SATA 3 PCIe cards

[MentalVizion]

Hey,

I'm planning to upgrade my SSD speeds alongside my graphics card.
Which cards are you guys using?
I had a closer look at the Apricorn Velocity Solo x2 and really like it.
However I do have a few questions regarding it:

Can I really hook up another SSD for example on it's second SATA port and gain the same speed boost as with the mounted one? (I do own a Samsung 830 250GB now and plan on getting a 850 EVO - either 250GB or 500GB for Bootcamp)

If so, is it possible to boot from OS X on one, and Bootcamp from the other drive? That's where some other cards seem to have problems it seems because these drives are formatted differently.

Would be nice if someone could clarify this for me.
Also, I'm more then open for other card suggestions aswell!

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Have a look at the Velocity DUO x2! Neatly (no cable spaghetti inside) install 2 SSD's with bootable OSX and Windows!

 

[MentalVizion]

Have a look at the Velocity DUO x2! Neatly (no cable spaghetti inside) install 2 SSD's with bootable OSX and Windows!

I already did!
That's why I am wondering if it really is possible to hook up another drive and gain speed on the Solo's other SATA connector.

Is the only difference the 2nd mount caddy thing? Do you know if the Solo is also able to boot both bootcamp and OS X?

Another nice thing about the Apricorn's is, that they support TRIM. Now I know alot of people think it's not necessary to have it - especially with samsung's I think - but it wouldn't hurt either, right?

I have made a rough "sketch" of how I imagine this to work once I am done.
However, I am not sure if it will.

[/url][/IMG]

As I already stated, I'm not sure if the Solo x2 works the way I imagine it would. If so, I'll probably just get the Dual instead.

Also, I hope I will be able to install the 2nd SSD into bay #4 - just installing it, not connecting it. However I am not sure if the PCIe card will be able to power two SSD's.

Worst case scenario I would just install the Windows SSD in the 2nd optical drive bay.

If some of you guys find any problems within my planned build, it would be awesome if you'd let me know, thanks!

 

[crjackson2134]

I already did!
That's why I am wondering if it really is possible to hook up another drive and gain speed on the Solo's other SATA connector.

Is the only difference the 2nd mount caddy thing? Do you know if the Solo is also able to boot both bootcamp and OS X?

Another nice thing about the Apricorn's is, that they support TRIM. Now I know alot of people think it's not necessary to have it - especially with samsung's I think - but it wouldn't hurt either, right?

I have made a rough "sketch" of how I imagine this to work once I am done.
However, I am not sure if it will.

As I already stated, I'm not sure if the Solo x2 works the way I imagine it would. If so, I'll probably just get the Dual instead.

Also, I hope I will be able to install the 2nd SSD into bay #4 - just installing it, not connecting it. However I am not sure if the PCIe card will be able to power two SSD's.

Worst case scenario I would just install the Windows SSD in the 2nd optical drive bay.

If some of you guys find any problems within my planned build, it would be awesome if you'd let me know, thanks!

Im not sure which version of windows you are installing, but keep this in mind. Regardless of the PCIe card used, the system will see the SSD as an external-bootable device. Win 7 and earlier doesn't support booting from external drives. Win 8.1+ does support booting to externals.

If I were going to try Win7 I would put the drive in one of the drive bays. If I were going to do Win 8.1+, I would go with the DUO X2 card (which I believe has a more compatible firmware too).

 

[MentalVizion]

Im not sure which version of windows you are installing, but keep this in mind. Regardless of the PCIe card used, the system will see the SSD as an external-bootable device. Win 7 and earlier doesn't support booting from external drives. Win 8.1+ does support booting to externals.

If I we're going to try Win7 I would put the drive in one of the drive bays. If I were going to do Win 8.1+, I would go with the DUO X2 card (which I believe has a more compatible firmware too).

Thanks for the information, I'll probably put the Windows 7 SSD in the optical drive bay then. There shouldn't be to much difference anyways I guess.

The connected OS X drive (either ML or Mavericks) still functions properly and boots up as usual though, right?

 

[crjackson2134]

The connected OS X drive (either ML or Mavericks) still functions properly and boots up as usual though, right?

I does indeed.

 

[ShawnF]

For info, I have this card:

http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php

I have my Windows 7 bootcamp installed in one of the mSata drives and it works and boots flawlessly. I have Windows 7 and OSX Mavericks installed in separate mSata drives and can boot between the 2 easily. It works with Windows 8.1 - tested it on another SSD and it works fine but I decided to stick to Win 7 because of legacy issues with my scanner.

 

[crjackson2134]

For info, I have this card:

Image

http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php

I have my Windows 7 bootcamp installed in one of the mSata drives and it works and boots flawlessly. I have Windows 7 and OSX Mavericks installed in separate mSata drives and can boot between the 2 easily. It works with Windows 8.1 - tested it on another SSD and it works fine but I decided to stick to Win 7 because of legacy issues with my scanner.

That is a nice option. I'm not sure why it (win7) works on that setup but not others. I had forgot about your setup. Very nice indeed.

Does your system see this as an internal drive or does Win7 have support for mSATA booting?

 

[m4v3r1ck]

I already did!

Check it again and convince yourself it's the best and a no hassle solution for a dual boot OSX & Windows solution!

As I already stated, I'm not sure if the Solo x2 works the way I imagine it would. If so, I'll probably just get the Dual instead.

Just do it!

Worst case scenario I would just install the Windows SSD in the 2nd optical drive bay.

Never chose for a worst case senario, when a best case solution (DUOx2) is at hand.

Cheers

 

[ShawnF]

That is a nice option. I'm not sure why it (win7) works on that setup but not others. I had forgot about your setup. Very nice indeed.

Does your system see this as an internal drive or does Win7 have support for mSATA booting?

OSX sees it as an external drive. Not sure about Win7 - I think it sees it as an internal drive.

With Win7, I had to clone a copy of my Bootcamp drive on another SSD using Carbon Copy Cloner. Then it boots fine. I used other third-party Win cloning software like AOMEI Partition Manager and and my Bootcamp SSD refused to boot.

Hope that helps!

 

[IowaLynn]

OSX sees it as an external drive. Not sure about Win7 - I think it sees it as an internal drive.

With Win7, I had to clone a copy of my Bootcamp drive on another SSD using Carbon Copy Cloner. Then it boots fine. I used other third-party Win cloning software like AOMEI Partition Manager and and my Bootcamp SSD refused to boot.

Hope that helps!

I use Paragon Software HDM Suite to clone Windows where use dedicated Windows only drives. Mac or PC.

CCC to do sector copy of a Windows drive worked?

 

[lowendlinux]

DD doesn't care format or partition so that's what I use to clone every drive.

 

[Macsonic]

For info, I have this card:

Image

http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php

I have my Windows 7 bootcamp installed in one of the mSata drives and it works and boots flawlessly. I have Windows 7 and OSX Mavericks installed in separate mSata drives and can boot between the 2 easily. It works with Windows 8.1 - tested it on another SSD and it works fine but I decided to stick to Win 7 because of legacy issues with my scanner.

Hi ShawnF. Thanks for sharing your cool setup. Would you know the boot up time coming from a cold startup? Either starting from the chime sound or from pressing the start up button?

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

That is a nice option. I'm not sure why it (win7) works on that setup but not others. I had forgot about your setup. Very nice indeed.

Does your system see this as an internal drive or does Win7 have support for mSATA booting?

Also have this card, and it works great as a single 4TB SSD. See here if interested:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1842707/

Knock wood, it's been working well and decently quick.