NVMe for Mac Pro 5,1

[jimj740]

Hey guys !

I'm currently working on modifying the Mac Pro's EFI to support booting from NVMe drives.
The actual implementing isn't so hard if I don't run into any surprises. But it will take some as you get massive headaches from reading hex.
I'll return here when I've found a safe way to flash the Mac Pro without bricking it, and I'll release the source code as well.

Hope a lot of people are interested in this project
I think it'll increase the Mac Pro's life span even more !

I wish you luck on this project. Is your intent to insert Apple device IDs such that the standard Apple NVMe driver will work under OS X, or do you intend to create a generic NVMe driver?

Curious,
-JimJ

 

[jimj740]

^^^^The Card h9826790 referenced in his post is an 8 lane card PCIe 3.0 card. It's available in unbelievable capacities - 1.6TB, 3.2TB and 4.0 TB. Things are moving very fast in the blade storage category

Lou

FWIW - at Flash Memory Summit Samsung announced a 16TB 2.5inch SSD, and although this particular model was SAS based they have an entire line of 2.5 inch NVMe drives as well as half height half length and M.2 variants. If they can fit it in 2.5 inch form factor they can make it in a PCIe card; 3.6 TB NVMe AICs have been shipping for over a year. Several cards also boast over 1M IOPS at this point, but the really impressive changes in performance are latency reductions!

Big changes underway in storage right now...

-JimJ

 

[Lauwie]

I wish you luck on this project. Is your intent to insert Apple device IDs such that the standard Apple NVMe driver will work under OS X, or do you intend to create a generic NVMe driver?

Curious,
-JimJ

I'm implementing a generic NVMe driver

 

[bokkow]

Wow, indeed, x8, did not see that. This would be awesome material if Lauwie gets this working!

 

[Lauwie]

Making some progress:

In reading through the nMP firmware I've discovered the FL1100 driver, and have tried to implement into the MP 5,1 EFI. Until now I have had limited success with booting from the PCIe card (at least flashing my new firmware didn't brick my Mac Pro, great thanks to MacVidcards for the tip !).
And don't worry I'm still very busy with figuring out the NVMe support

 

[h9826790]

FL1100? Is that means we may able to boot via the USB 3 card? (I am just a normal computer user, basically have zero knowledge on what EFI can do)

 

[Lauwie]

FL1100? Is that means we may able to boot via the USB 3 card? (I am just a normal computer user, basically have zero knowledge on what EFI can do)

Yes it means that if I implement this feature successfully you'll be able to boot from usb 3.0

 

[h9826790]

Wow, that will be really a good news for me. Really appreciate your work, no matter what the end result is, still thanks for your contribution.

 

[mikeboss]

Making some progress:

In reading through the nMP firmware I've discovered the FL1100 driver, and have tried to implement into the MP 5,1 EFI. Until now I have had limited success with booting from the PCIe card (at least flashing my new firmware didn't brick my Mac Pro, great thanks to MacVidcards for the tip !).
And don't worry I'm still very busy with figuring out the NVMe support

no kidding: while thinking about it I thought to myself: I'll have to ask him if it would be possible to implement the Fresco Logic support into the new EFI. this is really exciting stuff!!

 

[Stephen Daedulus]

Hi I'm a newbie about this NVME stuff. It was my understanding that Apple added support for the NVME protocol with Yosemite. So am I to assume that the bios for the MacPro5,1 is the problem with using NVME?

 

[flowrider]

^^^^Go back and read the very first post and you'll see the issue.

Lou

 

[Stephen Daedulus]

^^^^Go back and read the very first post and you'll see the issue.

Lou

Thanks, I guess I'm going with the SM951 -- I hope it doesn't get discontinued by Samsung with this introduction of the 950 m.2 pro

 

[lowendlinux]

Thanks, I guess I'm going with the SM951 -- I hope it doesn't get discontinued by Samsung with this introduction of the 950 m.2 pro

There are two SM 951's ACHI and NVME.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^The SM951 NVMe version is extremely rare. Most sellers show a pict of the device, and the type of chip is clearly marked on the on the label.

