PCIE M.2 NVMe on MacPro

[JedNZ]

NO - not by default.

But YES - you can curate a kext to make it work. And, each macOS update breaks it. Luckily the NVMe kext hack has been updated every time macOS has been updated so far. You can't boot from an NVMe blade. BUT…macOS 10.13 may well bring system level support for NVMe (maybe even boot support - who knows?), so you can only use your NVMe blade for data at the moment.

 

[Mach Disc]

Does the setup differ from the instructions at the beginning of the thread? I followed the directions in order and typing "sudo kextload /Library/Extensions/NVMeGeneric.kext" into terminal throws "/Library/Extensions/NVMeGeneric.kext failed to load – (liken.kext) not found; check the system/kernel logs for errors or try kextutil(8)"

 

[JedNZ]

Sorry - I used the Github method to curate an NVMe kext. I did try the NVMeGeneric.kext method (see post #1) but couldn't get it to work, so instead followed the Github method.

 

[itdk92]

Has anyone tried the Amflec Squid card in Slot 2 of the cMP (the x12 slot) with 2 or more NVMe blades in a RAID0 to get better than ~1500MB/sec?

Does it work? I would assume if it works as advertised, it should get around 2800MB/sec with 2 blades, 4200MB/sec with 3 blades and 5600MB/sec with 4 blades.

Yes. I am building Amfeltec bundled with 2 or 4 Samsung 960 EVO for my customers.

With 10.12.5 and the curated kext I reach 2500/1800 MB/s with 2 drives, and about twice as much with 4

Needless to say, I am extremely happy about 10.12.6 and 10.13

 

[flowrider]

Has anyone tried the Amflec Squid card in Slot 2 of the cMP (the x12 slot)

What cMP are you speaking of? In the 3,1, 4,1 and 5,1. The first two slots are X16 and the second two slots are X4.

Lou

 

[i make movies]

What cMP are you speaking of? In the 3,1, 4,1 and 5,1. The first two slots are X16 and the second two slots are X4.

Lou

Ha! Well, I look pretty stupid. I totally meant x16, but my brain typed out x12.
[doublepost=1498671443][/doublepost]

Yes. I am building Amfeltec bundled with 2 or 4 Samsung 960 EVO for my customers.

With 10.12.5 and the curated kext I reach 2500/1800 MB/s with 2 drives, and about twice as much with 4

Needless to say, I am extremely happy about 10.12.6 and 10.13

Thanks for the info! Do you mind posting a screen shot with the 2 setups you mentioned?

 

[itdk92]

Ha! Well, I look pretty stupid. I totally meant x16, but my brain typed out x12.
[doublepost=1498671443][/doublepost]

Thanks for the info! Do you mind posting a screen shot with the 2 setups you mentioned?

We built them for customers so they are gone.
Here is a screenshot of a screenshot (haha) of a quick test from some time ago though:
A tad faster than i remembered actually

EDIT : Maybe I misunderstood what you wanted a screenshot of

I am running a X16 Amfeltec with only 2 x 960 on
For customers we build often a x8 or x16 Amfeltech with 2 or 4 x HyperX and we did that a few times with some 960 EVO too

 

[i make movies]

We built them for customers so they are gone.
Here is a screenshot of a screenshot (haha) of a quick test from some time ago though:
A tad faster than i remembered actually

EDIT : Maybe I misunderstood what you wanted a screenshot of

I am running a X16 Amfeltec with only 2 x 960 on
For customers we build often a x8 or x16 Amfeltech with 2 or 4 x HyperX and we did that a few times with some 960 EVO too

That was exactly it. It would have been great to see a Disk Speedtest pic with 4 blades, but this is also great, thank you!

 

[handheldgames]

That was exactly it. It would have been great to see a Disk Speedtest pic with 4 blades, but this is also great, thank you!

Let the numbers below speak for themselves.

 

[BillyBlue]

Hello, hopefully this thread is not to old and somebody read it

I'm using a TempoSSD Pro Adapter with two 256GB SSD in a RAID 0 right now.

