Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MP All Models PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI
- Thread starter MisterAndrew
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Sabrent Rocket NVMe M.2 2280 arrived and works with Glotrends m.2 PCIe NVMe card thankfully.
Now the next hurdle... how do I install Mojave on it...
I have a Radeon RX580 card, the only card I have as someone walked off with the original.
I launched the Mojave installer then hit restart when prompted....
got to Blank screen...
I'm assuming its due to vid card not allowing me to see boot screens?
Stuck in this now as a hard reboot just brings me back to black screen, reset PRAM no joy either so had to pull the PCI NVMe card and a drive or two and it booted, probably after pulling the HD that the installer on it...
Any ideas? Thanks all.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Read the first post of the thread and see what is your problem on the notes:
MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)
Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...
forums.macrumors.com
Read the first post of the thread and see what is your problem on the notes:
MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)
Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...
@tsialex thanks for the response!
So reading that I found this:
- How to do a clean install with a RX 4xx/5xx/VEGA GPU without pre-boot configuration support?
The easiest way is to do from macOS, opening the installer and then selecting the drive you want to install to.
If you want to do a USB clean install, first create a createinstallmedia USB key, erase the drive that you want to install Mojave, remove all other bootable disks, connect the createinstallmedia USB installer and then power-off/on. When the Mac Pro don't find any bootable SATA/PCIe disk, it will boot from the createinstallmedia USB installer. After three minutes or so, after the installer loads the GPU drivers, the screen will work.
Do that as per here: https://support.apple.com/en-ie/HT201372
So I guess I'll give that a shot?
Appreciate your help!
Hmm.... it wouldn't boot from the Mojave USB installer with all other HDs out except NVMe drive. So I Pulled the PCIe NVMe card and tried then.... it eventually booted off the USB drive.
Put NVMe card/drive back in and nothing happens
Update, after 30min or so I got to a screen stating OS could not be installed.... something anyway!
Tested Crucial P1 500G on MacPro 3,1, works great, no issue for sleep or cold start.
Probably the best deal consider the price of Samsung/Intel SSDs
Probably the best deal consider the price of Samsung/Intel SSDs
I'm getting an error when the installer does eventually show up. "The installer resources were not found. Quit the installer to restart your computer and try again"
UPDATE
OK so I think there was something up with the Mojave USB Install disk. Made a new one, this time on a 16GB drive rather than the 128GB one. Finally it's installing on the NVMe! Patience is a virtue.....
Thanks! One helpful answer finally!
I took an AliExpress gamble on this ASM2824 4 slot card - Maiwo KCSSD7
www.maiwo.hk
After a long wait it's just arrived and I've started testing.
On my 4,1 (FW 144.0.0.0 - Mojave) it is not recognised in either of the X16 slots 1 or 2. This isn't a power issue - I run a WX4100 (only draws 50W) and I've tested with slots 1 & 2 empty apart from this card. It's fine in the X4 slots but that's defeating the point of the card with my Samsung 970s....
Any ideas/suggestions or do I consign it to a PC?
MAIWO KCSSD7 – 深圳市凯祥源科技有限公司–MAIWO官网
BeHosting | Best WordPress theme for hosting providers
www.maiwo.hk
After a long wait it's just arrived and I've started testing.
On my 4,1 (FW 144.0.0.0 - Mojave) it is not recognised in either of the X16 slots 1 or 2. This isn't a power issue - I run a WX4100 (only draws 50W) and I've tested with slots 1 & 2 empty apart from this card. It's fine in the X4 slots but that's defeating the point of the card with my Samsung 970s....
Any ideas/suggestions or do I consign it to a PC?
I added a recommended adaptor section for the Mac Pro 6,1. I listed the Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C. Is that the one everyone is using? If not you can change it, and of course add more.
In case it interests anyone, a seller who has genuine Apple SSPOLARIS SSDs on eBay told me they have tested them in a 6,1 and says that Boot Camp can be used on them without kernel panics. So that's an NVMe SSD option for 6,1 Boot Campers.
Update: OWC claims their Aura Pro X2 NVMe SSD is Boot Camp compatible installed in the Mac Pro 6,1. In an email they sent me they stated, "As for the kernel panic question, it shouldn't, but kernel panics can happen for many reasons."
