Is the Silicon Mac Pro SSD a different one to what our 2019 models use?
Last edited:
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MP All Models Buy cheap 7,1 or Studio
- Thread starter hornedrum
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is the Silicon Mac Pro SSD a different one to what our 2019 models use?
Yes it’s different.
It’s likely they will use the 2023 MP SSD modules for the 2025 Mac Pro as well but yeah it sucks we can’t buy the 2019 SSD modules anymore even from Apple’s Online Store.
Evidently one needs:
Quote: "a second Mac running Apple Configurator 2 and a USB-C cable"
Does that mean a second mac pro, or perhaps, a Mac running for instance, something like Monterey OS12?
And another choice for a complete set of cables (not sure if they ship outside the US) -Sure, as long as the OS has drivers for the card. As I posted I'm running a Gigabyte RX6800XT.
The 7,1 NcMP has internal plugs to power the cables needed to run the cards. You will also need cables:
2019 Mac Pro Auxiliary Power Cables (for AMD Radeon GPU cards)
Auxiliary power cables for 2019 Mac Pro. For use with Sonnet AMDRadeon RX 6800 XT and 6900 XT graphics cards.www.sonnetstore.com
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HQY92ZM/A/belkin-aux-power-cable-kit-for-mac-pro
Lou
OWC PCIe AUX Power Cables Kit for Mac Pro (2019 - Current)
I don't think a second Mac Pro, but another fairly recent Mac.
I don't like the way that works - it adds huge complexity. It would have been nicer to be able to just use off-the-shelf standard NVME storage, but that wouldn't be the Apple way, has to do its own special stuff.
From what one forum member did recently with doing such an upgrade, it seems extremely complicated.
You have to flash the firmware onto these NAND modules. Very annoying method something that is from the iOS world but Apple Sillicon has its roots from there.
Interesting.
I don't have an Apple silicone Mac.
I would be able to take it to an Apple store. But if its a unit that was first sold outside Australia, they would not assist me. Unless it was less than 12 months old.
I guess I could buy an Apple mac and use that - then return it within the 2 week return policy.
How ridiculous ... I wonder how many R&D personnel were required to re-inventing that storage wheel - which ended up un-round.
Incidentally what is the issue with duel Apple drives? Can on run just one of them if one fails?
It’s just how it worked on iOS they brought that same model over to Mac.
The NVME controller is inside the A16/A17, T2/M1, M2,M3.
All non-Apple SSDs have controllers on the SSDs themselves. Apple just has NAND modules only with no controllers on them. Same on iPhone.
The upside to Apple is low cost no need to buy modules with controllers on them and efficiency because they can integrate the controllers at bleeding edge nodes like N5 or N3E because it’s located in the IO die on Apple’s chips and save a bit on power consumption.
This approach works for most Apple users, iPhones, iPads and MacBooks users but for desktop users who are accustomed to modularity they get shafted over.
So what your doing is with Apple configuration 2 is flashing whatever SSD firmware is on the Mac connected via USB-C to the newly installed NAND modules of your primary Mac.
and it results in a drive that is slower than "pro" industry standard drives, while retailing for ~4x the price.
Their controllers are good but in typical Apple fashion they use slower Gen4 drives.
I really hate the prices Apple charges for their SSDs. Bunch of greedy fudges.
I'm sure people will be along to explain to us at great length why the Apple way is far superior, pay more for less with proprietary components that are hard to get.
Windows 11 here is running on Samsung 980 Pro which are pretty speedy and I can go to any of the local computer shops and get replacements without drama and at cheap prices. 4TB Samsung at $729 in stock. Apple wants AUD$2400 for the 2019 MP SSD kit, which is not available anyway.
Apple are .....
this is why nearly nobody ever buys the desktop Macs. Not worth it. Too expensive and the MacBooks Pros are a better buy along with a PC workstation.
