nMP Flash cover

[Cubemmal]

This is a really minor point but since I'm kicking around waiting for them to finally release the darn thing ... has anybody noticed that they changed the online animation to show that the nMP Flash has a cover? Specifically

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

and go down to Storage about seven down in the animation. Looks like it's encased in an aluminum cover now, whereas the original version did not

It seems that this animation is probably showing the final shipping version. Also note that there definitely isn't any plumbing for a second Flash on the other card, which seems to indicate that we won't have an extra unused Flash connection.

 

[VirtualRain]

This is a really minor point but since I'm kicking around waiting for them to finally release the darn thing ... has anybody noticed that they changed the online animation to show that the nMP Flash has a cover? Specifically

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

and go down to Storage about seven down in the animation. Looks like it's encased in an aluminum cover now, whereas the original version did not

Image

It seems that this animation is probably showing the final shipping version. Also note that there definitely isn't any plumbing for a second Flash on the other card, which seems to indicate that we won't have an extra unused Flash connection.

I noticed that as well. Perhaps there was some issues in pre-production units with the cover being taken off/on and accidentally striking the SSD with the edge.

I'm almost certain a second SSD will be a feature of a future refresh/update. That would make for a wicked fast RAID0 array.

 

[Cubemmal]

I'm almost certain a second SSD will be a feature of a future refresh/update. That would make for a wicked fast RAID0 array.

That would be nice. I'm also expecting somebody to develop a TB 2.0 external case with multiple PCIe Flash devices like this. I haven't checked the numbers but I'm sure that 20 Gbps (1500MB/s theoretically but overhead and PCIe limits will be lower than that) is enough bandwidth even for that kind of flash.

Thunderbolt 2 everything you need to know

 

[flat five]

It seems that this animation is probably showing the final shipping version. Also note that there definitely isn't any plumbing for a second Flash on the other card, which seems to indicate that we won't have an extra unused Flash connection.

the computer is designed to have two ssd cards.. it's pretty obvious the designers strived for balance in many other areas and they wouldn't just see one ssd fits the idea of 'balanced'.. not even close when you consider the design as a whole.


once the money people get involved, they start playing this money-vacuum game in which they will try to suck the most money out of their customers.

one such way is to make it appear as if there's a storage scarcity and make people believe 1TB ssd is actually worth $1000.. as if it's bleeding edge tech and we're only hoping/praying someone will be smart enough to figure out how to make a 2TB drive..

they'll open up the second slot when they calculate the time is right for them to vacuum up the most upgrade money.

 

[AidenShaw]

the computer is designed to have two ssd cards.. it's pretty obvious the designers strived for balance in many other areas and they wouldn't just see one ssd fits the idea of 'balanced'.. not even close when you consider the design as a whole.

The CPU/chipset has 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes and 8 PCIe 2.0 lanes.

If both GPUs are on PCIe 3.0 x16 sockets, and each T-Bolt is on PCIe 3.0 x4 -- you're out of lanes even before you consider the SSDs, GbE, USB, ....

Of course, Apple could put one or both GPUs on PCIe 3.0 x8 sockets, or use PCI bridges (PCIe switches that multiply lanes by oversubscribing).

 

[flat five]

The CPU/chipset has 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes and 8 PCIe 2.0 lanes.

If both GPUs are on PCIe 3.0 x16 sockets, and each T-Bolt is on PCIe 3.0 x4 -- you're out of lanes even before you consider the SSDs, GbE, USB, ....

right.. i get all that (or- that there may be some technical concerns).

that stuff aside if you can for 10seconds.. which one of these is 'right' ?

-or-

Of course, Apple could put one or both GPUs on PCIe 3.0 x8 sockets, or use PCI bridges (PCIe switches that multiply lanes by oversubscribing).

or they could put the drives on the gpus?

 

[AidenShaw]

right.. i get all that (or- that there may be some technical concerns).

that stuff aside if you can for 10seconds.. which one of these is 'right' ?

[image]

-or-

[image]

The one that isn't Photoshopped?

or they could put the drives on the gpus?

I was suggesting ways that would give them PCIe lanes for the second drive.

The Xeon E5-v2 + C602 simply don't have enough PCIe lanes to avoid oversubscribing (or under-provisioning), Apple's engineers may have decided not to put a second drive in because it wouldn't perform as well as the first drive.

 

[flat five]

The one that isn't Photoshopped?

ha.. touche

(as a matter of precision- the second one was actually 'pixelmatored' as i'm one of those who has dropped adobe from the lineup)

I was suggesting ways that would give them PCIe lanes for the second drive.

The Xeon E5-v2 + C602 simply don't have enough PCIe lanes to avoid oversubscribing (or under-provisioning), Apple's engineers may have decided not to put a second drive in because it wouldn't perform as well as the first drive.

well yeah.. if there is no feasible way for them to add a second drive without imposing real-world/noticeable performance penalties on the user then i think it's probably best to stay with one drive..

idk, i know a lot more about one thing (design) than i do about the other (computer engineering) so i at least hope it's understandable where i'm coming from with many things i have to say around here..