NVMe with ST-NGFF2013-C; Vega Internal GPU; Mac Pro 2013 (6,1)

[CodeJingle]

Hi Codejingle, would you send it to Belgium?

I have one unreserved left to ship out; please send me a direct message with your address. I haven't heard anything bad about Belgium customs so yes I am fine shipping to Belgium.
[doublepost=1512047588][/doublepost]

AFAIK nobody has tried one of these CPUs. They're all from the same "Ivy Bridge EP" family. The E5-46xx v2 were all released Q1/14 so they might need different microcode-updates...

Empirically it makes sense no one would try it. But, statistically, I find it surprising in ~45 months no one has tried a member of the E5-4600 v2 family in a Mac Pro 2013.

The E5-2600 v2 family includes dual socket support, and the E5-4600 v2 family includes quad socket support. At an operating system level, macOS already has support for multi-socket. It should be possible to take two or four Mac Pro 2013 and connect them for dual socket or quad socket support, maybe with a little bit of extra supporting circuitry. The Mac Pro 2013 tops at 130W for the CPU, so a person could get the fastest 130W CPU with a lower core count like 3.3Ghz E5-2667 v2 or E5-4627 v2 and get back more cores with the dual/quad socket configuration. Though for me the purpose of dual socket or quad socket is for maximizing the PCIe lane count rather than getting a faster CPU. If I want 56 PCIe 3.0 lanes to connect 8 NVMe drives at 4 PCIe lanes each and two GPUs at 16 PCIe lanes each, then the only way is dual/quad socket.

 

[Bwalky]

I’m new here but wanted to register to thank CodeJingle for his research.

I’m in the U.K. so ordered an similar adaptor on Amazon next day delivery.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B073FRCBSP

I can confirm this adaptor as well as the Sintech one worked on my machine with a Samsung 960Evo. (Not Pro).

I applied tape to both adaptors as per this thread, as initially I couldn’t get either to show the drive in diskutil. Embarrassingly after I checked in terminal the drive was showing! So I formatted and did a clean install of HighSierra.

Thanks to all.

 

[MarkJames68]

AFAIK nobody has tried one of these CPUs. they're all from the same "Ivy Bridge EP" family. the E5-46xx v2 were all released Q1/14 so they might need different microcode-updates...

Why would anyone want an 8-core/8-thread 4-way CPU when for the same price or less you can get an 8-core/16-thread CPU?

 

[CodeJingle]

Why would anyone want an 8-core/8-thread 4-way CPU when for the same price or less you can get an 8-core/16-thread CPU?

A two-socket or four-socket configuration will offer more memory slots and more PCIe slots.

Though I agree the E5-4600 family is pointless in a single socket configuration since fewer cores running faster or more cores running slower are both are covered by the E5-2600 family.
[doublepost=1512088919][/doublepost]Here is microscope of the PC Parts 239 adapter on both sides after some sandpaper (some metal is scraped off as well, but the trace should still be evident). I scraped off the outermost top and bottom layers, and there was nothing left except the VIAs, so it is a two-layer board. Seems noteworthy that only one side has curving traces (a hint of beauty). The board is efficient with only two layers and straight-through VIAs. Using the whole plane on each side also means an effective transfer of heat and is also good to help grounding.

 

[AidenShaw]

A two socket or four socket configuration will offer more memory slots and more PCIe slots.

The context, though, is to put the CPU in an MP6,1. No benefit for DIMM or PCIe.

(I have several systems with E7-8890v3 CPUs - 72C/144T, 96 DIMM slots and 9 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots.)

 

[CodeJingle]

The context, though, is to put the CPU in an MP6,1. No benefit for DIMM or PCIe.

(I have several systems with E7-8890v3 CPUs - 72C/144T, 96 DIMM slots and 9 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots.)

Sure the E5-4600 family is pointless in a single socket configuration since the E5-2600 family covers the range of single-socket needs (and even dual-socket needs). Though the reason I was curious about whether the processor worked in the Mac Pro 2013 is specifically for a makeshift quad-socket.

 

[saulinpa]

I found that even the PC Parts 239 adapter is not 100% effective. I just got one from Amazon and tried it first with a card that I use in my Akito box. I had to pull the 239 adapter out of the connector slightly for the SSD to be recognized. The shield seems to touch the pins.

So I would recommend using Kapton tape on any adapter you use.

 

[CodeJingle]

I found that even the PC Parts 239 adapter is not 100% effective. I just got one from Amazon and tried it first with a card that I use in my Akito box. I had to pull the 239 adapter out of the connector slightly for the SSD to be recognized. The shield seems to touch the pins.

So I would recommend using Kapton tape on any adapter you use.

Thanks for feedback. I also have to modify the adapter. I agree in general there is some manual step involved. It seems for all adapters including PC Parts 239 there is high probability it does not work 'out of the box'.

 

[MarkJames68]

It also may just be poor quality control. I didn’t need to use tape in my 6,1 so perhaps the tolerances vary by quite a bit.

 

[CodeJingle]

It also may just be poor quality control. I didn’t need to use tape in my 6,1 so perhaps the tolerances vary by quite a bit.

It took me 2.5 hours to prepare five adapters for shipment. All had at least one tooth, so a few seconds with the metal file. A few required tape and so I applied tape to all of them. I suggest all use heat/polyimide/Kapton tape on their adapter regardless. I agree the PCB production house might have large tolerances. Or perhaps they don't cut the PCBs apart very well after receiving them back. But at least looking at the trace, the layout itself is well made. Also, with a little effort, they all work. It could be worse.

