Just bought a classic Mac pro 12 core

[Snahbah]

What size did you get for the OWC Acelssior E2 SSD. I am putting my list together for the purchase. The good think is that I will money back for my memory since I will be sending them in to macsale. anyways hope to hear from you again. this past week I though about building a hackintosh, buying an Imac, but it comes down to being happy with mac pro. I have a GTX 970 in it I don't mind not having a boot screen. Also I have a ati 5770, Nvidia GTX 680 at my disposal that are mac version. The GTX 970 just for more Cuda cores since I use premiere pro cloud more than FCP X. since I only pay $40 a year for adobe cloud as a student but soon I will be loosing that privilege since I finish school last year. I may have to buy final cut pro. and I do still have a license to adobe CS5.5 production. Anyways I use this baby for premiere and photoshop and other stuff. I have tried out final cut pro so far I like it.

Hello, no problem happy to help.

Okay, drives you want to know about:

I got the 500gb for the start-up. At the time is was cheaper than the 1tb, the prices have dropped for the 1gb but I don't store files on the start-up so I'm good.

I have a Synology with 5 x 6tb drives in it.

Now I've got the bays full in the Mac, this is another thing I want to sort out soon. I want 4 x 3tb Raid 0, giving 12tb of very fast work space, that will then back up to the Synology daily. That's gives me one nice fat volume.

At the moment I have 2 x 3tb, with a 1 x 1tb for a start-up mirror (which I'll move externally) and another 6tb that'll I'll stick into the Synology as a hot drive as it's a Blue not a Red.

Make sense?

• 500gb SSD PIC-E Boot Disk
• 12tb Raid 0 internal (soon)
• Erm, quite a big Synology server (need this because if one of the 3tb drive dies – everything dies in the Raid)

Try doing that with an iMac

It means the speed is as fast as I need it to be, when I need it.

GTX970 is a good card. So is the Ti version. As for your software, if it makes friends with Cuda you're golden.

Hackintosh for me was a "no" – I need the reliability I have at the moment. My world would stop spinning and I'd fly off into space if I had no Mac. Sweating buckets over bits of code I had no idea about, with a deadline hammering towards me is not my idea of fun

Again, I hope that's of some help to you

 

[dtechlogic]

Now I am battling with memory. I am upgrading to 1066 to 1333. I have 32GB and possible will get the same amount for 1333 to save some extra cash. I have been happy with 32GB. Any advice on the memory. this is what I am ordering for my mac Pro.

Sonnet Technologies Allegro USB 3.0 4-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Charging PCI Express 2.0 Card.

480GB OWC Mercury Accelsior E2 PCI Express High-Performance SSD with eSATA Expansion Ports

Sabrent 3-Port USB 3.0 Hub with CF/SD/TF Card Reader. this extra that I will need to transfer my videos.


48.0GB (6x 8GB) DDR3 ECC PC10600 1333MHz SDRAM ECC for Mac Pro 'Nehalem' & 'Westmere' models. will get some money back since I am sending my current memories 1066. so possible will get 70.00 or more.

 

[h9826790]

Now I am battling with memory. I am upgrading to 1066 to 1333. I have 32GB and possible will get the same amount for 1333 to save some extra cash. I have been happy with 32GB. Any advice on the memory. this is what I am ordering for my mac Pro.

Don't do it! It is exactly wasting money. I doubt if you can actually benefit from this tiny difference in real world.

1066 using CL7, 1333 using CL9, the actual difference in speed is just 2%. Also, unless your job is really memory speed limiting, you won't see any difference.

Anyway, Sonnet is a good card, just expensive.

OWC is almost the most problematic brand in SSD, I personally will avoid it.

If you end up go for 48GB RAM, then of course go for 1333MHz now.

 

[JMacHack]

Is the accession e2 card faster on boot than simply plugging in the ssd into the empty drive bay? 2010 2.8 quad-core here.

Also, looking for upgrades to the Radeon 5770, any suggestions?

 

[dtechlogic]

Any recommendation of which Ssd

 

[h9826790]

Is the accession e2 card faster on boot than simply plugging in the ssd into the empty drive bay? 2010 2.8 quad-core here.

Also, looking for upgrades to the Radeon 5770, any suggestions?

The answer is NO, booting is very connection independent. Almost any SSD has same performance. Obviously once move to SSD, the bottleneck is moved to somewhere else, but not on the hard drive anymore. Therefore, further improve the SSD connection won't help. Anyway, this is a simple graph to explain the situation. Even this is not test on the cMP, but idea / situation is exactly the same.

On this testing machine, the boot time of a 840 Evo connected via a SATA II port is 33s. The boot time of a PCIe 2.0 x2 SSD is also 33s. Move the same 840 Evo to a SATA III connection is also 33s.

