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.
SATA Express meets the '09 Mac Pro - Bootable NGFF PCIE SSD
- Thread starter handheldgames
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Man, I really want to pick up one of those 1.4 GB/s SSD Blades. That's the MZ-KPV1T00/0A2 correct?
Anyone have any idea when or if we will see another wave of these on eBay?
I got $1K burning a hole in my pocket!
this just turned up today
...they are a few out there still, just keep an eye open for them.
I heard a rumour of another 20 going on eBay in the next week or so but the downside is the sellers have cottoned on to these now I'm expecting them to be closer to $12-1500 price whilst still hard to find.
Ill do some benchmarking this weekend but I expect it will match the other results on here.
Not mentioned in your diagram is that there were EARLY 2013 rMBP's and LATE 2013 rMBP's.
Early 2013's rMBP's used SATA
Late 2013's (and later) rMBP's use PCIe
Source: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-retina-display-faq/differences-between-macbook-pro-retina-display-early-2013-late-2013.html
but this card still can use Plaxtor , Crucial or intel ..etc M.2 SSD, right ? pretty good deal and faster than normal 2.5" SSD , would like to try a RAID 0 Plextor M6e
I haven't found a clear answer so here's my questions.
Will a PCIe drive work in a 2006 Mac Pro 1,1? Will it perform better than on SATA? What version of PCIe is in Mac Pro 1,1 and is there a recomended firmware update to enable better PCIe performance?
Basically I'm looking to improve the performance of the 1,1 with SSD but it isn't clear what path I should take w/o just buying and trying.
Robin
Will a PCIe drive work in a 2006 Mac Pro 1,1? Will it perform better than on SATA? What version of PCIe is in Mac Pro 1,1 and is there a recomended firmware update to enable better PCIe performance?
Basically I'm looking to improve the performance of the 1,1 with SSD but it isn't clear what path I should take w/o just buying and trying.
Robin
^^^^
1. Yes, it will work.
2. No, there is not an update to improve PCIe performance.
3. Yes an SSD will perform better when attached to a PCIe Card than when attached to SATA.
Both the 1,1 and 2,1 Mac Pros are limited to PCIe 1.0 and are therefore slower than the faster PCIe 2.0 used in later Mac Pros.
Apricorn does make a Card for the older Mac Pros, and it's performance is less that the x2.
http://www.apricorn.com/products/desktop-ssd-hdd-upgrade-kits/vel-solox1.html
Lou
1. Yes, it will work.
2. No, there is not an update to improve PCIe performance.
3. Yes an SSD will perform better when attached to a PCIe Card than when attached to SATA.
Both the 1,1 and 2,1 Mac Pros are limited to PCIe 1.0 and are therefore slower than the faster PCIe 2.0 used in later Mac Pros.
Apricorn does make a Card for the older Mac Pros, and it's performance is less that the x2.
http://www.apricorn.com/products/desktop-ssd-hdd-upgrade-kits/vel-solox1.html
Lou
but this card still can use Plaxtor , Crucial or intel ..etc M.2 SSD, right ? pretty good deal and faster than normal 2.5" SSD , would like to try a RAID 0 Plextor M6e
You can only use the SATA M.2 blades on this adapter - so the Plextor M6e blade won't be compatible.
And I'm not sure if it can be faster than the PCI-E variants since you are bottlenecked at SATA3 speeds of 6Gbps per channel. So the native PCI-E drives like the Plextor M6e should still have the advantage in terms of raw speed.
Last edited:
Thanks Lou, very helpful.
On the apricorn site I found some small print:
The Velocity Solo x1 will function as a boot device in all Mac Pro models including EFI32 bit models made prior to 2008. Supported models include Mac Pro 1,1 2,1 3,1 4,1 5,1
NOTE: Early model Mac Pro’s 1,1 and 2,1 have PCIe 1.0 expansion slots. Performance of the Solo will be limited by the PCIe bus to about 250MB/s max.
Also found this:NOTE: Early model Mac Pro’s 1,1 and 2,1 have PCIe 1.0 expansion slots. Performance of the Solo will be limited by the PCIe bus to about 250MB/s max.
SATA I (revision 1.x) interface, formally known as SATA 1.5Gb/s, is the first generation SATA interface running at 1.5 Gb/s. The bandwidth throughput, which is supported by the interface, is up to 150MB/s.
So that clears up max interface throughput.
In reviewing drives, their performance is defined as peak random r/w operations and sustained r/w throughput.
Here's a Mushkin 480G SSD for $180 from newegg.
