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This one will allow you to use the full speed of your drive: https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Accelsio...id=1479505904&sr=8-1&keywords=owc+accelsior+s

If you're OK not getting quite full speed but still faster than SATA II speeds, you could try this one that has a $20 rebate right now: https://www.amazon.com/Apricorn-Velocity-Extreme-Performance-VEL-SOLO-X2/dp/B0090IA3AU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479505904&sr=8-2&keywords=owc+accelsior+s&th=1

The Icy Dock won't make things any faster. Just allows you to put your SSD in one of the drive sleds.
 
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does tha
This one will allow you to use the full speed of your drive: https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Accelsio...id=1479505904&sr=8-1&keywords=owc+accelsior+s

If you're OK not getting quite full speed but still faster than SATA II speeds, you could try this one that has a $20 rebate right now: https://www.amazon.com/Apricorn-Velocity-Extreme-Performance-VEL-SOLO-X2/dp/B0090IA3AU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479505904&sr=8-2&keywords=owc+accelsior+s&th=1

The Icy Dock won't make things any faster. Just allows you to put your SSD in one of the drive sleds.
That second option may work. Basically speed doesn't matter much to me...cost is biggest thing. I thought about using some velcro and putting the SSD in a bay. Im cheap.
 
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That second option may work. Basically speed doesn't matter much to me...cost is biggest thing. I thought about using some velcro and putting the SSD in a bay. Im cheap.
IMO raw throughput of SSDs isn't that important for many users. The mere fact of switching from a hard disk to an SSD offers more benefit than going from a SATA SSD to a PCIe SSD. While the latter tends to have better performance it's likely to go unnoticed for many users.
 
im going to just say stick in the SSD to one of the drive bays XD that what i did on my 3.1, if you dont like to see it sag then get some cable ties to lift it up.

"cheapest option" was in the description, next cheapest option is the sd thing hack
^^ http://fabiensanglard.net/ssd/ love the options here

or if you have a 4.1/5.1 you can also use the optic bay (mines lose in there)

or if your brave you can find the extra sata connectors on the motherboard (macpro 1.1-3.1 i think) gets some sata cables and use one of the molex power cables from the second dvd drive bay to power 1-2 extra SSD's
 
im going to just say stick in the SSD to one of the drive bays XD that what i did on my 3.1, if you dont like to see it sag then get some cable ties to lift it up.

"cheapest option" was in the description, next cheapest option is the sd thing hack
^^ http://fabiensanglard.net/ssd/ love the options here

or if you have a 4.1/5.1 you can also use the optic bay (mines lose in there)

or if your brave you can find the extra sata connectors on the motherboard (macpro 1.1-3.1 i think) gets some sata cables and use one of the molex power cables from the second dvd drive bay to power 1-2 extra SSD's
I found a 128GB SSD sitting around - I stuck it in the drive bay lot...fast enough for me. I wish I could see the different between it and other options without spending money :)

BTW - this forum rocks! You guys are so nice. :) specifically Mac Pro forum
 
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yah 128gb is all you need for os and apps, bigger is nice but you dont relay need it.

taping the ssd in is a good option to stop the sagging :E over a long time it may stress the thing if you dont want to risk it (thats my disclamer :p i did just stick it in and let it hang for ages)
 
So installed the SSD - wonder how I should use the 1.5TB 7200 HD in Bay 1 - I know nothing about using two drives. What should I do? Would like to keep my pictures, iTunes library on it.
 
Working well - just interested in the difference if I decided to spent the $26 to go PCIe
The SSD on the Sata ports will be much faster than a spinner on those ports.

Going to PCIe adapters will be faster, but mostly in synthetic disk benchmarks. For day-to-day work, you'll probably see little improvement. If you have plenty of memory, you may see no improvement. (If the system has unused memory, it will cache disk IO - so the speed of the disk doesn't matter, it's not being touched.)
 
The SSD on the Sata ports will be much faster than a spinner on those ports.

Going to PCIe adapters will be faster, but mostly in synthetic disk benchmarks. For day-to-day work, you'll probably see little improvement. If you have plenty of memory, you may see no improvement. (If the system has unused memory, it will cache disk IO - so the speed of the disk doesn't matter, it's not being touched.)
Caching only improves performance for files that have previously been read & put in the cache. Typically starting up a new application will be faster from an SSD on a PCIe adapter. Of course if you only fire up FCP X once a day then any time saved is insignificant.
 
im confused the macpro has 4 drive slots, are all 4 full?

if all 4 are full you can buy an external HD or a case for your internal HD and use it as an external drive or buy a PCI SSD adapter as mentioned or buy 1 big drive and copy all your files on to it.
 
As far as SSD controller, there is nothing unique about the 3,1. Same discussion applies to all applications, the better controllers work better in all applications, including the 3,1.
 
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