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Which M.2 PCIe X16 adapter card?

J

JeDiGM

macrumors regular
Oct 20, 2018
120
23
matthewpomar said:
I tried this, and was disappointed. Speed on Samsung NVMe SSDs in Raid 0 actually was slower than single blade. I believe it doesn't bifurcate the two 4x channels.

I stuck the card in my Synology NAS, where it was meant to run.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update.
 
M

matthewpomar

macrumors member
Oct 27, 2010
78
12
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M

matthewpomar

macrumors member
Oct 27, 2010
78
12
h9826790 said:
slot 2 from the bottom, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, the first slot (slot 1) has an NVIDIA GTX 1070, and the second from bottom (slot 2) has the Squid. Is this the correct slot? Perhaps my firmware is not up to date. It was updated I believe, when I installed High Sierra.

Appreciate your help.
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,601
matthewpomar said:
Actually, I have reason to doubt my test on the Synology NVMe card. I just acquired an Amfeltec Squid with 4 SSDs and the max I am getting out of that is only 1,500MB/s. So once I solve this issue, I may try to retest the Synology card as well.
Click to expand...
Check your BootROM, you need to install 138.0.0.0.0 to get 5GT/s. 140.0.0.0.0 will get you NVMe native boot. You need to use slot one or two for a Squid card:
Screen Shot 2018-11-14 at 18.34.25.png
 
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M

matthewpomar

macrumors member
Oct 27, 2010
78
12
Thanks for everyone's help, I believe the issue is the benchmark software I used. For some reason, DiskMark 2.1 reports the sequential read speed at ~1,500 MB/s but other benchmark tools (Black Magic, Aja, AmorphousDiskMark) report sequential read speeds around 3,000 MB/s and writes just under that. Not sure why DiskMark 2.1 is so different than the others.

So, with that said, I don't believe I used that Synology card in slot 2 when I tested it, so that is probably why I didn't see any improvements. If that's the case, I installed in slot 3 or 4, which is 4x and the card is 8x, so that would certainly make the difference. If I get a chance to retest, I'll post the results here.

Thanks again!
 
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zedex

zedex

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2018
312
134
Perth, WA
Hi Matthew, I'm close to purchasing the Synology card for my NVME SSDs. It's the best value option assuming the PCIe switch actually "bifurcates". So... I would love to get feedback from you after you've tried it in Slot 2 again.. fingers crossed for better results and thanks for giving it a go :)
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
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zedex said:
Hi Matthew, I'm close to purchasing the Synology card for my NVME SSDs. It's the best value option assuming the PCIe switch actually "bifurcates". So... I would love to get feedback from you after you've tried it in Slot 2 again.. fingers crossed for better results and thanks for giving it a go :)
Click to expand...
Synology card works, but if you are wanting to buy it to get more than 1500MB/s with one blade, don't buy it. Like the original Squid, the PCIe switch is a 2.0 one and can't do the magic of converting more lanes of PCIe 2.0 into less lanes of PCIe 3.0.
 
zedex

zedex

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2018
312
134
Perth, WA
Thank you for weighing in with a response @tsialex - this is essentially the answer I'm looking for. Though just to clarify further - if I was to install 2x SM951 AHCI SSDs into this Synology card - would that allow me to achieve 3000MB/s in RAID 0?
I've used this example to answer the question.. is this card (advertised as PCIe 2.0 x8) able to deliver HALF the performance of a SQUID (advertised as PCIe 2.0 x16) if you use only PCIe SSDs with AHCI controllers?

I realise that if this Synology card does not contain any 'switch' technology then I am better off purchasing something like this [ https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dual-M-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055359.m2763.l2649 ] that 'guarantees' to deliver what I'm looking for..
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
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zedex said:
Thank you for weighing in with a response @tsialex - this is essentially the answer I'm looking for. Though just to clarify further - if I was to install 2x SM951 AHCI SSDs into this Synology card - would that allow me to achieve 3000MB/s in RAID 0?
I've used this example to answer the question.. is this card (advertised as PCIe 2.0 x8) able to deliver HALF the performance of a SQUID (advertised as PCIe 2.0 x16) if you use only PCIe SSDs with AHCI controllers?

