The Wolftech Pulsecard is pretty expensive.
What do you think about https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?products_id=3400
What do you think about https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?products_id=3400
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MP All Models PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI
- Thread starter MisterAndrew
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I saw it ... but I preferred the Pulsecard (€ 59 on Amazon vs € 30). The Kryo it's (now) out of stock.
I was curious to try the WD Black !
Nice adapter, check the thread about it Aqua Computer kryoM.2 evo PCIe 3.0 x 4, adapter
Hello all...
Been reading through pages of info here about adaptors and SSD's, and it seems such a minefield.
My current setup is using two OWC Accelsior PCIe cards, each with a Crucial MX500 2TB drive attached. Anyway, I've now bought an Aqua Computer kryoM.2 evo PCIe 3.0 x 4, and am looking for an NVMe SSD (2TB) to attach to it. I'm thinking to have this as startup and apps, along with Photos, and continue using one of the Crucial MX500's for everything else. Furthermore, I was looking at a Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 card to use with the Aqua Kryo card. Does this sound like a good idea? I'd really like to go with a 2TB one, but the Samsung Evo is a lot more money. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike.
Been reading through pages of info here about adaptors and SSD's, and it seems such a minefield.
My current setup is using two OWC Accelsior PCIe cards, each with a Crucial MX500 2TB drive attached. Anyway, I've now bought an Aqua Computer kryoM.2 evo PCIe 3.0 x 4, and am looking for an NVMe SSD (2TB) to attach to it. I'm thinking to have this as startup and apps, along with Photos, and continue using one of the Crucial MX500's for everything else. Furthermore, I was looking at a Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 card to use with the Aqua Kryo card. Does this sound like a good idea? I'd really like to go with a 2TB one, but the Samsung Evo is a lot more money. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike.
Wow, that is a great price. Almost in the "too good to be true" category .
Who wants to be the guinea pig on this one?!
. Who wants to be the guinea pig on this one?!
Wow, that is a great price. Almost in the "too good to be true" category
Who wants to be the guinea pig on this one?!
It was actually this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-2013-2014-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/ that brought my attention to the drive, as opposed to simply the price.
I'd prefer to go for a 2TB drive if at all possible, but I the cost is a tad steep generally...
Just joined the NVMe club with a 970 EVO Plus on a Kryo M.2 Evo on my Mac Pro 2009 4,1 -> 5,1 !
Couple of questions:
Since the kryo m.2 has front and back heatsinks and you need to apply two thermal pads, I've decided to remove the front and back stickers on the blade to improve thermal transfer. Of course, I first checked with a multimeter that the pads were not conductive (and they were not).
Has anyone done this? I'd love to get some temp readings on the blade but right now I have no means to check it, but in my book it's *way* better to remove anything between the chips and the heatsink.
Another thing: the NVMe is recognized as external unit: is this the expected behavior?
Couple of questions:
Since the kryo m.2 has front and back heatsinks and you need to apply two thermal pads, I've decided to remove the front and back stickers on the blade to improve thermal transfer. Of course, I first checked with a multimeter that the pads were not conductive (and they were not).
Has anyone done this? I'd love to get some temp readings on the blade but right now I have no means to check it, but in my book it's *way* better to remove anything between the chips and the heatsink.
Another thing: the NVMe is recognized as external unit: is this the expected behavior?
It's not needed to remove the original Samsung stickers, it's thermal conductive, and you voided your warranty.
All PCIe drives are external for the Mac Pro firmware, only SATA drives connected to the six Mac Pro southbridge SATA ports are internal.
I've closely inspected the stickers:
the front one (where the chips are) is nothing but a piece of adhesive paper which I wouldn't really call conductive (quite the opposite, but it's very thin, so any detrimental effect is up to debate).
The back one is more interesting: although there are no chips on the backside, there is indeed a strip of what seems copper with a sticker (again, plain adhesive paper) on it. Of course they couldn't have put it on the front or it would have caused a short but I'm not sure how effective it might be.
The front sticker is the one which, if removed, voids the warranty: the corners are made so that if you try to lift it, they will break and you won't be able to put them back in their original state.
Probably not worth the hassle, way better to keep your warranty valid.
EDIT: nevermind, I *do* have a sensor on the blade! I've been doing a stress test for almost 1 hour and the highest temp reported is 46°C. Looks pretty cool, the kryo m.2 evo doing a great job at dissipating the heat.
the front one (where the chips are) is nothing but a piece of adhesive paper which I wouldn't really call conductive (quite the opposite, but it's very thin, so any detrimental effect is up to debate).
The back one is more interesting: although there are no chips on the backside, there is indeed a strip of what seems copper with a sticker (again, plain adhesive paper) on it. Of course they couldn't have put it on the front or it would have caused a short but I'm not sure how effective it might be.
The front sticker is the one which, if removed, voids the warranty: the corners are made so that if you try to lift it, they will break and you won't be able to put them back in their original state.
Probably not worth the hassle, way better to keep your warranty valid.
