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Highpoint 7101A - PCIe 3.0 SSD performance for the cMP
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Yea, it's not clear to me, can we set this up via hardware. For example, boot up into windows, setup a hardware'ish raid on all the sticks/drives, and then when booting, as far as OSX is concerned, it's one big drive.
I did this years ago here:
Bootable 4TB SSD on classic Mac Pro
I just set up the Addonics Quad mSATA PCIe SSD card with 4 Samsung 840 EVO mSATA SSDs. It works great and is bootable. http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-mSATA-0-85-Inch-MZ-MTE500BW/dp/B00HWHVOQS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics By default it works...
forums.macrumors.com
That setup is still running fine.
OK, so I got my new Mac Pro 7,1 the day after Christmas and on Friday I got my HighPoint 7101A-1 card and four 2TB Samsung 870 EVO Plus cards. It took some wrangling to get the driver to properly load--the software installed just fine, and I gave it permission to load via the usual MacOS security/permissions routine, but it still wouldn't allow the RAID software to run, and checking the loaded extensions you could see that it wasn't starting up the driver at boot. After a bunch of poking around I found that the easiest solution was to boot into recovery mode and disable secure boot. After that everything loaded and worked fine. I set up a RAID 0 array the HighPoint utility and then formatted it as APFS encrypted to match my primary drive.
Today I ran a few tests using the Blackmagic utility and the results were underwhelming. While I didn't expect crazy performance from this, I did expect better than the primary boot drive. On the BlackMagic utility I am getting about 2900 MB/s both read and write for the boot drive which is pretty good, can't complain. On the NVMe RAID 0 array, the write speeds are pretty much identical, and the reads average around 4900 MB/s. That's faster than a single EVO, but nowhere near what I expected. Yes, it's loaded in a 16x PCIe slot. I'm wondering if it's a function of the APFS + Encryption formatting.
Any thoughts/help here?
Today I ran a few tests using the Blackmagic utility and the results were underwhelming. While I didn't expect crazy performance from this, I did expect better than the primary boot drive. On the BlackMagic utility I am getting about 2900 MB/s both read and write for the boot drive which is pretty good, can't complain. On the NVMe RAID 0 array, the write speeds are pretty much identical, and the reads average around 4900 MB/s. That's faster than a single EVO, but nowhere near what I expected. Yes, it's loaded in a 16x PCIe slot. I'm wondering if it's a function of the APFS + Encryption formatting.
Any thoughts/help here?
Stupid question, but did you install in a PCIe x16 slot? 2900MB/s is what a x8 card with ASMedia 2824 switch can get from a single 970 EVO Plus.
Btw, reformat your array for HFS+ and don't use encryption, you should get better throughput than what @handheldgames got with a MP5,1 unless something is wrong with your config. Use that as a baseline.
Yes, as I noted above I made sure to install it in a 16x slot. I wish I had tested it a bit before putting some data on it....sigh. Now I'll have to move the data and reformat to test again.
OK, so back in the office and I formatted the RAID 0 array on my HighPoint with APFS, no encryption. BINGO! Huge jump in speed. BTW, I am not using the OS for the RAID, I'm using the HighPoint software.
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So, I updated the fan to one recommended by @w1z has recommended here and I also took off the plate at the end of the card. Luckily it's attached with screws so it's easily removed--see attached photo. I figured that the wind tunnel design of the Mac Pro 7,1 should help cool the card by taking that off, and it seems to have worked--the cards are all now running roughly 5 degrees C cooler than they were before I took that off and swapped the fan. I'm assuming it's not the new fan as it runs at a lower RPM with a CFM rating for airflow. As for the new fan...it's all but dead silent now. If I put my head right up to the Mac Pro I can just barely hear it. I don't know if it's because the temperature is cooler or not, but the disks are also showing higher transfer rates.
Great results! Thanks for the feedback !
One more reason to consider the new Mac Pros as a solution to professional users that need speed & silence.
7101a fan noise
Quoted from the HighPoint website
"The 2019 Mac Pro was designed for thermal efficiency. The innovative chassis ventilation and powerful cooling apparatus ensure your PCIe devices can operate at peak performance, free from the threat of overheating.
