SSD in older mac pros

[Moonbots]

Hi,
i was looking to purchase a Pro but the price tag is rather high. i was wondering if a workaround for creating a comparable machine at a cheaper cost would to purchase and older/refurbished mac pro and then spend the money on third party hardware like graphics and ssds hardrives etc. I only mention this as the only apple store SSD option on the MP is ~500GB at ~£1000 (~$2000) extra whereas a SSD of similar size can be picked up of the internet for ~£400 and you can acquire an SSD of a reasonable size ~256GB for ~£200. I know you can purchase an adapter to mount the 2.5" SSDs internally but was concerned about compatibility with older models.

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[khemist49]

what do you plan on using your computer for? Photoshop, Final Cut, gaming, etc... ?

 

[peskaa]

SSDs work fine in older Mac Pros, I have a 120GB OCZ Vertex in my '09. They only issue is that you're stuck on SATAII speeds (3Gb/sec) rather than SATAIII (6Gb/sec). Still enough for drives up to around 250MB/sec transfer rates, and the current SATAIII drives are backward compatible.

I use an IcyBox adapter.

 

[derbothaus]

^^^ As a boot drive 6G vs. 3G doesn't really matter.

 

[Moonbots]

what do you plan on using your computer for? Photoshop, Final Cut, gaming, etc... ?

Mainly as a main workstation running programmes like matlab, and similar programmes. Maybe a little photoshopping for personal use and a little gaming.
But I was predominately attracted to the pro for having a fast powerfull stable computer that I could upgrade easily as tech requiments increased without having to upgrade every 2-3years. and with the processing unit in the older pro still being exceptionally powerful they would last a few years and if I did upgrade any ram had etc I had for the pro could be cannibalised for use in future versions.

Thank alsp for the replys about the data transfer on the SATAII

Which models were the first to incorporate the SATAIII?

 

[adam9c1]

my early 2008 had two WD black drives in Raid for the OS but since then I've upgraded to a 128GB SSD. No problems.

Now if I could find the FB ram for cheap...

 

[peskaa]

Thank alsp for the replys about the data transfer on the SATAII

Which models were the first to incorporate the SATAIII?

2011, the current model. Anything older will be SATAII. As others said though, makes no real world difference, 200+MB/sec is still plenty fast, and well ahead of a mechanical drive pulling maybe 80-90 on a good day.