Another problem I have run into that no one else has mentioned; You might insert the adapter slightly misaligned and not know it - the bloody thing still works - but you only get 2 or 1 PCIe lanes making contact instead of the full 4 lanes. Then your hard drive will run at half or quarter speed instead of full speed. To know if you inserted it correctly do a boot test and then run the hard drive speed test (Disk Speed Test by Blackmagic Design Inc. available in the Mac App Store). If you get 700 MB/s instead of 1300 MB/s then you know it was inserted incorrectly.

 

[CodeJingle]

Ok, I shipped five out (I sent two to one of the addresses). The four people who asked for one or two adapters all agreed to reimburse the cost which I appreciate. The worth was low, and the envelope was small and thin, so I didn't fill out customs forms (it did not qualify based on the criteria). Hopefully, everyone gets their adapter. I did put my phone number on the envelope in case there is a problem at customs. That was a lot of work. It also wears out the slot to keep inserting and removing so many times. I can pass on to the next person to be helpful for the holidays

 

[nigelbb]

I’m new here but wanted to register to thank CodeJingle for his research.

I’m in the U.K. so ordered an similar adaptor on Amazon next day delivery.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B073FRCBSP

I can confirm this adaptor as well as the Sintech one worked on my machine with a Samsung 960Evo. (Not Pro).

Have you linked to the correct adaptor? This one is said to be for putting M.2 NGFF M-Key SSD in a MacBook not in a a Mac Pro. There are three reviews that all say it doesn't work & the item description specifically states

• Note: Only support M-key AHCI SSD, don't support NVME SSD.

 

[CodeJingle]

Have you linked to the correct adaptor? This one is said to be for putting M.2 NGFF M-Key SSD in a MacBook not in a a Mac Pro. There are three reviews that all say it doesn't work & the item description specifically states

• Note: Only support M-key AHCI SSD, don't support NVME SSD.

It does work MarkJames68 and I have confirmed. ALL the adapters say "don't support NVME".

 

[Bwalky]

Have you linked to the correct adaptor? This one is said to be for putting M.2 NGFF M-Key SSD in a MacBook not in a a Mac Pro. There are three reviews that all say it doesn't work & the item description specifically states

• Note: Only support M-key AHCI SSD, don't support NVME SSD.

Yes -I ordered this whilst waiting for the sintech one to arrive. I’ve checked my amazon account and it’s definitely the one I ordered.

Initially I couldn’t get it to work, but I then taped it in the similar way recommended for the pcpartsone. I.e you avoid contact on the Mac Pro metal retainer.

 

[CodeJingle]

Unedited uncut video proof https://www.dropbox.com/s/emb558u38whfdmm/20171202_000342.mp4?dl=0

 

[jclmavg]

Unedited uncut video proof https://www.dropbox.com/s/emb558u38whfdmm/20171202_000342.mp4?dl=0

Don't think you needed to go this far.

 

[fmarmori]

Adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXUH921

http://www.pcparts239.com

Thanks a lot for all the research and experimentation work you shared!
Did anybody manage to get this adapter delivered in Europe?

 

[mikeboss]

Thanks a lot for all the research and experimentation work you shared!
Did anybody manage to get this adapter delivered in Europe?

the ones from SINTECH can be ordered in their online-shop. mine were delivered to switzerland after 10-14 days.
http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1139.html

 

[CodeJingle]

Did anybody manage to get this adapter delivered in Europe?

There is more than one adapter confirmed to work. I will update the first post with the link from mikeboss on a store page that ships outside the USA for an adapter that is confirmed to work. Update: first post to the thread updated with links for both adapters.

 

[MarkJames68]

It does work MarkJames68 and I have confirmed. ALL the adapters say "don't support NVME".

Correct! The bios is what supports NVMe, not the card layout. That’s why HS is needed in order to boot from it.

 

[CodeJingle]

Correct! The bios is what supports NVMe, not the card layout. That’s why HS is needed in order to boot from it.

Technically speaking, the adapter must correctly re-route the set of contacts of the source to the set of contacts of the destination. In that regard, maybe others were worried that the adapter isn't physically capable of routing the full signal properly between the two sets of contacts. I've already done that testing, so was able to confirm on some level that the adapter is capable of doing the job from an electrical standpoint.

The other half of the problem, bootloader/bios/OS support for the source hardware, has been a concern but has been addressed by Apple in recent High Sierra updates as you [MarkJames68] have stated.

The adapter layout is not inconsequential - the adapter working correctly and full bootloader/bios/OS support are both required.

 

[fmarmori]

There is more than one adapter confirmed to work. I will update the first post with the link from mikeboss on a store page that ships outside the USA for an adapter that is confirmed to work. Update: first post to the thread updated with links for both adapters.

Thanks a lot.

 

[CodeJingle]

Looks like about 206 connectors per graphics board flex cable, unless I am missing some hidden third layer. Well, 206 is slightly less than 300

 

[CodeJingle]

disassembling the board was kind of painful. here is the first layer of the bottom of the logic board, minus the damage

 

[mikeboss]

@CodeJingle thanks a lot, the PC PARTS 239 adapters you sent me have arrived!