I have a 840evo, and a Tempo SSD card. I can confirm that there is no difference of the boot time regardless if I connect it via the SATA II or SAT III port. So, I am quite sure further improve the connection speed won't do anything.

Of course, it doesn't mean that faster SSD is useless. It just won't significantly speed up the boot time. Something like a SM951 may able to boot the machine 1-2s faster then a 840Evo (SATA II connection). But that should be nothing to do with the connection type, most likely simply because the SSD itself is faster (e.g. lower latency).

Any recommendation of which Ssd

If you really want a fast and simple solution. Kingston HyperX Predator (AHCI) is the way to go. SM951 is better, but very very hard to find a new one, and most likely extremely expensive. Also, you need to get an adaptor by yourself. On the other hand, the Kinston SSD has roughly the same reading performance (on the cMP), but come with the adaptor, and very easy to buy a new one with reasonable price. The Kingston SSD even has 960GBV option that the SM951 doesn't offer.

If you don't need extreme sequential speed, but just fast boot / loading apps. Plug a 850 Evo into the optical bay is good enough.

 

[Snahbah]

Now I am battling with memory. I am upgrading to 1066 to 1333. I have 32GB and possible will get the same amount for 1333 to save some extra cash. I have been happy with 32GB. Any advice on the memory. this is what I am ordering for my mac Pro.

Sonnet Technologies Allegro USB 3.0 4-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Charging PCI Express 2.0 Card.

480GB OWC Mercury Accelsior E2 PCI Express High-Performance SSD with eSATA Expansion Ports

Sabrent 3-Port USB 3.0 Hub with CF/SD/TF Card Reader. this extra that I will need to transfer my videos.


48.0GB (6x 8GB) DDR3 ECC PC10600 1333MHz SDRAM ECC for Mac Pro 'Nehalem' & 'Westmere' models. will get some money back since I am sending my current memories 1066. so possible will get 70.00 or more.

Hello again. Sounds like you've got quite a list building. If I may be so forwards, you don't need to do everything in one go. That SSD will blow your mind. Seriously. Next on the "wow, haven't things got faster" list are the processors. USB 3.0 will be great for you and inexpensive. The RAM is hard for me to tell as it's been a while since I did it. Sold the old stuff for 8x8 1333. If you are going down the 6x8 it's imperative you install them in the correct slots. PLEASE double check this, but from memory (sorry) you fill 3 of the 4 slots on each bank (one for each processor). Then leave the empty slot as the one closest to the processor.

But please check, it's been a while since I installed mine.

OWC have a great video on their site. It'll show you how much faster the PCIE is than Sata. The guy above talks about reliability. From personal experience mine has been great. I even upgraded the blade PCB from 6g to the E2. Faultless. Boot time is quick so what? The data through put on the PCIE is clearly much faster - it's a faster bus

Any more questions I'll do my best - at least I have the same rig. Remember, its wise to do your own research until you're completely happy with your decisions - there are many "experts" out there (including me)

 

[dtechlogic]

Anyways I have a SSD adapter to install it in one of the HDD bay.

 

[h9826790]

I really can't justify the OWC SSD.

A) OWC Mercury Accelsior E2 960GB $650, SandForce Controller (SATA), PCIe 2.0 x2, no SMART, no TRIM, 676MB/s

B) Kingston HyperX predator 960GB, $340 (in my city, $550 on Amazon), PCIe 2.0 x4, 1350MB/s

1) OWC 2TB Mercury Electra, $780, 500MB/s, 60,000 IOPS, 3 years warranty

2) Samsung 2TB 850 Evo, $620 (again, in my city, $650 on Amazon), 540MB/s, 98,000 IOPS, 5 years warranty

Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying OWC is a bad company, I did buy stuff from them. But I just don't think it's a good idea to get their SSD.

 

[JMacHack]

snip

Gracias

Any recommendation of which Ssd

I used a Samsung 500GB and it's worked great, no explosions.

 

[dtechlogic]

I appreciate everyone's feedback. This is not a definite purchase. I am doing some research also and reading regading the Hyperx and the OWC

 

[Snahbah]

Anyways I have a SSD adapter to install it in one of the HDD bay.

A PCIE with blades is fast. Remember the max bus speed for PCI 2.0. Also count the lanes you have available. You have a GTX970 double lane hogger I think, you might have to move it up one slot if the SSD needs a 16. Some are 4. Some don't need trim support. You're doing the right thing - your own research. Have fun and spend wisely

 

[dtechlogic]

I know that I have the 2x4 lanes available. I have video card in the last lane at bottom. Dang it if all will fit. Since I am also getting a usb 3.0 adapter. Hi Guys what is the proper setup with a GTX 970, Sonnet USB 3.0 pci E, and the SSD PCIE. Any advice on the proper configuration inside the mac pro 5,1. So far I may end up going with the CPU X5680 3.33GHZ instead of the X5690 3.46Ghz. I just need to put in my order.