However, they have a page that shows it is not Boot Camp compatible with several other Macs.
eshop.macsales.com
Update: OWC claims their Aura Pro X2 NVMe SSD is Boot Camp compatible installed in the Mac Pro 6,1. In an email they sent me they stated, "As for the kernel panic question, it shouldn't, but kernel panics can happen for many reasons."
However, they have a page that shows it is not Boot Camp compatible with several other Macs.
OWC Knowledge base
Upgrade the RAM and storage of nearly any Apple computer at MacSales.com. We also provide refurbished Macs, external storage, docks, accessories, and more!
eshop.macsales.com
Last edited:
Hey guys! First time post but I've been following this thread for awhile. I just purchased and installed the Syba I/O Crest SI-PEX40129 in my mid 2010 Mac Pro. Before with the regular adapter I was getting around 1,400 read and write but now I'm only getting an increase of 1,800 write and around 2,500 read for some reason. I've tried both 16x slots as well. Any ideas?? This was an expensive purchase and I'd really like to get this resolved.
Also, speeds seem to be very inconsistent. For examples it can go from 1,800 write and go as low as 800-900. This happened with the old adapter too.
Also, speeds seem to be very inconsistent. For examples it can go from 1,800 write and go as low as 800-900. This happened with the old adapter too.
Attachments
First, when asking help please post all pertinent facts, you didn't post about your blade at all.
Probably a tired PCIe SSD. Very common with Samsung AHCI models like XP941/SM951-AHCI, SM951-NVMe and EVO models.
Install DriveDX and check.
My bad. It's a Samsung 960 EVO 500gb. It's only about 2 years old but I'll definitely try DriveDX.
PCIe SSDs made from TLC/QLC NAND show very high throughput while the data is on the SLC cache, when the cache is full the write speed drops vertiginously to the real throughput of the TLC/QLC NAND memory.
Only blades that have SLC and/or MLC NAND, like 970 PRO, don't suffer from cache problems, since the throughput of the real NAND is high enough.
Are temperature spikes seen as "Lifetime Temperature min/max"?
Does "lifetime" mean since Drive Dx has been monitoring the drive?
What if you want to reset "lifetime"?
Attachments
Lifetime as in the SSD lifetime, maximum temperature ever achieved. An user can’t reset it, it’s written inside the SMART log in the part of the SSD NAND that stores non user accessible data.
If you have a spike of 90ºC, you cooked your SSD and you already lost your warranty.
For continuous monitoring you will need smartmontools.
Been reading these posts for a while now I ordered a standard pcie adapter for Mac Pro 5.1 2012 6 core 3.33. By the looks of things I'm reading there doesn't seem to be any real big boost in boot times. I am constantly switching daws protools native Ableton and cubase . I spend a lot of time just watching them load. I haven't bought the blade yet but was looking at the 970 evo plus nvme 1T. I have everything updated to Mojave boot rom 144.0.0.0.0.. Am I wrong in thinking Im not going to see much improvement so should I just buy and other sata ssd and call it a day?
Last edited:
Mac Pro 5,1 boot times are a lot worse with more RAM or/plus PCIe drives since Mac Pro firmware will have to scan/test everything, every time you power it on. So, forget about POST (Power On Self Test) time.
With the native SATA ports you are limited to ~250MB/s throughput, while with cheap M.2 PCIe adaptors you are limited to around ~1450MB/s and with lot less latency and up to ~5900MB/s with cards like HighPoint SSD7101A-1.
Boot times are a combination of how much hardware you have (such as RAM) and how much gets loaded by the OS. When you press ON, there is a Power On Self Test (POST) that check the viability of things like RAM. More equals longer. Then, there is a check for boot devices, first across disks then to PCIe bus. There is more.
My memory of booting (pressing the button and getting a login screen) from HDD is it took about 2 minutes, maybe more. This was when I had 8GB. When I booted from an SSD connected to SATA, it was about 35-40 seconds. Now I boot from PCIe with 32GB. Takes a minute, maybe a little longer. The 20-30 seconds are worth it to me for over the next several hours of usage.
If you want the fastest booting machine, remove as much memory as you can - maybe even down to 4GB. Boot from SATA SSD. Best to remove all other drives from system. Keep the required GPU in a PCIe slot. Minimize the things that load at startup. You'll probably save 40 seconds every time you boot.