For my work I've to use Bootcamp in the future, but when using the TempoSSD Pro you can't boot from another device (don't know why, but a lot of people reports that).

So my question is: Can I boot to other devices when I'm using the right m.2 Adapter for my Mac Pro 2009 (upgraded to 2012)?

So I could boot into macOS via the m.2 and into Windows from a SSD on my standard SATA-II port or maybe from a second m.2 adapter?

If yes, what adapter I've to buy to get the "correct" boot-function and do I need a special m.2?

Thank you

 

[h9826790]

Hello, hopefully this thread is not to old and somebody read it

I'm using a TempoSSD Pro Adapter with two 256GB SSD in a RAID 0 right now.

For my work I've to use Bootcamp in the future, but when using the TempoSSD Pro you can't boot from another device (don't know why, but a lot of people reports that).

So my question is: Can I boot to other devices when I'm using the right m.2 Adapter for my Mac Pro 2009 (upgraded to 2012)?

So I could boot into macOS via the m.2 and into Windows from a SSD on my standard SATA-II port or maybe from a second m.2 adapter?

If yes, what adapter I've to buy to get the "correct" boot-function and do I need a special m.2?

Thank you

I am also a Tempo SSD user (not Pro), I can boot into Windows without any trouble. Do you install Windows on a SATA drive connected to one of the native port?

 

[BillyBlue]

Yes, as I wrote Windows is on a native port.

Where did you install Windows?

Maybe it's because of the "Pro" and the RAID 0?



Could anyone answer please which adapter I have to use for m.2 and boot and if it is working with Bootcamp (if Windows is on a SSD on a native port and/or on a second m.2 adapter)?

 

[h9826790]

Yes, as I wrote Windows is on a native port.

Where did you install Windows?

Maybe it's because of the "Pro" and the RAID 0?



Could anyone answer please which adapter I have to use for m.2 and boot and if it is working with Bootcamp (if Windows is on a SSD on a native port and/or on a second m.2 adapter)?

I install the SSD in the optical bay.

And simply use bootcamp assistant to go through the Windows installation.

May be it's a bug that specifically for the Pro version card. Really not sure about this.

 

[BillyBlue]

Hm.. ok, I'll try that in the next days again.

But it would good to know, which adapter I've to buy for m.2 which should be much faster than 2x SSD in RAID 0 via TempoSSD.

 

[h9826790]

Hm.. ok, I'll try that in the next days again.

But it would good to know, which adapter I've to buy for m.2 which should be much faster than 2x SSD in RAID 0 via TempoSSD.

m.2 is a form factor, not a type of SSD. SATA m.2 SSD and PCIe m.2 SSD require different adaptor. You better more specific which SSD you are going to use.

And m.2 is not necessary much faster than your current setup. You can go to OWC have a look. Their m.2 SSD should be slower than yours.

 

[BillyBlue]

Ok, what I mean is PCIe m.2

In this thread some people got around 1400 read/write

I get "just" speed around 500 write 900 read

 

[BillyBlue]

I did a lot of research, but I can't find any answer to this questions:

- is there a NVMe PCIe adapter which has native support and boot without any kext-manipulation
- is it possible to run Bootcamp parallel from a SSD on a native-port and/or from a second NVMe adapter

 

[h9826790]

I did a lot of research, but I can't find any answer to this questions:

- is there a NVMe PCIe adapter which has native support and boot without any kext-manipulation
- is it possible to run Bootcamp parallel from a SSD on a native-port and/or from a second NVMe adapter

Lycom DT-120 is a know good adaptor for PCIe SSD.

No, NVMe is not bootable, nothing to do with adaptor, but the cMP's firmware.

Without install 3rd party kext NVMe SSD can't even be used in current MacOS.

 

[BillyBlue]

Ok, so I could but this:

https://www.amazon.de/Lycom-Adapter...=1500920820&sr=8-1&keywords=Lycom+DT-120&th=1

and this
https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-MZ-V6...&qid=1500920861&sr=8-1&keywords=PCIe+SSD&th=1

into my Mac Pro and it would be bootable and I would get much more speed in comparison to the TurboSSD Pro with RAID 0, right?