Max Sequential Read Up to 540 MBps
Max Sequential Write Up to 460 MBps
4KB Random Read Up to 78,000 IOPS
4KB Random Write Up to 37,000 IOPS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226372
So if the PCIe 1 maxes out at 250 MBps, it will be the bottleneck, since the SSD has almost double that for peak read write speed. How to use the IOPs to compare to controller throughput? It looks like IOPs for SSDs are orders of magnitude faster than mechanical HDs.
Can't say for sure which models will be compatible with that card. Need to have a close look at the header pins.
In my region, the retailers are carrying M.2 SATA from A-Data, Intel and Transcend. Sizes range from 128GB to 512GB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=BESTMATCH&Description=m2+ssd&N=-1&isNodeId=1
those M.2 SATA SSD from A-Data, Intel and Transcend that you talking, are they those at the link ? if they are , i think the Plextor M6e should compatible , cos they all with the same PCIe connector socket "Key-B+M" , and XP941 is Key-M , so key-B socket is compatible with B or B+M as well, but not key-M , am i correct ?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=BESTMATCH&Description=m2+ssd&N=-1&isNodeId=1
those M.2 SATA SSD from A-Data, Intel and Transcend that you talking, are they those at the link ? if they are , i think the Plextor M6e should compatible , cos they all with the same PCIe connector socket "Key-B+M" , and XP941 is Key-M , so key-B socket is compatible with B or B+M as well, but not key-M , am i correct ?
Still not sure. In theory I guess it should work but is the adapter card supporting Key-B+M? It does not say on the spec sheet - only mentions the lengths.
Last edited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2
and i found this : http://rog.asus.com/313352014/labels/guides/buying-an-m-2-ssd-how-to-tell-which-is-which/
" A B keying (pins 12-19) gives PCI Express SSDs up to 2x lanes of bandwidth, while a M keying (pins 59-66) provides PCI Express SSDs with up to 4x lanes of bandwidth. Even with 2x lanes of bandwidth a B keyed M.2 SSD still gives 10Gbit/s performance, whereas the 4x lanes on M gives up to 20Gbit/s. M.2 SSDs with B+M keying maximize compatibility in both slots, and will operate with 2x lanes of bandwidth. "
i think it means M.2 SSD with B+M keying (Plextor, Crucial, Kingston, A-Data, Intel and Transcend) that same compatible with "B"keying & "M"Keying socket connector , right ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2
and i found this : http://rog.asus.com/313352014/labels/guides/buying-an-m-2-ssd-how-to-tell-which-is-which/
" A B keying (pins 12-19) gives PCI Express SSDs up to 2x lanes of bandwidth, while a M keying (pins 59-66) provides PCI Express SSDs with up to 4x lanes of bandwidth. Even with 2x lanes of bandwidth a B keyed M.2 SSD still gives 10Gbit/s performance, whereas the 4x lanes on M gives up to 20Gbit/s. M.2 SSDs with B+M keying maximize compatibility in both slots, and will operate with 2x lanes of bandwidth. "
i think it means M.2 SSD with B+M keying (Plextor, Crucial, Kingston, A-Data, Intel and Transcend) that same compatible with "B"keying & "M"Keying socket connector , right ?
I think the best way to be sure about the compatibility is to email Addonics sales and ask them directly?
I think the best way to be sure about the compatibility is to email Addonics sales and ask them directly?
yeah, wait for your news then 
hi guys. just to have confirm, does the apple ssd fit on new z97 pc motherboard m2 slot?
or should i buy the adapter on post1?
or should i buy the adapter on post1?
no, the Apple/SAMSUNG won't fit a standard m.2 slot. you would have to buy a PCIe card/adapter.
as i thought. ok, does the sintech adapter work on a recent pc motherboard like the z97 chipset?
the adapter doesn't do anything. there are no active components on it. the question is: will the motherboard's BIOS/UEFI support the SSD. why don't you just buy a SAMSUNG XP941? this would at least fit in the m.2 slot.
i have both the sintech adapter and the apple ssd 1tb. working on my mac pro.
i want to know if this combo works even on a standard pc uefi motherboard.
thank you for your support
since the XP941 is designed for UEFI PCs but works just fine in the Mac Pro, I guess the opposite might also be true. but: nobody tried this AFAIK.
seller replies me that it works, but not as startup disk. isn't it strange?
other question: does the apple 1tb ssd works on macbook air 2013-2014?
nope, the 1.0 TB version is simply too wide ->
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2014+Solid-State+Drive+Replacement/24754