HighPoint NVMe solutions capitalize on this design by offering an optional Silent Mode for the SSD7100 series RAID controllers. Customers that require a working environment with minimal noise can now fully disable the SSD7101A-1 or SSD7110’s internal fan."
Runs about 10 C hotter with the fan disabled in my system
Quoted from the HighPoint website
"The 2019 Mac Pro was designed for thermal efficiency. The innovative chassis ventilation and powerful cooling apparatus ensure your PCIe devices can operate at peak performance, free from the threat of overheating.
HighPoint NVMe solutions capitalize on this design by offering an optional Silent Mode for the SSD7100 series RAID controllers. Customers that require a working environment with minimal noise can now fully disable the SSD7101A-1 or SSD7110’s internal fan."
Runs about 10 C hotter with the fan disabled in my system
Wait, what? I just downloaded all of the software on Friday and installed it. Where's the option to turn off the fan? I wonder if you do what I did and take off the front of the shroud on the card, if it would drop that 10C delta down?
I think that only SSD7101A-1 PCBs revision v2.00 can disable the fan, the one with PWM. My is v1.01 have a two pin fan and I can't see the option to disable it anywhere.
I simply unplugged the fan from the board.
I have sent an email to HighPoint sales to clarify their statement (whether there are additional measures to be undertaken or simply unplugging the fan).
Link to the relevant web page:
HighPoint NVMe Storage Solutions for the 2019 Mac Pro
HighPoint NVMe RAID Storage Solutions for the 2019 Mac Pro and macOS 10.15.
highpoint-tech.com
Runs 38 C with fan on 48 C with fan off (tested over two 24 hr periods)
I have the three-pin version, although the fan I swapped it out for out only had two wires instead of three. I connected all three anyway, figured worst case the one wire was useless. That said, I didn't see that option anywhere before I changed the fan, either. I'm hoping that @BuxtonAus will chime back in soon and let us know where the option is hidden.
It does make me feel better about just disconnecting the fan though. I debated that today rather than installing the new fan, but with no way to check the temp on the PLX I decided against it. I do have copper heat sinks on the way so at some point in the future I may pull the whole shroud off and put the copper heatsinks on everything and go fan-free.
But your card is PCB v2.00? You can see the version silk screened on the front-side left bottom of the PCB, near the bracket. HighPoint seems to use PWM or standard fans from time to time.
I'll have to check when I'm back in the office. It's brand new so I would hope so...but it could of course been old new stock. We'll see.
I have PCB v2.00
I don't think there is a software option to disable the fan but am awaiting a reply from HighPoint.
I have now removed the fan completely from the PCB and removed the back plate of the black shroud with the aim of allowing better airflow from the Mac Pro's fans across the 7101A (the black shroud and heatsinks are still in place).
Temp now 43C, 5 C hotter than with the fan on but 5 C cooler than when the back plate was in place and the fan was off but still mounted to the PCB.
It might be possible to do without the black shroud completely but I'll await the response from HighPoint.
I don't think there is a software option to disable the fan but am awaiting a reply from HighPoint.
I have now removed the fan completely from the PCB and removed the back plate of the black shroud with the aim of allowing better airflow from the Mac Pro's fans across the 7101A (the black shroud and heatsinks are still in place).
Temp now 43C, 5 C hotter than with the fan on but 5 C cooler than when the back plate was in place and the fan was off but still mounted to the PCB.
It might be possible to do without the black shroud completely but I'll await the response from HighPoint.
Keep us updated! Today I replaced the fan and removed that end cap on the shroud and saw a 5-degree temp drop, even though the replacement fan was not as efficient. It seems you are essentially seeing the same 5 degree drop taking the back of the shroud off. That's a testament to the efficiency of the Mac Pro's cooling design. If the card was made with a shroud like the ones on the MPX graphics cards I bet it would be even cooler.
OK, thanks. I have my fan power disconnected now but it's still attached. Shroud is off. I'm anxious to hear what Highpoint will say about the fan. They do say "customers ... can now fully disable the SSD7101A-1" fan. Hard to imagine their solution is functionally different from just unplugging it, unless it would spin up in response to heat buildup. But if they have a temp sensor there, why not show it to us in the web gui?