How nice
I hope OP returns it all since neither vendor will help. The x2/Samsung combo. Is so trouble free.
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Sonnet's NEED for SPEED!
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How nice
I hope OP returns it all since neither vendor will help. The x2/Samsung combo. Is so trouble free.
so if you guys had to go with a raid 0 configuration which would you choose.
a) 1 EVO 256gb drive in 2 apricorn Solo Velocity x2 in slot 3 and 4
b) 1 EVO 256gb drive in 2 sonnet tempo in slot 3 and 4
c) 2 Evo 256gb drives in 1 sonnet tempo pro plus in slot 3
d) 2 Evo 256gb drives in 1 apricorn velocity duo in slot 3
a) 1 EVO 256gb drive in 2 apricorn Solo Velocity x2 in slot 3 and 4
b) 1 EVO 256gb drive in 2 sonnet tempo in slot 3 and 4
c) 2 Evo 256gb drives in 1 sonnet tempo pro plus in slot 3
d) 2 Evo 256gb drives in 1 apricorn velocity duo in slot 3
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AJA Tester
crjackson2134: You were right on about AJA T3ster over BlackMagic.
AJA came back with almost 350-360 on both read and write
crjackson2134: You were right on about AJA T3ster over BlackMagic.
AJA came back with almost 350-360 on both read and write
That's why I personally don't care for SandForce. Im not 100% sure, but I think your SSD would benchmark even faster on the Pro Sonet card, or the X2 card. It wouldn't be a mind staggering increase, but north of 400 wouldn't surp me. I could be wrong about this one. I'm basing this speculation on something I read when I was shopping around for my first SSD solution. I don't recall the source, so I can post any links. Take it for what it is. A personal hunch on my part.
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Thanks for the info.
This is what I am going to buy. What place do you recommend to get the Evo's and Apricorn? I have been looking at Amazon.
^^^^I both my last Apricorn Solo x2 Here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/887345-REG/Apricorn_vel_solo_x2_Velocity_Solo_X2_SSD.html
And my Evo from here:
https://www.atdcomputers.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=samsung+evo
I buy from Amazon also, but they charge sales tax, neither of these guys do.
Lou
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/887345-REG/Apricorn_vel_solo_x2_Velocity_Solo_X2_SSD.html
And my Evo from here:
https://www.atdcomputers.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=samsung+evo
I buy from Amazon also, but they charge sales tax, neither of these guys do.
Lou
Thanks Lou!
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some people on B&H are saying this:
It has a connector for a second drive - data only not power. It would have been nice if there was power and a physical way to mount a second drive.
Does this mean I have no power for a second SSD on the Apricorn card?
I though you could connect two EVO's on the same card and use only one lane of my MacPro 5,1. Am I assuming this right?
^^^^You can with the new Apricorn Velocity Duo x2:
http://www.apricorn.com/products/desktop-ssd-hdd-upgrade-kits/vel-duox2.html
However, these haven't reached the retailers yet, and I know of no one who owns one. It is a brand new product, but is available directly from Apricorn.
I have two Solo x2s.
Lou
http://www.apricorn.com/products/desktop-ssd-hdd-upgrade-kits/vel-duox2.html
However, these haven't reached the retailers yet, and I know of no one who owns one. It is a brand new product, but is available directly from Apricorn.
I have two Solo x2s.
Lou
For what it's worth, Sonnet Tempo Pro no RAID, the non-system SSD (Crucial M550 1 tb) gave:
AJA 416W 464R (1080x1920, 8 bit, file size makes little difference)
BM 420W 480R
effectively the same.
I have the Cindori Trim app enabled.
The other SSD (same specs) is my system drive.
AJA 416W 464R (1080x1920, 8 bit, file size makes little difference)
BM 420W 480R
effectively the same.
I have the Cindori Trim app enabled.
The other SSD (same specs) is my system drive.
Well ... I now own one and have it in my hands.
As soon as I get some time I will have some experience to report here on how well it works for me. At the moment, I am highly suspicious that it doesn't have hardware RAID 0 & 1 as indicated in the spec sheet.
Well, if that's the case for the x2 wouldn't be cheaper to go with Velocity Solo x1 since I can only connect one SSD drive? Also is there any huge difference in performance with only one drive attached to it?
I would get the Duo but since not many people have it yet, I would rather wait to see some reviews.
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^^^^the identifier x1 and x2 in the Solo name doesn't mean the number of drives it holds, it refers to the number of PCI Lanes used by the the PCIe interface card. Therefore, the Solo x1 is slower than the Solo x2.
The new card is identified as the Velocity Duo x2 because it holds two drives and uses 2 PCIe Lanes.
Lou
The new card is identified as the Velocity Duo x2 because it holds two drives and uses 2 PCIe Lanes.
Lou
User BDM STUDIOS NL has one and has had it for a while now. You can purchase the card on Amazon or directly from Apricoron. I'm pretty sure it's exactly like the Solo X2 except that you can mount 2 drives and without additional cabling. I'm not looking at the product specs. this very second, but I believe it uses an updated Marvell chipset as compared to the X2 but I could be mistaken.
The card does support RAID operation but I don't think it's hardware RAID. As hfg stated, there doesn't seem to be any jumpers to configure. I suppose it could be jumperless but it m sure hfg will let us know soon.
