MP 1,1-5,1 Ultimate Mac Pro 5,1 Suggestion

[JDLang76]

Last year, I painted my Mac Pro and posted updates here. (here's a couple of pics)
Now, I'm trying to pimp out the internals.
But I am at a PCIE crossroads and need some input.

What I've got -
Slot 1 - Flashed GTX 1080 Ti
Slot 2 - Amfeltec Squid Quad M.2 (NVME capable)

I've got 2 slots left. Here are the 3 contenders...
Sonnet USB 3.2 Type A Quad
Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge TB3 (Flashed)
Sonnet 10Gb/s Network

I can only pick 2 obviously.
Personally, I'd utilize the Type A and Ethernet as nothing in my workflow is thunderbolt. But I want it to be objectively "Ultimate" as well.

Input?

Current Specs (some installed - some on the way)
Dual X5690 - 1080 Ti - 160gb RAM - 1tb SSD w/ Win 10 Pro - 4x 6tb WD Black Striped (24TB total) - LG 4K UHD Blu Ray Writer - Amfeltec Squid w/ 4x HP EX900 512gb SSDs (1TB Striped High Sierra + 500gb Pop_OS! + 500gb Mint)

 

[fhturner]

If you truly want it to be objectively "Ultimate" and are having to forego PCIe cards, why not really make it ultimate and give it 8 slots instead of 4 w/ a PCIe expansion chassis, like Cyclone Microsystems? 😁

 

[JDLang76]

If you truly want it to be objectively "Ultimate" and are having to forego PCIe cards, why not really make it ultimate and give it 8 slots instead of 4 w/ a PCIe expansion chassis, like Cyclone Microsystems? 😁

I tossed around the idea of external PCIE box, but I'm gonna keep it all in the Mac Pro. Cuz once you do that, technically I can use a Titan Xp with external power, (or 2), and technically I can add thunderbolt storage etc... So I decided to keep it all inside

 

[Snow Tiger]

For some odd reason , I kind of expected a tempered glass window for the side access panel and sapphire colored blinking lights ...

At any rate , you can drill holes into the aluminum side panel and snake in four 8 pin PCIe booster cables from an external PSU . That'll give you enough power to push any GPU you can think of . Just a matter of driver support to worry about .

You forgot to upgrade your wireless system . You can install a model BCM943602CDP Apple branded 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4 wireless card in the internal factory WiFi slot , power up the BT circuits with a cable from the factory BT slot and utilize the factory antennas without using adapters since this card's connectors match the u.FL type factory antennas . You'll get Continuity support with this .

You might be surprised a 10 Gbps USB PCie card can achieve around 750 - 850 MB/s with the right firmware version , macOS version and external drive . Apple really upped USB driver performance . It might help to build an USB NVMe drive to achieve this kind of throughput .

Real world speeds of that Sonnet 10 Gb Ethernet card is around 850 MB/s . You can hardwire connect your cMP to your MP7,1 using this .

 

[JDLang76]

For some odd reason , I kind of expected a tempered glass window for the side access panel and sapphire colored blinking lights ...

At any rate , you can drill holes into the aluminum side panel and snake in four 8 pin PCIe booster cables from an external PSU . That'll give you enough power to push any GPU you can think of . Just a matter of driver support to worry about .
View attachment 904784

You forgot to upgrade your wireless system . You can install a model BCM943602CDP Apple branded 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4 wireless card in the internal factory WiFi slot , power up the BT circuits with a cable from the factory BT slot and utilize the factory antennas without using adapters since this card's connectors match the u.FL type factory antennas . You'll get Continuity support with this .

You might be surprised a 10 Gbps USB PCie card can achieve around 750 - 850 MB/s with the right firmware version , macOS version and external drive . Apple really upped USB driver performance . It might help to build an USB NVMe drive to achieve this kind of throughput .

Real world speeds of that Sonnet 10 Gb Ethernet card is around 850 MB/s . You can hardwire connect your cMP to your MP7,1 using this .

i was aware of the wireless / bluetooth upgrade but totally forgot about it for some reason. Thanks!

 

[h9826790]

You may consider get a PCIe expander, and then install everything you want.

 

[JDLang76]

You may consider get a PCIe expander, and then install everything you want.

I want to keep it all in the tower. I already said that.