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mac pro 3,1 - is it worth upgrading from sata2 to sata3?

N

notation101

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 3, 2018
2
0
Hi

I have an early 2008 mac pro for which I have just purchased an SSD to replace the current mechanical hard drive.

I understand that this mac pro has SATA2 but that it is possible to purchase an adapter to have an SSD run as if it is SATA3?

I will not use my mac pro for any computationally or graphically intensive tasks, but in others experience - is there a noticeable difference in performance after doing this SATA3 upgrade?

If I were to buy a SATA2 to SATA3 card, what would be recommended?

Also, is the recommended cloning software carbon copy cloner?

Many thanks!

NN
 
notation101 said:
Hi

I have an early 2008 mac pro for which I have just purchased an SSD to replace the current mechanical hard drive.

I understand that this mac pro has SATA2 but that it is possible to purchase an adapter to have an SSD run as if it is SATA3?

I will not use my mac pro for any computationally or graphically intensive tasks, but in others experience - is there a noticeable difference in performance after doing this SATA3 upgrade?

If I were to buy a SATA2 to SATA3 card, what would be recommended?

Also, is the recommended cloning software carbon copy cloner?

Many thanks!

NN
Click to expand...

For very large files copying, loading, (un)piping, YES, you should able to see the difference.

For OS operation (boot time, apps start, general responsiveness), NO, you should not able to tell any difference.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-upgrade-sata-3gbps,3469-16.html

If you really want a SATA III card. OWC Accelsior S, Apricon Velocity series, and the Sonnet Tempo SSD series are the safest bet. These are some of their associated threads

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/has-anyone-tried-the-owc-accelsior-s.1893659/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/dual-boot-confirmed-for-new-apricorn-velocity-duo-x2.1721573/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/sonnet-tempo-ssd-pro-vs-owc-accelsior-benchmarks.1552592/

For cloning, I have absolutely no complain on Carbon Copy Cloner. It does everything as expected.
 
Your biggest improvement already happened. I would not invest in more.
[doublepost=1517729725][/doublepost]Actually, I think investing in an upgrade WiFi BTLE card and then using DoDudes1 unlock to installer High Sierra will give you more bang for the buck.
 
from my understanding SATA2 only limits your max transfer speed not random 4K etc which is where you get the responsive boost from a SSD. (and the random 4K is never going to hit 300mb sec limit of sata 2)

i just have my SSD stuck in the first drive slot, some ppl use string/elastic bands etc to stop it from sagging (or even take it out of it's case and just having the raw circuit bored inserted, thats so light it wont sag).
 
Many thanks all!

I have already done the dosdude's high Sierra patcher, which I am very hapy with :)

Will I need something like Icy Dock to mount a 2.5" drive in what is a 3.5" tray? Otherwise I suppose you can just insert the drive in to connectors directly, although I guess this might put unsupported weight on the connectors/ports?

Thanks

NN
 
notation101 said:
Many thanks all!

I have already done the dosdude's high Sierra patcher, which I am very hapy with :)

Will I need something like Icy Dock to mount a 2.5" drive in what is a 3.5" tray? Otherwise I suppose you can just insert the drive in to connectors directly, although I guess this might put unsupported weight on the connectors/ports?

Thanks

NN
Click to expand...
I use icydocks and have never had a problem. It also looks nice. But as orph said above you can use something to hold it in place.
 
bjar said:
I use icydocks and have never had a problem. It also looks nice. But as orph said above you can use something to hold it in place.
Click to expand...
Icydock is very nice.. I have one..

I used a squash ball cut in half underneath another SSD in the bay nearest the front... applying just enough pressure between SSD and top inner front of the case.. to keep it snug should the machine be moved or knocked.. seemed to work nice :)
 
I use my Mac Pro for database work, and I have some SATA-II connected SSD's and one PCIe connected SSD, which is theoretically much faster. I can benchmark the difference, and multi-hour real life jobs go a bit faster on the PCIe drive. I think I can maybe just barely imagine there's a difference doing interactive stuff like compiling and building, and I'm pretty sure it's all in my head. :)

So yeah, aside from occasional large file operations, or extended, disk-intensive processing, I don't think you'll be able to tell the difference between a SATA-II SSD and one running through a SATA-III card.
 
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notation101 said:
Will I need something like Icy Dock to mount a 2.5" drive in what is a 3.5" tray? Otherwise I suppose you can just insert the drive in to connectors directly, although I guess this might put unsupported weight on the connectors/ports?

Thanks

NN
Click to expand...
You should get something to help mount this into the 3.5" bay to take pressure off the connectors as they were never designed to have weight on them and will probably fail over time. There's several neat 2.5" to 3.5" solution like the HP 654540-001 that work really well:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/FOXCONN-2-...476296?hash=item3f81ca9288:g:wogAAOSwJkJWlQ7g
 
notation101 said:
Hi

I have an early 2008 mac pro for which I have just purchased an SSD to replace the current mechanical hard drive.

I understand that this mac pro has SATA2 but that it is possible to purchase an adapter to have an SSD run as if it is SATA3?

I will not use my mac pro for any computationally or graphically intensive tasks, but in others experience - is there a noticeable difference in performance after doing this SATA3 upgrade?

If I were to buy a SATA2 to SATA3 card, what would be recommended?

Also, is the recommended cloning software carbon copy cloner?

Many thanks!

NN
Click to expand...


To be honest, since you already bought the SSD drive, there is really nothing much you can do about it.
If you wouldn't have bought it already, I would have recommended to go for a new generation SSD, based on PCIE.
(Samsung 951 AHCI or HyperX Predator 941) Those would have been a lot better and faster, I mean a lot. But hey.. since you got it already, go at least with an Accelsior S card.
Yes, I know, - most people here tell you it makes no difference. - Wrong - It makes a difference, absolutely.
If you can, go for a PCIE card, those 60 bucks are worth it, if you have a spot left on those PCI slots.
Regardless what people tell you, the SSD bus speed is actually the only reason why a new iMac 5K really feels faster.
Its about feeling. And if your machine boots super fast, it feels fast. This is psychology, I don't really care about the numbers. On the SSD options, I really tried out all options. Standard SSD, SSD on PCI cards and new Gen PCIE cards.
In my book this is actually the reason why I don't need to buy a whole new machine. A nice 5.1 with 1350Mbite/sec SSD speed is as good as it gets. Sure I don't smoke the iMac Pro, but then again I have already way more then I ever need as a semi-professional that does occasional video projects as a hobby.
Anyways, there is still one option that might be interesting for you if you want to gain speed with regular SSDs. Check out this:

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempossdproplus.html

thats what I would do if I would be in your shoes, keeping the 3.1..

or keep it how it is and go for a red Mavic Air...

cheers

:)
 
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