SATA Express meets the '09 Mac Pro - Bootable NGFF PCIE SSD

[davidlv]

So I asked a little while ago and never bought anything. But I'm looking for a pcie adapter and a 1gb ssd to put in my 2008 Mac Pro which is painfully slow lately and I'd like to squeeze another couple of years of life out of it.
I'm considering a 1tb Samsung Evo 850 and a OWC Accelsior s adapter. Has anyone used this combo?
I think my Mac Pro is an early 2008 model.

I am using the OWC Accelsior adapter, but with a Plextor M5P 'Xtreme, at 256GB. It benchmarks at just under 500 on the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, and feels a bit faster than it did in the SATA II bay with a 2.5 to 3.5 bay adapter. I assume it would work with the Samsung about the same. This kind of PCIe adapter is a very cost effective solution, and in real life situations, performs at acceptable speed. If you need to transfer a lot of large files, or use an extremely fast scratch disk, you may find that the M2 blade + Lycom adapter is better, but for a startup/system disk this combination seems quite sufficient.

 

[pastrychef]

So I asked a little while ago and never bought anything. But I'm looking for a pcie adapter and a 1gb ssd to put in my 2008 Mac Pro which is painfully slow lately and I'd like to squeeze another couple of years of life out of it.

I'm considering a 1tb Samsung Evo 850 and a OWC Accelsior s adapter. Has anyone used this combo?

I think my Mac Pro is an early 2008 model.

This thread is not about that kind of SSD and PCI-e adaptor.

 

[sim667]

This thread is not about that kind of SSD and PCI-e adaptor.

How do you mean?

Im looking to put in a ssd in my mac pro, but have no hard drive bays left...... Am I getting confused about what I need?

 

[pastrychef]

How do you mean?

Im looking to put in a ssd in my mac pro, but have no hard drive bays left...... Am I getting confused about what I need?

Read first post of this thread.

 

[sim667]

I am using the OWC Accelsior adapter, but with a Plextor M5P 'Xtreme, at 256GB. It benchmarks at just under 500 on the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, and feels a bit faster than it did in the SATA II bay with a 2.5 to 3.5 bay adapter. I assume it would work with the Samsung about the same. This kind of PCIe adapter is a very cost effective solution, and in real life situations, performs at acceptable speed. If you need to transfer a lot of large files, or use an extremely fast scratch disk, you may find that the M2 blade + Lycom adapter is better, but for a startup/system disk this combination seems quite sufficient.

No it will simply be for the boot driver......

Is there anyway I can check if I'll be able to boot using this drive? I don't know what age of mac pro you've got, but I'm aware mine is quite old, and before I spend £300 want to check I've got it all sussed.

 

[sim667]

Read first post of this thread.

So the pcie cards I'm talking about a non NGFF?

Maybe I need to start a thread...

 

[fiatlux]

So the pcie cards I'm talking about a non NGFF?

NGFF (next generation form factor) is another term for the M.2 connector. M.2 SSDs come in two flavour depending on their electrical interface: SATA or PCIe. The latter can be used in a simple passive adapter card and benefit from the full PCIe bandwidth.

What you want to do is use a 2.5" SATA SSD (with old-style SATA connector) on a SATA PCIe card. Should work well, but will be limited to SATA bandwidth. The Sonnet Tempo card supports booting in MP 3,1 and newer.

 

[KevWind]

oppss

 

[SamPotts]

Well... it just so happens that sintech manufacturers Apple pcie ssd -> m.2 adapters. allowing a mix of 4 full speed m.2 and apple pcie ssd's on the board. . while the nmp can use this in an external enclosure, it tops out at 1300 mb/s r/w compared to the 5900 mb/s reported by rob @ barefeats.

Do you think 4 would actually fit ok? The slots are quite close together and the adapter looks to be 27mm wide as opposed to 22mm of the M2 dimensions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2). I guess it's only 5mm that's needed between them.

 

[p.l]

Hi guys, Not sure if anyone has tested this but i got a HyperX Predator - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=902&products_id=31657 , Got it for half price!

Installed and booted up, 1300mbs read and 800mbs write running el cap... tested on Blackmagic Disk

 

[mmendoza27]

Hi guys, Not sure if anyone has tested this but i got a HyperX Predator - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=902&products_id=31657 , Got it for half price!

Installed and booted up, 1300mbs read and 800mbs write running el cap... tested on Blackmagic Disk

How did you get it for half-price? I'd buy one for half-price!

