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Highpoint 7101A - PCIe 3.0 SSD performance for the cMP

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
MIKX

MIKX

macrumors 68000
Dec 16, 2004
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nekton1

How about a report on your recently purchased 7101A.

I'm looking more & more to buying one soon

I wanna say goodbye to internal SATA II spinner HDDs

My external USB 3.0 dock can handle those.

( PS : Happy Obon to you. Tonight ( August 167th. ) Kyoto's Daimonji will start at sunset. )

Obon Daimonji.jpg

 
nekton1

nekton1

macrumors 65816
Apr 15, 2010
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MIKX said:
nekton1

How about a report on your recently purchased 7101A.

I'm looking more & more to buying one soon

I wanna say goodbye to internal SATA II spinner HDDs

My external USB 3.0 dock can handle those.

( PS : Happy Obon to you. Tonight ( August 167th. ) Kyoto's Daimonji will start at sunset. )

View attachment 776134
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1534366952][/doublepost]Weird because I did send you a private report same day as conversation started.
[doublepost=1534367289][/doublepost]
nekton1 said:
[doublepost=1534366952][/doublepost]Weird because I did send you a private report same day as conversation started.
Click to expand...
Just posted conversation again.
Happy obon.
 
GhostImage

GhostImage

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May 23, 2005
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I am wondering if anyone has had luck installing WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD in cMP 5,1. Ihave tried several different adapters but can not get the cMP5,1 to recognize it is there.
 
tsialex

tsialex

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Jun 13, 2016
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GhostImage said:
I am wondering if anyone has had luck installing WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD in cMP 5,1. Ihave tried several different adapters but can not get the cMP5,1 to recognize it is there.
Click to expand...
Correct me If I'm wrong but WD Blue is a SATA drive in M2 format, no? You can't install it on the cards for PCIe M2 blades.
 
tsialex

tsialex

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Jun 13, 2016
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GhostImage said:
I think you are right. Have I made a terrible mistake?
Click to expand...

M2 format has SATA, AHCI and NVMe blades.

SATA M2 blades have to be inserted on a SATA M2 PCIe card, this card has a SATA chip to communicate with the SATA blade.

AHCI and NVMe M2 blades have to be installed on a M2 PCIe convertor card, it's just a format convertor.
 
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GhostImage

GhostImage

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May 23, 2005
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tsialex said:
M2 format has SATA, AHCI and NVMe blades.

SATA M2 blades have to be inserted on a SATA M2 PCIe card, this card has a SATA chip to communicate with the SATA blade.

AHCI and NVMe M2 blades have to be installed on a M2 PCIe convertor card, it's just a format convertor.
Click to expand...

Is it a matter of finding the right format converter or it will never work in either my cMP or my Windows gaming machine?
 
tsialex

tsialex

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GhostImage

GhostImage

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tsialex

tsialex

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Last edited:
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GhostImage

GhostImage

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tsialex said:
With this card, you have to install the WD Blue on the NGFF slot and then connect the SATA port right to the NGFF slot with a SATA cable to your PC motherboard SATA connector.

This card just get the POWER from the PCIe slot, the DATA goes via the SATA cable.
Click to expand...

Okay.

I have ordered one of the type you suggested.

Whew.

I make a lot of mistakes. :)
 
MIKX

MIKX

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Usually on the SATA M.2 blades adapters there is a SATA socket marked "B" NVMe is marked "M".

I too learned the hard way last year.
 
GhostImage

GhostImage

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May 23, 2005
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tsialex said:
You can't exchange the WD Blue? It's a sloowwww drive - even by SATA standards. Nowhere near AHCI/NVMe drives.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, while I fought with getting the firmware update for the cMP 5,1 to work, the return window closed. Maybe I will use it as a backup drive to which I will clone the startup drive.
 
handheldgames

handheldgames

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With EFI Firmware revision 0138 and Mojave Beta 7, the SSD7101-a is configured as 5.0 GT/s x16 without the need to use PCI Tools / setPCI.

This change unlocks 6000+ MB/sec PCI 3.0 SSD performance on the aging 4,1/5,1 cMP.

Code: 
05:00.0 PCI bridge: PLX Technology, Inc. PEX 8747 48-Lane, 5-Port PCI Express Gen 3 (8.0 GT/s) Switch (rev ca) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
    Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx-
    Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
    Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 256 bytes
    Region 0: Memory at 90700000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable)
    Bus: primary=05, secondary=06, subordinate=0a, sec-latency=0
    Memory behind bridge: 90600000-906fffff
    Secondary status: 66MHz- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- <SERR- <PERR-
    BridgeCtl: Parity- SERR+ NoISA- VGA- MAbort- >Reset- FastB2B-
        PriDiscTmr- SecDiscTmr- DiscTmrStat- DiscTmrSERREn-
    Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3
        Flags: PMEClk- DSI- D1- D2- AuxCurrent=0mA PME(D0+,D1-,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)
        Status: D0 NoSoftRst+ PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-
    Capabilities: [48] MSI: Enable- Count=1/8 Maskable+ 64bit+
        Address: 0000000000000000  Data: 0000
        Masking: 00000000  Pending: 00000000
    Capabilities: [68] Express (v2) Upstream Port, MSI 00
        DevCap:    MaxPayload 2048 bytes, PhantFunc 0
            ExtTag- AttnBtn- AttnInd- PwrInd- RBE+ SlotPowerLimit 0.000W
        DevCtl:    Report errors: Correctable- Non-Fatal- Fatal- Unsupported-
            RlxdOrd+ ExtTag- PhantFunc- AuxPwr- NoSnoop+
            MaxPayload 128 bytes, MaxReadReq 128 bytes
        DevSta:    CorrErr+ UncorrErr- FatalErr- UnsuppReq+ AuxPwr- TransPend-
        LnkCap:    Port #0, Speed 8GT/s, Width x16, ASPM L1, Exit Latency L0s <2us, L1 <4us
            ClockPM- Surprise- LLActRep- BwNot-
        LnkCtl:    ASPM Disabled; Disabled- CommClk-
            ExtSynch- ClockPM- AutWidDis- BWInt- AutBWInt-
        LnkSta:    Speed 5GT/s, Width x16, TrErr- Train- SlotClk- DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
 
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nekton1

nekton1

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Handheldgames, what is this EFI Firmware revision 0138? Could you explain this a little more?

handheldgames said:
With EFI Firmware revision 0138 and
Click to expand...

OK, figured it out, you mean the latest MacPro 5,1 boot ROM firmware revision. So does this new Apple revision support the dosdude1 "boot from NVMe" boot ROM revision?
 
Last edited:
crjackson2134

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
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Charlotte, NC
nekton1 said:
Handheldgames, what is this EFI Firmware revision 0138? Could you explain this a little more?



OK, figured it out, you mean the latest MacPro 5,1 boot ROM firmware revision. So does this new Apple revision support the dosdude1 "boot from NVMe" boot ROM revision?
Click to expand...

Yes it does, no problems at all.
 
nekton1

nekton1

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Apr 15, 2010
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Any opinions on populating the HighPoint 7101A with four Intel 600p series NVMe. M.2 cards? They are QLC 4 bits/cell but have a big SLC cache and price out at about half the cost per GB of Samsung 970 EVO/Pro.
Speed wise, Intel is claiming 1800 bps read and 1500 Mbps write, which is a lot less than Samsung 970 EVO/Pro!
 
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