Updating MP 4.1, SSD, vCard, NAS++

[bennetthall]

I just acquired a 4.1 8-core, 16 gig ram, which came with a rather mundane gt120 512 graphics card and the std 640 internal. I plan to update the unit while waiting for sometime in the unknown future when Apple decides to update the Mac Pro line.

I would sincerely appreciate your thoughts on the buying options for the updates planned:

1) SSD boot Drive
From forums, it seems 830 Samsung is a favorite -knowing the 840 are a bit faster but I have no native SATAII support. On New Egg there are a kazillion options however - Intel, Crucial, OCZ, Corsair (editors choice) Mushkin

I am leaning to a 256 gig, or possibly two running in RAID 0, or just put in an cheap 120g samsung 830 or similar and forget about it.

Do I need a special card for this SSD, such as a SATA III one?

Any thoughts on the most compatible and logical choice for this 2009 unit and the various brands that are in this space?

2) SATA card update
I understand from the Forums that adding a SATA III card and perhaps other ideas to improve i/o speed. They seem very in expensive - has anyone had success with the specific cards and approaching SATA III benchmarks?

3) Graphics Card update:
how helpful would shifting to the 5770 1 gig (about $249 at apple, $99 OEM)/ DDR5 card for a basic dual monitor set up be?
Is that really worth bothering with? I am not playing battle games, merely manipulating 1 gigish PS files, and assembling them into into in design for large format output on 12 color digital printers

4) NAS
Our workflow involves Mac and PCs, two physical locations, which are presently not networked or sharing files other than antiquated 'sneaker net', drop box or skype transfers. We plan to develop a Filemaker 12 database via consultants, and NAS to share the media archive. Currently, thinking of purchasing a Mac Mini and TBD RAID, such as the Promise line. the Apple Business Team is suggesting we sit down and talk OSX server, and they are quite nice, and FM savvy. The FM consultants suggest DAS over NAS and using the MP as the server for the database. Others suggest Linux. Others here have posted about simpler lower cost options, Buffalo 3T etc and what is up with Time machine? Imminently confused is the current state as a result - what to do?

thank you in advance and happy new year!

 

[alphaod]

1) I recommend the Samsung 840 Pro. If you can find it, the 830 is almost as good. I would stay away from the regular 840. You can do a RAID 0 if you want with two of them, but frankly I don't you'll notice the difference. Might as well get one bigger drive instead. I have a stripe of two Vertex 4 SSDs in my gaming laptop and just one SSD in my Mac Pro; from accessing things, booting, etc., I really can't tell the difference.
2) You don't need any fancy adapters, except for the Velocity Solo X2; it's $99, has 2x SATA III ports on it; one of the these ports is designed so you can mount the SSD directly onto the card. Uses PCIe, so you need to use a free slot for this, but it is bus powered. This one is bootable on OS X.
3) I think for PS, you're better off just doubling the RAM instead of getting a new GPU. Both the Apple 5770 and the 5870 are horribly out of date. If you are up for experimentation, perhaps you can get a regular GTX 660 like a lot folks are getting.
4) Sorry, I can't be much of a help on this topic.

 

[bennetthall]

actually that was very helpful - thank you for your ideas
I was starting to conclude the SSD itself would provide what I am looking for - and heard about special adapters - I gather this Velocity + the 840 would kick

The graphic card is another debate for me - I see here that people are really 'over' the 5770s and the gtx cards are best - though I am not presently doing anything with video - could change however - main thing is I am looking into new monitors and assume I will get a pair of 30" ACD as soon as budget allows as I am working on older CRT Barcos. Also need to upgrade to Mountain lion - which I understand is required for some of the GTX options

I reviewed the Egg on the 660 you mentioned - and it sounds like all the users are focused on gaming - it makes me wonder if this is necessary for my application which is essential photoshop editing and exhibit production

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130809&nm_mc=BAC-ThinkRealTime&cm_mmc=BAC-ThinkRealTime-_-Video+Cards-_-EVGA-_-14130809

....

1) I recommend the Samsung 840 Pro. If you can find it, the 830 is almost as good. I would stay away from the regular 840. You can do a RAID 0 if you want with two of them, but frankly I don't you'll notice the difference. Might as well get one bigger drive instead. I have a stripe of two Vertex 4 SSDs in my gaming laptop and just one SSD in my Mac Pro; from accessing things, booting, etc., I really can't tell the difference.
2) You don't need any fancy adapters, except for the Velocity Solo X2; it's $99, has 2x SATA III ports on it; one of the these ports is designed so you can mount the SSD directly onto the card. Uses PCIe, so you need to use a free slot for this, but it is bus powered. This one is bootable on OS X.
3) I think for PS, you're better off just doubling the RAM instead of getting a new GPU. Both the Apple 5770 and the 5870 are horribly out of date. If you are up for experimentation, perhaps you can get a regular GTX 660 like a lot folks are getting.
4) Sorry, I can't be much of a help on this topic.

 

[nigelbb]

The Velocity card is really worth it for the extra SSD performance. I just upgraded my Mac Pro 3,1 & while I saw a big improvement installing a Crucial m4 in a drive sled there is a really noticeable extra boost to using the Velocity card. If you have a free drive slot it's a lovely extra kicker.

My cost effective graphics upgrade was a used GTX570 off eBay for £125($200). It's the fastest CUDA card available (better than the GTX6xx series) & has made editing in Premiere Pro really smooth. I upgraded from a GTX285 which is already a very decent CUDA card but the GTX570 has 2X CUDA performance & 3X OpenCL (good for Photoshop).