EDIT: nevermind, I *do* have a sensor on the blade! I've been doing a stress test for almost 1 hour and the highest temp reported is 46°C. Looks pretty cool, the kryo m.2 evo doing a great job at dissipating the heat.
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[doublepost=1560527694][/doublepost]On the stickie first page of this thread, it states that the 970 EVO Plus is not compatible. It seems like you are running it no problem though? So is this card now ok to install?
Also, what kind of speeds are you getting (and in which slot). I’m assuming you’re running Mojave and this is a boot drive, or is it just a data drive?
Thanks.
ONLY compatible with latest firmware. Believe was covered several pages back in this thread if you review.
Samsung recently Updated the firmware of the 970 Evo Plus. With the new firmware it is indeed compatible with the macOS.
And the first post has been updated to state:
(Firmware 2B2QEXM7 seems to work with macOS)
Lou
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I just added Sonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card FUS-SSD-4X4-E3 to the first post. It's definitely not the best option, but maybe will work for some people.
- Sonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card FUS-SSD-4X4-E3: Supports four single side 80mm M.2 blades. Uses PLX PEX8747 switch. Heatsink with a fan over the blades and PCIe switch. Needs a GPU with pre-boot configuration support. Do not buy it if you need to boot Windows from the blades or will upgrade to a PC later, this card can't boot Windows.
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Probably should mention the types of SSD blades each carrier card can support. Some support 110 mm while other are limited to 80 mm. Some support wider blades. Some don't support double sided SSDs.
There's a note that says MacPro7,1 may have bifurcation support. I wonder how that might work. Anyone know if there's such a thing as automatic bifurcation support? I mean, if you insert an x16 card in the slot, it works as x16 and if you insert an x4x4x4x4 card in the slot then it uses bifurcation - all without having to change a setting in BIOS?
I suppose the MacPro7,1 could have an Expansion Slot Utility like the MacPro1,1 and MacPro2,1 had.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT2838
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-utility-running-below-maximum-speed.1799082/
I am only basic user computer savvy. So am asking for any informed thoughts on how/if this will work?
So here is what I am thinking of doing on my Mid 2010 (system info below)
I am currently booting off the Samsung SM951 ACHI PCIe but I have room for one more SSD PCIe card to store my Pro Tools sessions on (currently on a HD spinner)
Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 2280 Internal SSD(MZ-V7S1T0B/AM)
And this adaptor (same as on my 951) Lycom DT-120 M.2 PCIe to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter (Support M.2 PCIe 2280, 2260, 2242)
So my question is can I run the ACHI and a NVMe PCIe SSD's at the same time ?
Then I am also planning on upgrading the Graphics card to this : ( to as to be Mojave compatible if/when I upgrade to that .And hopefully get a bit faster rendering in FCPX )
Sapphire 11265-05-20G Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/ DVI-D/ Dual DP OC with Backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card Graphic Card.
With the Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inch(38cm)
And the DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Adapter (DP to Mini DP) - 6 Inches for my Cinema Display
So here is what I am thinking of doing on my Mid 2010 (system info below)
I am currently booting off the Samsung SM951 ACHI PCIe but I have room for one more SSD PCIe card to store my Pro Tools sessions on (currently on a HD spinner)
Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 2280 Internal SSD(MZ-V7S1T0B/AM)
And this adaptor (same as on my 951) Lycom DT-120 M.2 PCIe to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter (Support M.2 PCIe 2280, 2260, 2242)
So my question is can I run the ACHI and a NVMe PCIe SSD's at the same time ?
Then I am also planning on upgrading the Graphics card to this : ( to as to be Mojave compatible if/when I upgrade to that .And hopefully get a bit faster rendering in FCPX )
Sapphire 11265-05-20G Radeon Pulse RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual HDMI/ DVI-D/ Dual DP OC with Backplate (UEFI) PCI-E Graphics Card Graphic Card.
With the Dual Mini 6 Pin to 8 Pin PCI Express Video Card Power Adapter Cable for Mac Pro Tower/Power Mac G5 15-inch(38cm)
And the DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Adapter (DP to Mini DP) - 6 Inches for my Cinema Display
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The Evo Plus had compatibility problems with Macs. I think the latest firmware fixes it, but YMMV.
the latest firmwareupdate of the evo plus from samsung get the problems out of the way!
Thanks for the info it look likes Western Digital also has one that should work , any experience with this SSD ?
WD Black SN750 1TB NVMe Internal Gaming SSD - Gen3 PCIe, M.2 2280, 3D NAND - WDS100T3X0C
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For a budget Mac Pro NVMe that will easily saturate a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection, I recommend the Phison E12 based SSDs available from a variety of brands.
I personally have had good luck with the $98 Inland Premium 1TB SSD (MicroCenter house brand). It's essentially an unbranded OEM blade - no stickers over the chips, blue PCB. I ordered in mid-June 2019 and it came with the newer v12.2 Phison firmware. So far it's working great as a boot drive on a Mac Pro 4,1 > 5,1 with 144.0.0.0.0 firmware, running High Sierra 10.13.6.
