MP 7,1 PCIe Expansion Cards - What are you adding?

[bxs]

Hi folks,
I'm new here. Just received my MP 7,1. I read a lot here about the storage expansion possibilities, namely the Highpoint and Sonnet PCIe cards, capable of holding 4 M.2 drives. Cost of those cards is approx. 360 USD.
How about this similar card:

Controller Card - PCIe 2x M.2 SATA SSD - SATA Controller Cards | Add-on Cards & Peripherals | StarTech.com Belgium

2x M.2 SATA SSD Controller Card - PCIe | Belgium

www.startech.com

Of course, it can only hold 2 M.2 cards, but the price is way lower.
Why put 4x1TB drives in a Sonnet or Highpoint if you can run 2x2TB on this much cheaper card?
What am I missing here? Lack of possibility of RAID setup? Speed? Something else?

The big/huge difference is that card supports SATA III (6 Gbps or some 0.75 GB/s)), whereas the Highpoint and Sonnet cards with 4x M.2 SSDs will/can provide you with around 6 to 10 GB/s, or more.

 

[chfilm]

My current plan is this:

8) x4 2x Samsung 1TB 970 Pro

7) x8 Samsung 6.4TB PM1725A HHHL

6) x8 Samsung 6.4TB PM1725A HHHL

5) x16 APPLE USB/TB3/Audio

4) x16 x8 Sonnet USB3.1

3) x16 Radeon VII

2) x8 Blackmagic Decklink Mini Monitor 4k

1) x16 Radeon VII


I'm thinking the NVME drives will all go up top (to help keep the heat they generate away from the GPUs).

Depending on pricing I might swap the two PM1725a 6.4TB HHHL cards for two HGST SN260 7.68TB HHHL cards, or for a single Micron 9300 Pro or Samsung PM983 15.36TB unit.

Hm i was planning on getting a sonnet 4x4 with eventually up to 4x Samsung Evo Plus 2Tb, but that Setup would set me back 2500€.
The micron 9300 with 7.5TB costs only 1350€ and a card that could hold it is also relatively cheap.
Is the micron fully applicable for video editing? 3,5gb/s is plenty enough for all my needs...

 

[awkward_eagle]

7) x8 Samsung 6.4TB PM1725A HHHL

6) x8 Samsung 6.4TB PM1725A HHHL

Were you able to get these to show up in Catalina? It looks like others are having problems with Intel drives but Micron looks like it's working. Curious to know if these work.

 

[flowrider]

Right now I'm running:

1. Stock I/O card - Slot 8
2. HighPoint 1144C 4 Port USB3.0 card - Slot 7
3. Syba I/O Crest Dual M.2 Card - Slot 5
4. HighPoint 7103 Quad M.2 card - Slot 4
5. Aorus RX 5700 XT GPU - Slot 1

 

[MarciaFunebre]

I found that USB audio interface, it's a Behringer U-Connect (cheap USB thing). It works but again just down-mixed to stereo rather than multi-channel even though I connected the TOSLINK to a multi-channel capable system. In any case, if someone is looking for stereo optical out that would work for them.

You cannot have multi-channel via TOSLINK if it is not compressed e.g. into a Dolby file. Uncompressed PCM streams require more bandwidth. You are forced then to use a HDMI connection (PITA) or a capable audio interface which then will give you 8 analog outs. Problem here is that most newer processors or receivers are cutting down on their analog inputs while not updating their USB connectors so there are not many options left.

 

[Ronlap]

Anyone get a Thunderbolt 3 card running yet? I need ports for my disk strings with are all TB2 and I plan to use the Apple adaptor -- but first I need more ports!

 

[OkiRun]

Anyone get a Thunderbolt 3 card running yet? I need ports for my disk strings with are all TB2 and I plan to use the Apple adaptor -- but first I need more ports!

Ditto ~
I have thought about pulling the trigger for another Pro Vega Card to get them.

 

[Krevnik]

At this point, I'm mostly interested in more USB ports. The I/O card is at capacity, and I mostly use USB I/O for lots of slower devices: DAC, KB/M, SD Card Reader, BD Drive, etc.

A W5700X would be nice to have depending on final price and availability for some more metal oomph.

Eventually I'll get some sort of PCIe SSD carrier.

Ditto ~
I have thought about pulling the trigger for another Pro Vega Card to get them.

Honestly, I'm surprised Apple hasn't made a TB expansion card themselves for people who want more ports. I wonder if it would have required another x4 I/O Card slot though. I forget what they have going over that secondary connector.

 

[doobydoooby]

which usb 3.0 pcie cards are people using for macpro7,1?
I saw on snazzy labs, his didn't work, so im curious which ones do.

On the basis that USB C is the future, I bought Sonnet's USB C 4 port pci card and then into one of those plugged in an AmazonBasics USB C to external 4 port USB 3.1 hub, the hub only cost $15 and works perfectly