Apologies if this has been answered already but I couldn't find it. I have bought a 7103 (found one cheaper than a 7101) and wanted to check which slot it should be installed in a cMP? I'm planning to install 2 x 1TB Samsung 970 in RAID0 as my data drive for video/photo editing.
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Highpoint 7101A - PCIe 3.0 SSD performance for the cMP
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for optimal performance you must use slot1 (normally blocked by the GPU) or slot2
these are the booth x16 slots in a cMP, the others are x4
note: slot 1 is the BOTTOM
Geesh. I have 4x 2TB HP EX950's and I can't break 5750 MB/s write 8000 MB/s read. This seems slow or?
Is there more speed to be extracted here?
RAID 0 / Block size 512k / Sector size 512B / GUID Partition / Formatted: OS X Extended (Journaled)
Mac Pro 7.1 / 2019
Catalina 10.15.4
Could be a number of things. I assume you have the card in a 16x slot on the MP? Are you using the Highpoint utility to create the RAID array?
If you are referring to the HighPoint NVMe, here is the link to download Web GUI for officially supported models (in this case, the HighPoint SSD7101A-1 RAID Controller):
NVMe RAID AIC Adapter | HighPoint Technologies，Inc.
HighPoint's performance focused PCIe 4.0 & 3.0 NVMe RAID AICs, for M.2, U.2/U.3 & E1.S SSD, come with advanced cooling systems to prevent performance throttling.
highpoint-tech.com
You would then follow instructions to setup a RAID-0 under Logical > Create Array > Select RAID 0 and select physical disks to allocate to that Logical RAID Array.
If you are referring to the HighPoint NVMe, here is the link to download Web GUI for officially supported models (in this case, the HighPoint SSD7101A-1 RAID Controller):
NVMe RAID AIC Adapter | HighPoint Technologies，Inc.
HighPoint's performance focused PCIe 4.0 & 3.0 NVMe RAID AICs, for M.2, U.2/U.3 & E1.S SSD, come with advanced cooling systems to prevent performance throttling.
You would then follow instructions to setup a RAID-0 under Logical > Create Array > Select RAID 0 and select physical disks to allocate to that Logical RAID Array.
Considering I've seen video's of the highpoint 7101-a pulling 12,000 MB/s in a 1x4 1TB SSD setup and 24,000 MB/s in a 2x4 1TB SSD setup in a hackintosh with true x16 PCIe 3.0 slots... More speed is expected, but perhaps not in a 7,1 Mac Pro. Which is a shame considering the premium paid for the platform.
Clearly, it's not your SSD's or the highpoint 7101-a, and likely a limitation of the 7,1. architecture. Check out this video where the Sonnet M.2 4x4, equipped with the same Broadcom PEX8747 PCIe switch, barely hitting 7,000 MB/s on a 7,1.
Just to clarify, the video title calling the speed insane should say insanely slow. Clearly something is amiss with the 7,1's PCIe bandwidth. Is the slot you're using setup as x16?
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I don't think there's any limit in the 7,1 architecture. I get 12,000 MB/s with my 4 x 2TB Samsung setup, which is pretty much to be expected.
I'd like to know the answer to my questions to the OP. If he's not using the HighPoint driver and utility to set up the RAID array, he will see a slower speed. Same thing happens when you use APFS encrypted. The overhead slows it down. I set mine up originally without using the HighPoint driver and software and also with APFS-Encrypted and got the slower speeds he's seeing. Dumping encryption moved it up, and then going to the HighPoint driver and utility to set up the array got my speeds into the 12,000 MB/s range.
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After much reading, got this card for the 5,1. Ended up with version 1.1
Ordered recommended fan, and some copper heat sinks. Of different types.
One 1 tb evo+ so far, will add three more. put the drive in, put the card in, carbon copy my Mojave
Drive, and ran black magic....no drivers, just stock apple.
Note this drive has way to much data on it right now, but it still impressive,
All my virtual instruments, and music sample library’s ...
Smoked the 500 writes, and 530 reads of my older 2.5 ssd card, sonnet tempo.
Not bad for this old Mac.
The fan does suck as many have said.
Happy!
Thank you all who wrote about this card, tested it , and shared info on it.
Ps, the stock fan is so bad, I took the card out while waiting on the recommended replacement fan, I put a drop of seafoam , on the fan, under the sticker, let it soak In , then compressed air to remove excess, the stock fan is much better now.
Not great, but much better.
Ordered recommended fan, and some copper heat sinks. Of different types.
One 1 tb evo+ so far, will add three more. put the drive in, put the card in, carbon copy my Mojave
Drive, and ran black magic....no drivers, just stock apple.
Note this drive has way to much data on it right now, but it still impressive,
All my virtual instruments, and music sample library’s ...
Smoked the 500 writes, and 530 reads of my older 2.5 ssd card, sonnet tempo.