If buying again today, I'd buy the Duo over the Solo regardless of hardware vs. software RAID.
The card does support RAID operation but I don't think it's hardware RAID. As hfg stated, there doesn't seem to be any jumpers to configure. I suppose it could be jumperless but it m sure hfg will let us know soon.
If buying again today, I'd buy the Duo over the Solo regardless of hardware vs. software RAID.
Yeah, I like the idea of getting two SSDs on the same card but I hope to hear some reviews first. Still, it seems to me Apricon has a good reputation so they must be a safe bet.
Delays in shipping. ebay purchase of non-warranted SSD. Won't boot in most non-MP systems (may need to sell it later for whatever reason).
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I sent Apricorn Support my question regarding "Hardware RAID" on the new Duo X2 card and they responded that I was the one of the first to receive a production card, and mine was the first support question received. They acknowledged that my question pointed out some missing information on their information page and documentation, but they did verify that the card does in face have hardware RAID 0 and 1 capability. They hope to have additional information on their web site later today, and one of the Engineers emailed me inviting me to call him and he would walk me through a procedure to enable hardware RAID, which I will do when I get a block of time available.
I did run some speed tests in software RAID-0 which weren't encouraging:
These tests used the same pair of 512GB Crucial M4 SSDs, in the same 5,1 Mac Pro, in the same PCIe slot-3.
LEFT : Sonnet Tempo Pro SSD with Crucial M4 SSDs in RAID-0 (503/916)
RIGHT: Velocity DUO x2 with Crucial M4 SSDs in RAID-0 (505/679)
.
I did run some speed tests in software RAID-0 which weren't encouraging:
These tests used the same pair of 512GB Crucial M4 SSDs, in the same 5,1 Mac Pro, in the same PCIe slot-3.
LEFT : Sonnet Tempo Pro SSD with Crucial M4 SSDs in RAID-0 (503/916)
RIGHT: Velocity DUO x2 with Crucial M4 SSDs in RAID-0 (505/679)
.
Attachments
Hmmmm.......
I have tried this twice now ... but my system will not boot at all with the Velocity Duo x2 AND the Velocity Solo x2 both installed at the same time.
Solo x2 has a Windows 8 bootable SSD and is in slot 2
Duo x2 has the OS X RAID-0 SSDs and is in slot 3
Previously I had been running with the same Solo x2 as it is now but the OS X was on the Sonnet Tempo Pro card.
EDIT: However ... switching the PCIe slots now seems to make it boot (The OS X Velocity DUO is now in slot 2.
I have tried this twice now ... but my system will not boot at all with the Velocity Duo x2 AND the Velocity Solo x2 both installed at the same time.
Solo x2 has a Windows 8 bootable SSD and is in slot 2
Duo x2 has the OS X RAID-0 SSDs and is in slot 3
Previously I had been running with the same Solo x2 as it is now but the OS X was on the Sonnet Tempo Pro card.
EDIT: However ... switching the PCIe slots now seems to make it boot (The OS X Velocity DUO is now in slot 2.
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You are correct ... and that may well be what I am seeing (and what I was slightly concerned about before purchase). It may be that using the hardware RAID-0 would rectify the issue as the disks would be accessed on-card and the only the combined data would traverse the PCIe.
This strange interaction with the cards, and which PCIe slot they occupy, is baffling ... but I don't know how much time I want to spend figuring it all out.
It is probably a moot point for me, however, unless the hardware RAID proves to be amazing. Other than doing some tests for my own amusement, my true goal was to continue using the Tempo Pro card for my photo library in RAID-0, and use the Tempo DUO card as a Windows boot and OS X boot on a single slot. That is my next test.
The blade PCI SSDs are another option, but I don't think for what I do that I would see any benefit in real use ... just faster benchmark tests. Plus, I see that delivery on the parts from eBay could actually extend out a month or two, which is a lot of waiting. I already have the standard SATA III parts in hand, and I am sure that they are plenty fast for my usage.
This strange interaction with the cards, and which PCIe slot they occupy, is baffling ... but I don't know how much time I want to spend figuring it all out.
It is probably a moot point for me, however, unless the hardware RAID proves to be amazing. Other than doing some tests for my own amusement, my true goal was to continue using the Tempo Pro card for my photo library in RAID-0, and use the Tempo DUO card as a Windows boot and OS X boot on a single slot. That is my next test.
The blade PCI SSDs are another option, but I don't think for what I do that I would see any benefit in real use ... just faster benchmark tests. Plus, I see that delivery on the parts from eBay could actually extend out a month or two, which is a lot of waiting. I already have the standard SATA III parts in hand, and I am sure that they are plenty fast for my usage.
Well the slot configuration issues don't really surprise me. Devices working correctly in one slot but not the other has been going on for 30 years at least with regards to the PC market. Also consider that slots 3/4 are shared bandwidth on a switch (4.1 & 5.1 cMP).
I doubt hardware RAID is going to be amazing. More likely it will be a very good performer for it's price, and a very good way to add a second SSD. I don't have the data sheet on front of me, but I think the max throughput for the card is 800 MB/s. That's pretty good for a x2 card and at half the price of its competition.
I plan to get the blade style Apple x4 solution eventually, but I really don't need it. I'm happy with my current system except that I need to add about 8TB more than I have now (12TB).