I wonder if the Pros are worthwhile. Why have a Pro when it costs a fortune for RAM and drive capacity? If I buy a Windows desktop, I may buy a 15" Air, which is cheaper, lighter, and even a bigger screen than a 14" Pro.
I recently had to get an old MacBook Pro out (2011) for downloading ancient videos. It was a powerhouse - 128GB/4GB with an i5. But it feels quick brisk. I upgraded it to a 1GB/16GB unit for under $100, via Amazon, delivered next day.
Still waiting for a battery. Its just not right what Apple are doing. They do though provide long term ownership of software. But I reckon they stop selling lots of things, and go to a rental only financial model.
Last edited:
Well, you can load it out with massive RAM. A normal PC desktop less so.
A PC workstation like Lenovo P10 on the other hand- hard to argue with except Windows interface isn’t as nice as MacOS.
I don't think so about the RAM. I'm used to Mac OS, but I feel it gets worse and worse. I find Windows consistent. Its more sludgy, but if one uses Office and a few more apps, then one typically lives in the app, not the OS.
Just looked, and to get 128 TB RAM in a Studio, one needs to buy an Ultra. The Max tops out at 96 TB.
DDR 5 ram motherboards of very affordable prices now support 256 GB RAM in some PC motherboards. Some 4 slot machines will take 4 x 48 GB memory cards. A quick look and ASUS 600 and 700 Intel motherboards and an AMD variety are upgradable to 256 GB capability this year with just a bios upgrade. There are a number of such motherboards in Australia which cost under $US200. Confusing to work out what to buy though though with PC motherboards due to the variety.
In Australia a Legion T7 34IRZ8 sells for $4,200, => $US after pre tax would be under $US2,500 and I reckon our Australian Lenovo prices would be higher than the USA.
- Processor: 14th Generation Intel® Core™ i9-14900KF Processor (E-cores up to 4.40 GHz P-cores up to 5.60 GHz) - 24 Cores 32 Threads 6.0GHz
- Memory : 16 GB DDR5-5600MHz (UDIMM)
- Motherboard: RPL R Z790
- Graphic Card: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4080 SUPER 16GB GDDR6X
Problem is that I now realise a studio is just a notebook without battery/screen/poor keyboard (that can't even take a coffee spill) and with some more ports and better cooling. One has to make up one's mind about drives and RAM before one buys. Annoying. And costly.
Strange thing is about AI - it may remove the importance of the OS.
Last edited:
Where did you find this information? Or test it yourself?
I have upgraded both my Mac Pros from 1TB to 4TB, and 2TB to 8TB SSDs. Using an iMac Pro with Apple Configurator.
Apple does not say we have to use Apple Silicon macs, and I didn’t read any description saying it will use the firmware specific of the machine that is used
Last edited:
The iMac Pro has Apple silicon I did mention the T2 chip in the list I provided.
The iMac Pro doesn't have Apple Silicon but Intel Xeon W series CPU (W-2140B, W-2150B, W-2170B, W-2190B).
My bad. Yeah any Intel or Apple Sillicon Mac running macOS 12.4 and AC2 2.12 can flash firmware on the NAND modules.
So you can get a 2019 iMac(has no T2) and install the firmware onto a 2019/2023 Mac Pro.
Last edited:
So that means quite old Macs can do the job. Like my MacBook pro which is 2017, and can officially run Ventura 13.6.3?
This statement is misleading, Apple Configuration explicitly require an Intel Mac (or an Apple Silicon one) that natively support USB-C.
For example, a MacPro5,1 with a USB-C card won't work with Apple Configurator for reviving a Mac or flashing it.
You don’t need a USB-C port. I flashed my 16” MBP 2019 with a QEMU macOS 14 instance running on my Linux desktop via a USB-A 2.0 to USB-C data cable.
Edit: Heck you don’t even need a offical Mac. Just a QEMU instance running macOS 14.2 VM and AC2 2.12. It’s not easy to set up but most here could do it and it’s beats spending another couple thousands of dollars on a second Mac. Yea it’s not official but it is possible.
Last edited: