Resolved Dual boot CONFIRMED for new Apricorn Velocity DUO X2!!!

[gugy]

Anybody using the Velocity Duo x2?
Could you please put your review of it? I am considering one but I want to hear some feedback before purchasing it.
Thanks.

 

[crjackson2134]

If you'll just take time to read the thread you will have all the information.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Dual boot CONFIRMED for new Apricorn Velocity DUO X2!!!

Anybody using the Velocity Duo x2?

Could you please put your review of it? I am considering one but I want to hear some feedback before purchasing it.

Thanks.

As crjackson said, read the thread!

For the 3,1 4,1 and 5,1 it's a no brainer. Since I installed mine in a 5,1, no issues ever. Highly recommended card! Enjoy your purchase! Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Dual boot CONFIRMED for new Apricorn Velocity DUO X2!!!

@gugy What are your findings reading this thread?

 

[gugy]

@gugy What are your findings reading this thread?

Hi,
I am sold on the card. I looked at Newegg that had a $40 rebate but they are sold out. I am bummed.
I am looking to get the card and two EVO 250gb drives. I would use it mostly for my Photoshop work and scratch disk.
My system files are located on another SSD connected to my DVD bay using an OWC tray. I will add some more RAM as well and that should make my cMP 12 core a beast for another couple years.
I am holding to upgrade to the nMP once they figure out how to connect that 5K display. Then I'll be all over it.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

How many of you decided to buy the Apricorn Velocity DUO X2?

I'm just curious how many of you decided to buy the Apricorn Velocity DUO X2 after reading this thread. Since I have installed the card I've had zero issues with it. Used both OSX 10.9.5 and WINdows 8 on separate SSD's and now running OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0.

Thanks to all who participated in this and gave us the heads up for good alternatives for this card. That's why I like MacRumors!

Cheers

 

[Sharky II]

Does anyone know of a good place to buy these in the UK, with reasonable prices? We have to pay quite a premium here for it, from what i can tell.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Does anyone know of a good place to buy these in the UK, with reasonable prices? We have to pay quite a premium here for it, from what i can tell.

What do you mean by premium?

 

[Sharky II]

Well, it's about £85 here in the UK, but only $85 in the US (just over £50), if not cheaper.

 

[hfg]

I'm just curious how many of you decided to buy the Apricorn Velocity DUO X2 after reading this thread. Since I have installed the card I've had zero issues with it. Used both OSX 10.9.5 and WINdows 8 on separate SSD's and now running OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0.

Thanks to all who participated in this and gave us the heads up for good alternatives for this card. That's why I like MacRumors!

Cheers

I have a DUO X2 (based on this thread) and have it loaded with a 512GB Samsung 840 Pro booting Windows 8.1 along with a 1TB 840 EVO SSD booting OS X 10.10 in a Mac Pro 5.1. Works great other than the current "Trim" concerns and issues (I have trim disabled for now).


-howard

 

[Pending]

I have a DUO X2 (based on this thread) and have it loaded with a 512GB Samsung 840 Pro booting Windows 8.1 along with a 1TB 840 EVO SSD booting OS X 10.10 in a Mac Pro 5.1. Works great other than the current "Trim" concerns and issues (I have trim disabled for now).


-howard

So you've got both OS on the same Duo card....whats the boot time from button power on?

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Well, it's about £85 here in the UK, but only $85 in the US (just over £50), if not cheaper.

£85 from where? (You thinking of the solo rather than the duo perhaps?)

 

[hfg]

So you've got both OS on the same Duo card....whats the boot time from button power on?

Yes, both operating systems boot from the same card, plus I have VMware Fusion Virtual Windows using the bootable instance of Windows.

I haven't really measured boot time since I probably reboot twice a month or so unless I am reconfiguring the hardware.

As with any "external disk", which PCIe drives are, they are the last in the chain to be configured and acknowledged, so booting is a few seconds longer than a sled drive.

