Also, using USB 3.1 Gen 2 cards (usually powered are faster as well) are the fastest I've tested. I'll see if I can get you updated speeds as I've forgotten the exact number since last testing it.

 

[rpmurray]

Anyone checked out the Kickstarter M.2 SSD Carrier For 4 M.2 NVME PCIe GEN3 x16 80Gpbs? It doesn't look like he's going to make his goal but I was wondering if this would work.

 

[StellarVixen]

And since RAID0 does not support data redundancy at all, if one "disk" fails, everything is gone.


I hope such risk is acceptable to you.