I'm about to pull my hardly used SSUBX 512GB and Adapter with Heatsink. I'm thinking of selling it (running out of usable PCIe slots, and don't really need it now since NVMe). PM me if interested and I can answer any questions.
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SATA Express meets the '09 Mac Pro - Bootable NGFF PCIE SSD
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I'm about to pull my hardly used SSUBX 512GB and Adapter with Heatsink. I'm thinking of selling it (running out of usable PCIe slots, and don't really need it now since NVMe). PM me if interested and I can answer any questions.
If I remember correctly, only MacBook Air and rMBP 13" 2013+ connectors are x2 PCIe, rMBP 15" late 2013/2014/2015 is x4 (2015 is PCIe 3.0 - SSUBX).
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Exactly. The ones from the rMBP are also missing a heatsink. Somewhere around page 14 or so in this thread, from my recollection there should be posts discussing these SSD's. They were available in 512GB and 1TB sizes. Both came with a heatsink. (how the heck did I remember page 14?)
The 1TB could hit:
Here is a pic of the 1TB with the heatsink removed
Hi all, I am looking to set up a machine to host 10-15 virtual machines running under VM Fusion. OS will be High Sierra or Mojave. Total storage needed by the VMs will be something like 1TB now and 2TB over the next years. Additionally I need to have about 10TB of storage on the machine but this can be slow storage (spinning disks).
Am I correct that a MP 5,1 12-core with PCIe SSD storage is a good choice? I looked at the new Mac Mini with a RAID enclosure but only 6 cores and the storage is too expensive and not upgradable.
As I read through old threads it seems that all of the suggested PCIe SSD hardware is no longer available. Can someone suggest a reasonably fast 1TB SSD storage option for a MP 5,1 that should be supported and upgradable to 2TB in the future?
handheldgames, is your Highpoint card still a good choice? Highpoint says on Amazon that they don't support VMware ESXi but I will be running VM Fusion under a Mac OS. Should work, yes?
Hmm, looks like there is now the Highpoint SSD7102 which supports booting.
Am I correct that a MP 5,1 12-core with PCIe SSD storage is a good choice? I looked at the new Mac Mini with a RAID enclosure but only 6 cores and the storage is too expensive and not upgradable.
As I read through old threads it seems that all of the suggested PCIe SSD hardware is no longer available. Can someone suggest a reasonably fast 1TB SSD storage option for a MP 5,1 that should be supported and upgradable to 2TB in the future?
handheldgames, is your Highpoint card still a good choice? Highpoint says on Amazon that they don't support VMware ESXi but I will be running VM Fusion under a Mac OS. Should work, yes?
Hmm, looks like there is now the Highpoint SSD7102 which supports booting.
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Yes to the 5,1. I’m assuming when you say ‘storage’ you mean boot drive. If so, NVME PCIe SSD’s will work fine going forward. There are a few 1TB versions on the market and 2TB are almost certain to become more available/cheaper as time goes on.
You can pretty much forget all the older information about using PCIe-based SSD's now that High Sierra and Mojave supports the faster (and much more common and affordable) NVMe SSD's. All you need is a $20 PCIe-to-NVMe adapter and you're good-to-go.
Gone are the days of expensive adapters to mount multiple 2.5" SSD's or AHCI SSD's (which are very hard to find now).
There is a thread here all about using NVMe on Mac Pro 5,1. HS or Mojave will upgrade the boot code in the Mac firmware to support NVMe. It's pretty simple.
There are lots of 1TB or 2TB NVMe choices now. The adapter I linked to above I really like as it is very high quality and comes with everything you need. But there are lots of choices on Amazon, Newegg, etc.
You might also want to look at getting a heatsink for your NVMe as they tend to run hotter (than SATA) with heavy usage.
^^^^IMHO, your adapter choice could be better.
That dual adapter contains only one PCIe drive slot, the 2nd one is SATA.
NVMe drives run hotter than AHCI drives and that card does not contain a heatsink or any other type of cooling.
To get more than one NVME drive mounted on a PCIe card to run, does indeed require much more money to be spent.
Lou
That dual adapter contains only one PCIe drive slot, the 2nd one is SATA.
NVMe drives run hotter than AHCI drives and that card does not contain a heatsink or any other type of cooling.
To get more than one NVME drive mounted on a PCIe card to run, does indeed require much more money to be spent.
Lou
Hey flowrider...my choice of card isn't based on having dual NVMe capability. I never mentioned that being a need nor did the person I was helping. I was merely suggesting a card that I have found to be well made, inexpensive and available that could hold a 1 or 2TB NVMe SSD, as the person has mentioned.
I realize the 2nd slot is SATA. You can use it or leave it empty.
^^^^Again, IMHO, there are far better choices out there for just one drive. Just as example:
https://www.amazon.com/Electop-Adap...0&sr=8-22-spons&keywords=NVME+PCIe+card&psc=1
Lou
https://www.amazon.com/Electop-Adap...0&sr=8-22-spons&keywords=NVME+PCIe+card&psc=1
Lou
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I prefer a card that attaches securely to the case instead of just floating in a slot so your choice, to me, is not far better.
To each their own.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
^^^^Oh for gosh sakes
Then how about this:
https://www.amazon.com/EZDIY-FAB-Ex...id=1549218042&sr=8-26&keywords=NVME+PCIe+card
You are completely ignoring the cooling necessary for an NVME drive!
And yes, TO EACH THEIR OWN
Have a good day
Oh, and for the record, the first card I linked is not "floating in a slot". Did you notice the slot in the back of the card? Guess what fits in that slot.
Lou
Then how about this:
https://www.amazon.com/EZDIY-FAB-Ex...id=1549218042&sr=8-26&keywords=NVME+PCIe+card
You are completely ignoring the cooling necessary for an NVME drive!