Boot time is also affected by memory size, internal and external drives connected, and hardware initialization, so it can vary widely from one users system to another's. Mine is probably around 20 seconds ... I will try to remember to clock it next time I reboot.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

I have a DUO X2 (based on this thread) and have it loaded with a 512GB Samsung 840 Pro booting Windows 8.1 along with a 1TB 840 EVO SSD booting OS X 10.10 in a Mac Pro 5.1. Works great other than the current "Trim" concerns and issues (I have trim disabled for now).

-howard

Hi Howard,

Thanks very much for your feedback!

I've experienced Trim Enabler issues in OSX 10.10 as well. There are too many other issues running 10.10 for me, so I've decided to wait for update release 10.10.2 or even higher. I have a separate EVO for 10.10 in bay #1 for testing purpose. As I'm still running 10.9.5 and decided to RAID0 my OSX on the DUO and move my Windows 8 SSD to internal bay #2.

Cheers

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So you've got both OS on the same Duo card....whats the boot time from button power on?

Running a backup atm. On my next restart cycle I'll clock the startup time for my OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0 on the DUO. As Howard implicated, ofcource all is depending on other hardware specs. But just to give you a indication I'll check that for you.

Cheers

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£85 from where? (You thinking of the solo rather than the duo perhaps?)

The reason I really like the DUO is the fact that now my MP 5.1 has no spaghetti litter of cables and the need for a solution for keeping the 2nd SSD somewhere in the MP. Just a clean card with two SSD's mounted to it.

Cheers

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Yes, both operating systems boot from the same card, plus I have VMware Fusion Virtual Windows using the bootable instance of Windows.

I'm using the same. A really great way to use the actual Windows 8 SSD for general use in Windows 8. For gaming though, I always boot the Windows 8 SSD, because of the lack of the use of the pure hardware of my GTX 670. VM uses its own VGA graphics driver that does not meet up with game specifications.

Cheers

 

[Pending]

I'm still pondering the duo x2 for my uses.
My 2 x 1TB hard disks in Bays 1 and 2 are OS Yosemite and Windows 7 respectively. I am about to get 2 SSDs and will probably end up putting them in Bays 3 and 4 and cloning bay 1 hdd to bay 3 SSD and bay 2 hdd to bay 4 SSD.

 

[colorspace]

So Glad I read Thread

Was just about to pull the trigger on a new Apricorn when I read about the trim issues... not sure how this well affect my old Solo, so I'm holding off on both the new card as well as Yosemite.

 

[gugy]

I'm just curious how many of you decided to buy the Apricorn Velocity DUO X2 after reading this thread. Since I have installed the card I've had zero issues with it. Used both OSX 10.9.5 and WINdows 8 on separate SSD's and now running OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0.

Thanks to all who participated in this and gave us the heads up for good alternatives for this card. That's why I like MacRumors!

Cheers

Trying to find one but most places they are out of stock. Newegg had a nice rebate but no longer valid. Bummer.

 

[phairphan]

I'm still pondering the duo x2 for my uses.
My 2 x 1TB hard disks in Bays 1 and 2 are OS Yosemite and Windows 7 respectively. I am about to get 2 SSDs and will probably end up putting them in Bays 3 and 4 and cloning bay 1 hdd to bay 3 SSD and bay 2 hdd to bay 4 SSD.

I installed my Duo x2 a week or two ago. After cloning my 10.9 drive and a bootcamp partition to two new drives on the Duo, everything mostly works. I can't get the system to boot into OS X from the bootcamp app from within Windows. To switch from Windows to OS X I have to hold down the option key upon restart. Users in this thread have confirmed that the app in Windows should work, but they all appear to be using Windows 8. I vaguely recall 8 added support for booting from external drives, so I suspect this is the reason it doesn't work on my Windows 7 set up. Something to keep in mind when you're making the switch. Otherwise, everything else seems to be working fine. A nice upgrade!

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Me Me Me !

I ordered one based on this thread also.

Ordered from Amazon on 11/6 (backordered) but just received notice it will be in my hands on Friday 11/14. Total with California tax $160.92

Thanks to BDM STUDIOS NL and info from all others.