Not bad for this old Mac.
The fan does suck as many have said.
Happy!
Thank you all who wrote about this card, tested it , and shared info on it.
Ps, the stock fan is so bad, I took the card out while waiting on the recommended replacement fan, I put a drop of seafoam , on the fan, under the sticker, let it soak In , then compressed air to remove excess, the stock fan is much better now.
Not great, but much better.
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@dorianclive I recommend you go with the smaller heatsinks that I am using in my follow up post here - you can purchase the heatsinks from here. The larger ones collect dust on the exposed sticky surface.
As for the replacement 3-pin fan for v2 of the 7101-A, you can purchase the 28dB(A) version from DigiKey here or the new 22.5dB(A) version here though I cannot vouch for the latter's cooling ability as I have not used it. I would get a spare fan as they are cheap.
You will also need a JST 3-pin connector. You can either reuse the one that is attached to the factory fan or buy the correct size from here.
Hope this helps.
As for the replacement 3-pin fan for v2 of the 7101-A, you can purchase the 28dB(A) version from DigiKey here or the new 22.5dB(A) version here though I cannot vouch for the latter's cooling ability as I have not used it. I would get a spare fan as they are cheap.
You will also need a JST 3-pin connector. You can either reuse the one that is attached to the factory fan or buy the correct size from here.
Hope this helps.
Yup as the shroud won't attach properly with the copper heatsinks attached to the blades. Having the shroud off also helps to cool the underside of the 5700XT I have installed in slot 2. My 7101-A is installed in slot 1.
You're welcome.
I noticed my HighPoint card’s PEX chip is delidded. This makes it a bit more difficult to place a heatsink on the chip as it’s not as a large even surface as a PEX with a lid on it. Is this common? I’m thinking no. Shouldn’t it have a lid on the controller chip?
Recent cards have a new PEX switch revision without lid, this is from Broadcom. I don't recommend installing a 3rd party heatsink with the new models, only with the older lidded ones. It's too easy to damage the dye.
*UPDATE*
I upgraded my Highpoint 7101’s fan to a much quieter, BFB0512MA and installed copper heat sinks on my 3 970 Pros as suggested by [mention]w1z [/mention]. I didn’t install a heatsink on the PEX chip as recommended by [mention]tsialex [/mention].
My setup is a RAID 0 on 2 of the 970s and the other one has the OS on it. Eventually I’ll get a 4th to complete the setup. They’re all 512GB.
It’s 30C in New York right now and I’m a bit concerned because the 970 with the OS is at 50C and the others are 43C each. I have my PCIe fan at 1457rpm. Any thoughts on these temperatures? Seems higher than I’d like. It’s been on idle for over 10 mins.
Thanks again [mention]w1z [/mention] [mention]tsialex [/mention]
I’m attaching a photo below
I upgraded my Highpoint 7101’s fan to a much quieter, BFB0512MA and installed copper heat sinks on my 3 970 Pros as suggested by [mention]w1z [/mention]. I didn’t install a heatsink on the PEX chip as recommended by [mention]tsialex [/mention].
My setup is a RAID 0 on 2 of the 970s and the other one has the OS on it. Eventually I’ll get a 4th to complete the setup. They’re all 512GB.
It’s 30C in New York right now and I’m a bit concerned because the 970 with the OS is at 50C and the others are 43C each. I have my PCIe fan at 1457rpm. Any thoughts on these temperatures? Seems higher than I’d like. It’s been on idle for over 10 mins.
Thanks again [mention]w1z [/mention] [mention]tsialex [/mention]
I’m attaching a photo below
You will destroy your card, the PCIe switch needs a heatsink.*UPDATE*
I upgraded my Highpoint 7101’s fan to a much quieter, BFB0512MA and installed copper heat sinks on my 3 970 Pros as suggested by [mention]w1z [/mention]. I didn’t install a heatsink on the PEX chip as recommended by [mention]tsialex [/mention].
My setup is a RAID 0 on 2 of the 970s and the other one has the OS on it. Eventually I’ll get a 4th to complete the setup. They’re all 512GB.
It’s 30C in New York right now and I’m a bit concerned because the 970 with the OS is at 50C and the others are 43C each. I have my PCIe fan at 1457rpm. Any thoughts on these temperatures? Seems higher than I’d like. It’s been on idle for over 10 mins.
Thanks again [mention]w1z [/mention] [mention]tsialex [/mention]
I’m attaching a photo below
Athlon XP feelings.
Any recommendations? I can’t put the shroud back on with the heatsinks I have on the 970s.
With a lid, you can use a self-adhesive heatsink, but with an exposed die you can't add it reliably, it's too small to attach the heatsink.
Yea I’ve been looking for a lid. Perhaps I may need to go back to stock and deal with the loud fan. *sigh*