And yes, TO EACH THEIR OWN
Have a good day
Oh, and for the record, the first card I linked is not "floating in a slot". Did you notice the slot in the back of the card? Guess what fits in that slot.
Lou
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Thanks Upgrader, dmylrea and flowrider. Good to know all the options. I didn't know the NVMe ran hot enough to need a heatsink or active cooling.
I do care more about reliability and flexibility than cost savings, so I think I'd prefer an actively-cooled RAID-capable card assuming the RAID function is solid. That way I can avoid fiddling with heatsinks and also be able to add storage in JBOD config vs replacing a perfectly good 1TB stick with a 2TB.
Given those requirements is the Highpoint SSD7102 a good choice? Or would you all recommend something else?
Thanks!!
I do care more about reliability and flexibility than cost savings, so I think I'd prefer an actively-cooled RAID-capable card assuming the RAID function is solid. That way I can avoid fiddling with heatsinks and also be able to add storage in JBOD config vs replacing a perfectly good 1TB stick with a 2TB.
Given those requirements is the Highpoint SSD7102 a good choice? Or would you all recommend something else?
Thanks!!
It comes down how much you are willing to invest in a pcie 3.0 controller. Personally, I use and recommend the Highpoint solution.
For 400 you get 4 slots with a max bandwidth of 6000 mb/sec with the highpoint from the onboard x16 Broadcom pex8747 plx.
4 slot and 2 slot solutions from iocrest, etc. are based on the x8 asm2824 plx can be picked up for $300ish and $220ish respectively.
QNAP’s options use an x8 version of Broadcom chipset used in the highpoint called the pex8187. They have a 4 port x8 adapter on amazon for around $260.
I apologize if my questions have been answered, but since a lot changed since HS/Mojave I suppose I just ask.
I have a original mp 4,1 incoming that I will be flashing to 5,1 and freeze Sierra or HS as the os. I am not going to use Mojave. My goal is to have a fast boot/scratch SSD, 512GB and use some other 4TB drives for storage.
What would be a good combo of PCI adapter and SSD to achieve very fast speeds (on Sierra/HS). I don't mind using referral links if you guys can help me out. I am tech-savvy, but HDD/Storage was always a no-go for me and I have no clue what I am even looking at 🙂
EDIT: After doing some research it seems that The Samsung Evo Pro 512GB would be a good choice. However the Samsung PM981 is almost half the price and delivers the same speed? Am I missing something?
Cheers,
George
I have a original mp 4,1 incoming that I will be flashing to 5,1 and freeze Sierra or HS as the os. I am not going to use Mojave. My goal is to have a fast boot/scratch SSD, 512GB and use some other 4TB drives for storage.
What would be a good combo of PCI adapter and SSD to achieve very fast speeds (on Sierra/HS). I don't mind using referral links if you guys can help me out. I am tech-savvy, but HDD/Storage was always a no-go for me and I have no clue what I am even looking at 🙂
EDIT: After doing some research it seems that The Samsung Evo Pro 512GB would be a good choice. However the Samsung PM981 is almost half the price and delivers the same speed? Am I missing something?
Cheers,
George
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Yes, you are.
Controllers are optimised for different worklads and peak throughput is in most instances the most useless metric to go by. If you need to copy large data sets then fine but otherwise most workloads consists of many random reads and writes.
Another is the type of NAND flash memory used (SLC, MLC, TLC, 3D NAND etc. etc.), which roughly tells you how many times you can rewrite a block before it runs out of write cycles. Look for drive writes per day (DWPD) rating. It is the endurance of your drive. Higher capacity means higher write endurance.
The absolute cheapest NVME option today is the Intel 660p but it has a DRAM-less controller, so it might not be for you. 2TB for $220.
Remember that even the cheapest SSD is much, much faster compared to spinning, mechanical hard drives.
Just when I thought it cannot get more complicated 😉
I just want to make this system as fast as possible, as I will use it mainly for graphics and rendering work with the occasional video editing. I plan on using a Titan X 12G, so that keeps me kind of married to the S/HS OS. All I need is just a reliable PCI card / M.2 SSD combo that will work flawlessly. I hope it all makes sense now
Just an fyi, there is no such thing as an EVO PRO. There is an EVO drive, and a PRO drive. These are 2 different drives.
For you I would suggest the PRO drive. You can’t go wrong with that one.
There is also a 970 EVO Plus. You didn't really elaborate on WHY you suggest the PRO (apart from it being highly regarded brand-wise, yet not a great value compared to others).
Apart from running benchmarks all day, you could get similar real life performance and twice the capacity (1TB) from an HP EX920, which is also a very popular SSD right now due to it's very competitive pricing, 5 year warranty, and blazing speeds (again, just specs on paper). Or you can spend half as much and get the same size 512GB HP EX920 and save some money.
Comparing the 512GB 970 PRO to a 1TB HPEX920
Because if you have been following this forum or have searched for the Evo Plus you would have learned that the Evo Plus is not compatible with macos.
The 970 EVO Plus has proven not to work well at this time on the Mac. Many posts about the issue. Both the regular 970 EVO and the 970 Pro have proven to work well with the MacOS. With the pro being faster and more robust.
Lou
Good to know. Is that just on real Mac Pro's (4,1 and 5,1) or is it a macOS issue that would affect non-Apple "Mac solutions"?
^^^^Don't really know, but I do know that other real Macs other then the cMPs are affected. Even the reviews on Amazon for the 970 EVO Plus mention this. And, it's been confirmed by Samsung.
Lou
Lou
970 EVO Plus problem is not with Macs, it works perfectly with Macs and just Windows installed, but don’t work with Macs or Hackintoshes when running macOS.
^^^^^^^^^ Works in windows with a custom NVMe driver supplied by samsung.