Cheers!

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Dual boot CONFIRMED for new Apricorn Velocity DUO X2!!!

I installed my Duo x2 a week or two ago. After cloning my 10.9 drive and a bootcamp partition to two new drives on the Duo, everything mostly works. I can't get the system to boot into OS X from the bootcamp app from within Windows. To switch from Windows to OS X I have to hold down the option key upon restart. Users in this thread have confirmed that the app in Windows should work, but they all appear to be using Windows 8. I vaguely recall 8 added support for booting from external drives, so I suspect this is the reason it doesn't work on my Windows 7 set up. Something to keep in mind when you're making the switch. Otherwise, everything else seems to be working fine. A nice upgrade!

Thanks for your feedback. Sorry to hear about your issue! As I have Windows 8 I will not be able to give you any advice here.

Perhaps others can, or you could askk Aprocorn Tech for advice?

Good luck!

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I ordered one based on this thread also.



Ordered from Amazon on 11/6 (backordered) but just received notice it will be in my hands on Friday 11/14. Total with California tax $160.92



Thanks to BDM STUDIOS NL and info from all others.



Cheers!

Thanks for your feedback and glad to hear that this thread resulted in purchasing the DUO X2!

As I've said earlier in this thread, I was also thrilled that my initial post was replied by so many with some great alternatives that resulted in great debates about PCIe addons for SSD and/or mSATA for the Mac Pro!

Enjoy your purchase! Cheers to you too!

 

[Durex]

Me too!

I got one, too, from NewEgg (with the rebate). I'll get a couple of Samsung SSDs later this month.

This thread was super helpful and I really appreciate BDM STUDIOS NL for starting this thread and keeping us posted during the development. Also thanks to hfg who was one of the first to post a lot of specifics regarding having the card operating. I like this solution a lot for its simplicity and dual boot configuration.

BTW, NewEgg seems to have the Duo's back in stock, and the $40 rebate is still valid (the promo was extended!).

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Thanks!

I got one, too, from NewEgg (with the rebate). I'll get a couple of Samsung SSDs later this month.

This thread was super helpful and I really appreciate BDM STUDIOS NL for starting this thread and keeping us posted during the development. Also thanks to hfg who was one of the first to post a lot of specifics regarding having the card operating. I like this solution a lot for its simplicity and dual boot configuration.

BTW, NewEgg seems to have the Duo's back in stock, and the $40 rebate is still valid (the promo was extended!).

Hi Durex,

Thanks for your feedback and your compliment to all participants to this thread. Yes, Howard has indeed gave us some very useful and necessary insights regarding this card. Glad to read you really like the DUO X2 too!

Thanks also for your heads up and link to newegg.


Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Boot time OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0

So you've got both OS on the same Duo card....whats the boot time from button power on?

Hi Pending,

I still owed you an answer to the boot up times:

OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0: button to desktop = ~45s.

Please bear in mind that I have a lot of USB/Firewire peripherals connected and the 4 internal bays occupied, and three PCIe slots are occupied as well.

Cheers

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Hi Pending,

I still owed you an answer to the boot up times:

OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0: button to desktop = ~45s.

Please bear in mind that I have a lot of USB/Firewire peripherals connected and the 4 internal bays occupied, and three PCIe slots are occupied as well.

Cheers

Any issues booting back to a drive in the internal bays? I had an issue with that on the older single model.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^What issue would that be? I have two Solo x2s. I've never had any issue betting from a drive on either of my Solo cards and booting from the my other internal or external drives.

Lou

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Any issues booting back to a drive in the internal bays? I had an issue with that on the older single model.

No issues at all with the DUO atm!

- DUO X2 OSX 10.9.5 in RAID0
- Bay #1 EVO SSD Windows 8 Pro x64
- Bay #2 EVO SSD OSX 10.10 testdrive

Cheers

EDIT: running OSX 10.10 with Trim Enabler app from Cindori, very happy with this config!