Lou

 

[Stephen Daedulus]

There are two SM 951's ACHI and NVME.

It would really be nice if they released two versions of the 950 Pro as it will be cheaper than the 951 and carry a warranty

 

[neomorpheus]

Would it be possible to modify the efi/bios in a way that normal pc vid cards could be used, instead of needing special efi bios?

Since you are already digging around there.

 

[rawweb]

Would it be possible to modify the efi/bios in a way that normal pc vid cards could be used, instead of needing special efi bios?

Since you are already digging around there.

A lot of normal PC video cards do work . Modifying the internal mac EFI will not give your bios/UEFI based video card a boot screen.

 

[lunaoso]

I don't even have a Mac Pro, but its really interesting stuff what you're doing! Good luck with your project, stuff like this is very infuriating but fun at the same time, and seeing it finally working is the best feeling in the world .

 

[neomorpheus]

A lot of normal PC video cards do work . Modifying the internal mac EFI will not give your bios/UEFI based video card a boot screen.

Well, thats what I would love to be able to do, (boot screen).

sadly, everyone that wants an expandable Mac is at the mercy of MVC prices.

best of luck, OP.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^The boot screen comes from the EFI on the GPU not from the EFI on the mob.

IMO, MVC prices are very fair. The best way to utilize MVC's talents is for you to furnish him the GPU for him to modify. His pricing for a finished card is high, because he sells through eBay and their fees are insanely high. You can avoid the markup on the basic card by supplying him with the card.

Lou

 

[Amethyst]

Good luck with this project.

Can u change mac pro board id through this method?

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Still, such a waste of time and excitement. From SSDReview:

'Now, let’s be real here, while it is great to see such high performance due to NVMe, consumers will never reach such high queue depths and utilize such high IOPS.'

And if you are expecting some kind of faster boot times...a standard SATA3 drive is still your best bang for buck in terms of real world performance and price. Anything above that just looks good in synthetic benchmarks or when people try to impress each other on a forum with how much money they spent. Here's a dose of reality...

 

[rawweb]

Well, thats what I would love to be able to do, (boot screen).

sadly, everyone that wants an expandable Mac is at the mercy of MVC prices.

best of luck, OP.

I have to agree with @flowrider, his prices are fair, especially for the flashing service. I'm sure he puts a lot of hard work into his modifications and deserves what he gets for them. No one else is doing it at his level...it seems no one dare spend the time...so no mercy here.

If you want to DIY, pick up a 3gb R9 280X and experiment with it based on the numerous posts on this forum. I found one on craigslist just to play around with it. It's a solid card.

 

[flowrider]

Posted on 9/24/15:

I didn't. I made a common metaphor about pointless psychologically driven upgrades/purchases and the reaction is very telling. So this is my last post on the Mac Pro section because I have finally seen what this place is actually about. Enjoy the fantasy you guys have created for yourselves.

So it seems you've eaten your words Couldn't keep away huh? But your wrong, I can feel the difference when using my SM951

Lou

 

[bokkow]

^^^ Second that!

My SM951 PCI-e is definitely snappier than a 840 Pro at SATA3, which isnt slow either!

The thing is; if there is still headspace in which an everyday consumer can experience even the smallest improvement, why not? And besides, as hardware enthusiasts, who doesnt like new technology and tweaking? It's part of the fun to see how far it can be pushed even though you might not notice benefits anymore!

I had a Mac Mini with a 840 Pro, which was fast, did I need a second SSD in RAID0? Definitely not! But I enjoyed putting it in the little bugger and cranking it up way past original specification making it a 'screamer'.

Surpasing the current high-end machines at a (relatively) bargain, that is the fun in all this! At least for me it is, I enjoy the machine down to the hardware and cant wait to crank it up yet a bit higher again