 

[kennyman]

@handheldgames

Hello - have you received your Amfeltec card yet? Just wondering whether it is possible to install 2 Apple SSD side by side on that card? Below is the dimension of the adapter.

 

[p.l]

How did you get it for half-price? I'd buy one for half-price!

eBay auction...



Does anyone know if either of these would work?

Sandisk X300s m.2 B Key
or
Intel 535 Series m.2 B Key

Sorry i did search but couldn't come up with anything

 

[p.l]

So someone tried to hack the connection but with no luck...
I thought someone would eventually but obviously not as easy as it seems.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/256GB-SSD-f...980711?hash=item33a84d7567:g:k14AAOSwd0BV4OuV

 

[jamall]

So someone tried to hack the connection but with no luck...
I thought someone would eventually but obviously not as easy as it seems.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/256GB-SSD-f...980711?hash=item33a84d7567:g:k14AAOSwd0BV4OuV

I don't think I'd be putting something I bought from China that's wrapped in blue electrical tape anywhere near the motherboard of my MacBook Pro!

 

[p.l]

I don't think I'd be putting something I bought from China that's wrapped in blue electrical tape anywhere near the motherboard of my MacBook Pro!

100% but i guess they dropped making a proper connecter due to the issues related...

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Quad M2 adapter, x16 lanes, with cooling. Should work in Boot Camp for a fast project drive but OSX's partial implementation of NVME might not be compatible.

http://hexus.net/tech/news/storage/88049-hp-launches-z-turbo-quad-pro-workstation-storage-solution/

 

[ShawnF]

Quad M2 adapter, x16 lanes, with cooling. Should work in Boot Camp for a fast project drive but OSX's partial implementation of NVME might not be compatible.

http://hexus.net/tech/news/storage/88049-hp-launches-z-turbo-quad-pro-workstation-storage-solution/

Looks like a more elegant solution -- even has proper cooling! The price looks good too at $299 for 256GB option. The Amelfec option is around the same price but just for the adapter alone. If only HP have a AHCI compatible version of this thing.

 

[handheldgames]

Looks like a more elegant solution -- even has proper cooling! The price looks good too at $299 for 256GB option. The Amelfec option is around the same price but just for the adapter alone. If only HP have a AHCI compatible version of this thing.

$299 is for the rebranded 256GB SM951 with a HP sticker. HP's website shows options with 2 256GB sm951's as the lowest cost option for 779.00. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/workstations/z-turbo-drive-g3.html

 

[Phrequensi]

Hi, I'm checking out the PCIe upgrade info list and
pardon if the question has been answered,
but is the current working Lycom 120 - SM951 config
AHCI only or can SM951 NVMe SSD's be used as well?
Thanks.

 

[handheldgames]

Hi, I'm checking out the PCIe upgrade info list and
pardon if the question has been answered,
but is the current working Lycom 120 - SM951 config
AHCI only or can SM951 NVMe SSD's be used as well?
Thanks.

nvme is off the menu for the short term. achi enables boot & Mac compatibility. enjoy the upgrade!

 

[mikeboss]

$299 is for the rebranded 256GB SM951 with a HP sticker. HP's website shows options with 2 256GB sm951's as the lowest cost option for 779.00. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/workstations/z-turbo-drive-g3.html

View attachment 601088

german IT magazine "c't" writes that hewlett-packard locked the Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro and it will only work in the hp Z workstations mentioned in the ad. "c't" writes this is because of the special firmware implemented on the card...

 

[bbdjam]

Thank you to all who participated in this thread that is very instructive, who can tell me how to tell the difference between SM951 AHCI and SM951 NVME how to differentiate them, I want to order one on Amazon but would not want to make a mistake, for my cMP 2009 and 5.1 Lycom card do you think of this one thx

http://www.amazon.fr/Samsung-SM951-...8649687&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+sm951+m.2#Ask

 

[sailmac]

Thank you to all who participated in this thread that is very instructive, who can tell me how to tell the difference between SM951 AHCI and SM951 NVME how to differentiate them, I want to order one on Amazon but would not want to make a mistake, for my cMP 2009 and 5.1 Lycom card do you think of this one thx

http://www.amazon.fr/Samsung-SM951-...8649687&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+sm951+m.2#Ask

Looking at the 5th bullet in the description, it says

"Supports Standard AHCI driver…"

so it should be fine.

 

[bbdjam]

Looking at the 5th bullet in the description, it says

"Supports Standard AHCI driver…"

so it should be fine.

Thank you for your help Sailmac, I have not seen this precision in the description :-/ can stick me those it here please