The Phison E12 drives test up to 3,000 MB/s reads + writes - of course with an inexpensive 4-lane PCIe adapter you'll be limited to 1,500MB/s max speeds. According to reviewers, the trade-off with the Phison E12 drives are a smaller SLC cache that fills up when writing more quickly than some competing SSDs like the Samsung 970 EVO. Once the cache is full, sequential write speeds drop down to around 1,000 MB/sec. Still not too shabby.
The Patriot Viper VPN100 and the MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro are the two Phison E12 SSDs in the chart below. See reviews from Tom's Hardware and Anandtech for more details, and discussions on reddit and HardForum.
Besides the MicroCenter $98 special, here are some other Phison E12 SSDs that will all perform about the same, all can currently be picked up with 1TB for $150 or less. The MicroCenter version is rated at a very high 1600 TBW (terabytes written) lifespan and comes with a three year warranty. Other vendors are rating them with similarly high TBW, and many like Sabrent are offering even longer 5 year warranties.
Silicon Power P34A80
Addlink S70
Sabrent Rocket
Corsair MP510
Patriot Viper VPN100
MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro
I can also recommend this inexpensive PCIe NVMe adapter with integrated heatsink from Riitop, $18 on Amazon. If you're considering a Lycom DT-120, this seems like a better cooling alternative. The PCB has gold traces underneath where the SSD blade mounts, for heat dissipation on the back of the blade. It includes 3 thicknesses of thermal pads, which I cut up to mix and match over various height chips on the blade. (The Inland's controller chip is a little thinner than the memory chips). The heatsink doesn't clip or band onto the blade, it comes in two pieces that bolt together around the whole PCIe adapter and blade. The back of the heatsink rests directly on the back of the PCIe adapter PCB, and bolts to the front side of the heatsink, which has very tight tolerances in between the blade and the inside of the heatsink front piece. It doesn't bolt onto a PCIe rear slot cover, but uses the full x16 PCIe slot length and the locking bar for full-length PCIe cards to stay in place. Feels secure enough to me. It has a row of 4 dim blue LEDs that all blink simultaneously on drive activity. No switch to turn them off, but they shine through small holes drilled in the heatsink that could be easily covered up if desired.
For around $130 all-in for 1TB, I'm quite pleased with this crazy-affordable Mac Pro NVMe upgrade!
I personally have had good luck with the $98 Inland Premium 1TB SSD (MicroCenter house brand). It's essentially an unbranded OEM blade - no stickers over the chips, blue PCB. I ordered in mid-June 2019 and it came with the newer v12.2 Phison firmware. So far it's working great as a boot drive on a Mac Pro 4,1 > 5,1 with 144.0.0.0.0 firmware, running High Sierra 10.13.6.
The Phison E12 drives test up to 3,000 MB/s reads + writes - of course with an inexpensive 4-lane PCIe adapter you'll be limited to 1,500MB/s max speeds. According to reviewers, the trade-off with the Phison E12 drives are a smaller SLC cache that fills up when writing more quickly than some competing SSDs like the Samsung 970 EVO. Once the cache is full, sequential write speeds drop down to around 1,000 MB/sec. Still not too shabby.
The Patriot Viper VPN100 and the MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro are the two Phison E12 SSDs in the chart below. See reviews from Tom's Hardware and Anandtech for more details, and discussions on reddit and HardForum.
Besides the MicroCenter $98 special, here are some other Phison E12 SSDs that will all perform about the same, all can currently be picked up with 1TB for $150 or less. The MicroCenter version is rated at a very high 1600 TBW (terabytes written) lifespan and comes with a three year warranty. Other vendors are rating them with similarly high TBW, and many like Sabrent are offering even longer 5 year warranties.
Silicon Power P34A80
Addlink S70
Sabrent Rocket
Corsair MP510
Patriot Viper VPN100
MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro
I can also recommend this inexpensive PCIe NVMe adapter with integrated heatsink from Riitop, $18 on Amazon. If you're considering a Lycom DT-120, this seems like a better cooling alternative. The PCB has gold traces underneath where the SSD blade mounts, for heat dissipation on the back of the blade. It includes 3 thicknesses of thermal pads, which I cut up to mix and match over various height chips on the blade. (The Inland's controller chip is a little thinner than the memory chips). The heatsink doesn't clip or band onto the blade, it comes in two pieces that bolt together around the whole PCIe adapter and blade. The back of the heatsink rests directly on the back of the PCIe adapter PCB, and bolts to the front side of the heatsink, which has very tight tolerances in between the blade and the inside of the heatsink front piece. It doesn't bolt onto a PCIe rear slot cover, but uses the full x16 PCIe slot length and the locking bar for full-length PCIe cards to stay in place. Feels secure enough to me. It has a row of 4 dim blue LEDs that all blink simultaneously on drive activity. No switch to turn them off, but they shine through small holes drilled in the heatsink that could be easily covered up if desired.
For around $130 all-in for 1TB, I'm quite pleased with this crazy-affordable Mac Pro NVMe upgrade!
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