Installing a SSD as boot drive in Mac Pro

[sim667]

So I've just installed an SSD in my macbook pro, and the performance difference is astounding.

However my 2008 Mac pro is still creaking along quite slowly, so now my attention has turned to that.

Does anyone know of any good 3.5 inch SSD drives that will fit in the mac pro? Im looking for something about 1tb.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

So I've just installed an SSD in my macbook pro, and the performance difference is astounding.

However my 2008 Mac pro is still creaking along quite slowly, so now my attention has turned to that.

Does anyone know of any good 3.5 inch SSD drives that will fit in the mac pro? Im looking for something about 1tb.

I (and many others) use the Apricorn Velocity DUO x2 (or SOLO x2), here's our MR thread about it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1721573/

It can be dual booted for both OSX and Windows!

Cheers

 

[sim667]

I (and many others) use the Apricorn Velocity DUO x2 (or SOLO x2), here's our MR thread about it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1721573/

It can be dual booted for both OSX and Windows!

Cheers

thanks i will read it

 

[IowaLynn]

So I've just installed an SSD in my macbook pro, and the performance difference is astounding.

However my 2008 Mac pro is still creaking along quite slowly, so now my attention has turned to that.

Does anyone know of any good 3.5 inch SSD drives that will fit in the mac pro? Im looking for something about 1tb.

OEM Apple/Samsung SSD Blade with pass-thru PCIe adapter.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1685821/

Your two PCIe 1.1 slots are 4x, I have a 1,1 2006 and use XP941 in 8x slot, very nice, but not 1TB.

you can find if and how well the 2008 slot #2 works with different cards and adapters.

 

[TonyK]

My MP 3,1 (aka early 2008) is using a M500 @ 480 GB with no problem. Had to do a firmware update but that was all.

 

[hythe]

Isn't PCI 1.0 / 1.1 limited to 200-250MB/s?

Isn't that still the case, even with a potentially faster module like an XP941?

Since SATA II runs theoretically at about the same max data rate as PCI 1.0, wouldn't a cheapish 2.5in SSD, connected by SATA II, run at about the same max data rates as any PCI solution, if limited by a PCI 1.0 slot?

I appreciate that max constant data rates aren't the only consideration in all this.

I'm sure someone out there knows a lot more about this than I do, so all contradictions more than welcome - I want to get to the bottom of it for the sake of my own Mac Pro 2,1 which I'll be hot-rodding in the coming weeks!

 

[IowaLynn]

Isn't PCI 1.0 / 1.1 limited to 200-250MB/s?

Isn't that still the case, even with a potentially faster module like an XP941?

Since SATA II runs theoretically at about the same max data rate as PCI 1.0, wouldn't a cheapish 2.5in SSD, connected by SATA II, run at about the same max data rates as any PCI solution, if limited by a PCI 1.0 slot?

I appreciate that max constant data rates aren't the only consideration in all this.

I'm sure someone out there knows a lot more about this than I do, so all contradictions more than welcome - I want to get to the bottom of it for the sake of my own Mac Pro 2,1 which I'll be hot-rodding in the coming weeks!

Mac Pro 2006-2007 have variable lanes for slots, and there is a 1x slot that would not hold a candle to an SSD while the 8x slot will.... blow the candle out as it rushes by.

Barefeats pulled some numbers.

Lycom adapter is what I found on Amazon and use.

Lycom DT-120 M.2 NGFF PCIe based SSD works in main board PCIe x4 bus slot
• PCI Express 3.0 x4 Lane Host adapter
• Supports PCIe Gen3 and PCIe Gen2 M.2 NGFF 80mm, 60mm, 42mm SSD
• Supports PCIe 1.0 ,PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 3.0 motherboard
• Note: this adapter is only for 'M' key M.2 PCIe SSD such as Samsung XP941 SSD. Not compatible with a 'B' key M.2 PCIe x2 SSD or 'B' key M.2 SATA SSD.

RamCity - the Samsung XP941 provides class-leading storage performance in desktop machines and is also fully bootable in all cMP Mac Pro models (2006-2012)

No reason to be tangled by contradictions

 

[kwikdeth]

first off, the OP has a 2008 mac pro, not a 2006-07 model. the '08 mac pro has PCIe 2.0 slots.


option 1: find a correctly aligned 2.5 to 3.5" adapter and use any off the shelf SSD in a drive bay of your mac pro.
option 2: use a PCIe to SSD adapter like someone else posted, or use a PCIe flash drive directly, like OCZ's Revodrive series.
option 3: use Apple's RAID card. expensive, however it has integrated support for the 08 mac pro.
option 4: use a third-party SAS6/SATAIII Raid card. HighPoint's RocketRAID 2720SGL is an inexpensive card which is 8x PCIe, and has built-in kernel support (bootable) for... 10.9 and above? (maybe 10.8?). This is what I use. I have two SanDisk Extreme Pro SSDs in RAID0 and my benchmarks are over 1GB sec/transfers. This card is one of the easiest ways to add SATAIII support to older mac pros. The only caveat is you'll have to add some potentially messy wiring inside your macpro. alternatively, Highpoint makes a more expensive 2721 and 2722 models which support external enclosures (which would also be bootable).

 

[IowaLynn]

first off, the OP has a 2008 mac pro, not a 2006-07 model. the '08 mac pro has PCIe 2.0 slots.

I was replying to post above my reply: for the sake of my own Mac Pro 2,1
and not to the OP.

Sorry if that confused anyone

 

[hythe]

I was replying to post above my reply: for the sake of my own Mac Pro 2,1
and not to the OP.

Sorry if that confused anyone

My bad, and thanks IowaLynn for clarifying - seems like an excellent setup, if only either the Lycom or BPlus adapter were readily available in the UK! Might have to import one...

 

[kwikdeth]

you may also be interested in this-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HighPoint-R...TF8&qid=1430351004&sr=8-2&keywords=rocketraid

only 126 pounds. if you use a SFF8077 female coupler you should be able to just use a 8087 cable and coupler and use the built-in drive cable already in the mac pro.

cable:
http://www.servercase.com/Merchant2...o-8087cable073&Category_Code=CablesConverters
coupler:
http://www.pc-pitstop.com/sas_cables_adapters/sff-8087-female-gender-changer.asp



Oh, i just found a place that sells these together for cheaper than either individually:

http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/i...-minisas-cable-for-mac-pro-2006-2007-2008.cfm