 

[h9826790]

I know that I have the 2x4 lanes available. I have video card in the last lane at bottom. Dang it if all will fit. Since I am also getting a usb 3.0 adapter. Hi Guys what is the proper setup with a GTX 970, Sonnet USB 3.0 pci E, and the SSD PCIE. Any advice on the proper configuration inside the mac pro 5,1. So far I may end up going with the CPU X5680 3.33GHZ instead of the X5690 3.46Ghz. I just need to put in my order.

As long as you put the GPU in slot 1 (the lowest slot), the others doesn't really matter. However, from memory, some PCIe SSD / adaptor combo cannot negotiate at PCIe 2.0 speed if you put them in slot 2. So, you may better put the PCIe 2.0 x4 SSD in slot 3, and the USB 3.0 card in slot 2.

 

[Snahbah]

I know that I have the 2x4 lanes available. I have video card in the last lane at bottom. Dang it if all will fit. Since I am also getting a usb 3.0 adapter. Hi Guys what is the proper setup with a GTX 970, Sonnet USB 3.0 pci E, and the SSD PCIE. Any advice on the proper configuration inside the mac pro 5,1. So far I may end up going with the CPU X5680 3.33GHZ instead of the X5690 3.46Ghz. I just need to put in my order.

Now you're thinking. No need to take it to the max if you don't need to. This is wise. There's a decent price difference between the two sets of CPUs. Some folk like me (I make my living with the thing) can justify taking things up all the way. You say you are leaving education and starting out in your career, so, without sounding patronising I think it's a smart move.

Same with the SSD. Do your homework, exactly as you have been, and figure out how to spend your money appropriately. I could point you in the direction of the fastest SSDs on earth but even I'd be daft Find the ground you're happy with, spend within your means. And for the love of all things - make sure you can make the machine pay for itself. My Aqua G3 and 21" Apple monitor (the screen was the size of a small elephant) paid for itself within two weeks.

Keep your eye on what you need and make sure it'll pay you back. That's my thinking - others are more than welcome to theirs.

As for your slots, pop her open and have a look. You'll see on the PCB markings next to the slots telling you their number and if they are 4 or 16. Trust your own eyes, your heart, your wallet and your instincts - once you have all the information you can possibly get your hands on, then act.

It's good fun this - be careful with the components. Don't rush fitting them. Earth yourself and all will be well.

All the very best to you.

Night, night.

 

[splifingate]

I know that I have the 2x4 lanes available. I have video card in the last lane at bottom. Dang it if all will fit. Since I am also getting a usb 3.0 adapter. Hi Guys what is the proper setup with a GTX 970, Sonnet USB 3.0 pci E, and the SSD PCIE. Any advice on the proper configuration inside the mac pro 5,1. So far I may end up going with the CPU X5680 3.33GHZ instead of the X5690 3.46Ghz. I just need to put in my order.

Hi dtl!

Got a steal on a very, very gently *used* 5,1 this past fall I just could not resist, and have been outfitting it since.

I have since upgraded the cpu's from the e5645's to two x5675's I got from Aventis Systems in Atlanta.

I managed to get my hands on two *new* Sam (Lenovo re-brand) AHCI 512's ($$$$): one of which (the one that ended-up actually having 4h of use on it (therefore marking it as *used* (grr!)) I put into a Mailiya x4 adapter (the other blade is stored-away for when the first may-chance go bad, if that ever happens).

Got a gently-used, flashed (MVC, I believe) 980ti two weeks ago from a pull via eBay.

Currently, I have:

Slot 1: 980ti
Slot 2: CalDigit 2xUSB 3.0/2xeSata (came with the comp)
Slot 3: Mailiya/AHCI blade
Slot 4: *open* (no-blockage/available)

The rationale for the x5675's was the thermals: they are 95w, whereas the x5677/80/90's are 130w...

...as mine is a non-air-conditioned workspace in the Southeast of the United States, heat is always an issue. Additionally, the potential for increased longevity is extremely important (my 12/2006 1,1 is still a beast, but it is not capable of running 10.12.x/10.13.x/etc., so...).

I've used *used* server pull cpu's to great success many, many times (in the past), but I wanted *new*, so I searched; and I found Aventis Systems (great guys, but I am in no way affiliated with them, other than my one purchase).

new x56xx 6-core: https://www.aventissystems.com/Dell-Precision-T5500-Six-Core-CPUs-s/6567.htm

new x56xx 4-core: https://www.aventissystems.com/Dell-Precision-T5500-Quad-Core-CPUs-s/6566.htm

The recent addition of the two, *new* Dell p2715q lcd's was a literal eye-opener

Enjoy your building, and share what you can, when you can.

Regards, splifingate