 

[h9826790]

Ok, so I could but this:

https://www.amazon.de/Lycom-Adapter-DT-120-installed-Board/dp/B00MYCQP38/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500920820&sr=8-1&keywords=Lycom+DT-120&th=1

and this
https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-MZ-V6E250BW-Interne-Solid-State/dp/B01M20VBU7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500920861&sr=8-1&keywords=PCIe+SSD&th=1

into my Mac Pro and it would be bootable and I would get much more speed in comparison to the TurboSSD Pro with RAID 0, right?

NO, NVMe is NOT bootable on cMP.

 

[BillyBlue]

Ohh ok, I missunderstood it.

So TempoSSD Pro with RAID 0 is the fastest possible way for a boot drive in cMP?

 

[h9826790]

Ohh ok, I missunderstood it.

So TempoSSD Pro with RAID 0 is the fastest possible way for a boot drive in cMP?

4x SM951 (AHCI) in RAID 0 is the fastest (sequential speed) bootable option in cMP which is tested. But the boot time should be more or less the same as your current setup (boot time basically won't affected by sequential speed on SSD).

 

[itdk92]

4x SM951 (AHCI) in RAID 0 is the fastest (sequential speed) bootable option in cMP which is tested. But the boot time should be more or less the same as your current setup (boot time basically won't affected by sequential speed on SSD).

How did you install windows? via CD?

which Windows version originally? What are you running now?
I am having an insane amount of trouble and blue screens and broken installations

 

[h9826790]

How did you install windows? via CD?

which Windows version originally? What are you running now?
I am having an insane amount of trouble and blue screens and broken installations

I just install Windows 10 via bootcamp assistant, using a DVD. EFI installation may be better, but for me, no difference. I only use it for gaming, legacy mode is good enough. I just want the simplest method, and the most stable Windows.

The only work around required is after Windows installation, have to use command prompt to install bootcamp driver because Bootcamp is not officially supporting Windows 10.

Also, if have the Wi-Fi ac card, require to install the Boardcom driver from the newer bootcamp driver package that's for other Mac (e.g. iMac). Otherwise, BT or Magic Mouse may not able to function properly.

The most up to date creator update works fine on my cMP. And I have a free paragon software to read the HFS+ partition anyway. So the broken Apple HFS+ driver won't affect me.

Anyway, if you have Apple software RAID. Don't install those Apple HFS driver, that can cause BSOD. Also, AMD Crossfire must be OFF if boot from a EFI GPU. This can also cause a crash. Apart from these 2 known issue. I don't have any problem with Windows (including Windows 7 and 8).

 

[itdk92]

I just install Windows 10 via bootcamp assistant, using a DVD. EFI installation may be better, but for me, no difference. I only use it for gaming, legacy mode is good enough. I just want the simplest method, and the most stable Windows.

The only work around required is after Windows installation, have to use command prompt to install bootcamp driver because Bootcamp is not officially supporting Windows 10.

Also, if have the Wi-Fi ac card, require to install the Boardcom driver from the newer bootcamp driver package that's for other Mac (e.g. iMac). Otherwise, BT or Magic Mouse may not able to function properly.

The most up to date creator update works fine on my cMP. And I have a free paragon software to read the HFS+ partition anyway. So the broken Apple HFS+ driver won't affect me.

Anyway, if you have Apple software RAID. Don't install those Apple HFS driver, that can cause BSOD. Also, AMD Crossfire must be OFF if boot from a EFI GPU. This can also cause a crash. Apart from these 2 known issue. I don't have any problem with Windows (including Windows 7 and 8).

Nice. In my case I couldn't even get Bootcamp to recognize the DVD I made with a genuine copy of windows 10 :/
Any tricks or things I should be aware of in this regard?

Also it would be for another machine, with two 1080TI, a pcie drive for macOS and a regular SSD on a SATA II port for Windows