I realise that if this Synology card does not contain any 'switch' technology then I am better off purchasing something like this [ https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dual-M-2-PCIe-SSD-NVMe-AHCI-Controller-Card-Apple-Mac-Pro-4-1-5-1-macOS-RAID/253943289200?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055359.m2763.l2649 ] that 'guarantees' to deliver what I'm looking for..
Click to expand...
We don't now how Synology wired the card yet, no one tested it with two blades.

I'd go for the IOCrest, it's tested already and people who bought it liked the card.
 
papadj3

papadj3

macrumors regular
Nov 23, 2018
113
11
Regarding the Amfeltec Squid Carrier Gen 3 x16 PCIe quad slot card:
Does anyone know if I can use a single 970 EVO NVMe in Gen 3 to boot and stripe {0} two other 970 EVO NVMe blades for storage on the same Gen 3 card??
Will I get approx. 3000 for all? (the separate 970 and the other two striped 970’s on the same Gen3 Squid)
I thought tsialex might have discussed this on one of the threads I have been reading??
I am a newbe reading like crazy!!
2009 cMP flashed 4,1 to 5,1 upgraded with as much hardware as I can understand!
Thanks for this forum!!
[doublepost=1543005215][/doublepost]Just received some info. from Bare Feats! (must have 140.0.0.0 rom which I do!)
I have not tried reading/writing to two different sets of flash blades simultaneously on the Squid3. It has a PCIe switcher that acts as a traffic cop. I’ll have to experiment to get you a solid answer.
 
G

goodfidelity

macrumors regular
Nov 15, 2015
201
31
I am posting here to see if there are any updates on PCI cards that can hold multiple M.2 SSDs.

I am looking for cheapest possible card (ebay / aliexpress) that can hold dual (2x) or quad (4x) M2 SSD blades.

I would like a card that can use the 16x PCI and run in RAID configuration to maximise speed.

Is it still only the squid or are there new players on the field now?

I tried to google it but as it is going into a Mac its difficult to tell what is good and what is not. 2009 is the machine.

Thanks for reply!

//GF
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,601
goodfidelity said:
I am posting here to see if there are any updates on PCI cards that can hold multiple M.2 SSDs.

I am looking for cheapest possible card (ebay / aliexpress) that can hold dual (2x) or quad (4x) M2 SSD blades.

I would like a card that can use the 16x PCI and run in RAID configuration to maximise speed.

Is it still only the squid or are there new players on the field now?

I tried to google it but as it is going into a Mac its difficult to tell what is good and what is not. 2009 is the machine.

Thanks for reply!

//GF
Click to expand...
All tested PCIe switched adaptors are on the first post of the thread Blade SSDs - NVMe & AHCI. Cheapest one is IOCrest/SYBA for two blades with ASM2824.
 
E

ezylstra

macrumors member
Oct 7, 2017
51
19
Itconnects said:
couple questions, do cMP support Bifurcation to motherboard? PCI 3.0, etc?
Click to expand...
NO bifurcation support.

Amfeltec Squid
Highpoint 7101A

There are two(?) others, but the above two have consistently tested as fastest. See this whole thread.
 
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handheldgames

handheldgames

macrumors 68000
Apr 4, 2009
1,943
1,170
Pacific NW, USA
ezylstra said:
NO bifurcation support.

Amfeltec Squid
Highpoint 7101A

There are two(?) others, but the above two have consistently tested as fastest. See this whole thread.
Click to expand...

FWIW... The amfeltec squid with ssd heat sinks on both sides in pcie slot #2 is a tight fit with cards in slots 1 and 3 while getting poor air circulation. Although the dual sided card is a novel design, it's a logistical nightmare in the cMP.
 
TECK

TECK

macrumors 65816
Nov 18, 2011
1,129
478
tsialex said:
All tested PCIe switched adaptors are on the first post of the thread Blade SSDs - NVMe & AHCI. Cheapest one is IOCrest/SYBA for two blades with ASM2824.
Click to expand...
I'm using Syba, in Slot 2. It adds bifurcation support into a non-bifurcation motherboard.

Screen Shot 2020-01-18 at 2.32.30 PM.png


I paid mines $162.61 shipped to my door, on Amazon.

Screen Shot 2020-01-22 at 12.51.32 AM.png
 
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