MP 1,1-5,1 Which SSD in a cMP2,1's PCIE slots?

[pullman]

I am building a media server of an old cMP which has been flashed to 2,1. Since I'd like to keep all four bays free for drives I'm thinking of putting an SSD in one of the PCIE slots.

To keep costs down I guess I should look at m2, or am I wrong in thinking this? In my cMP3,1 I have the Sonnet Tempo Pro with SSDs on it but such a solution would cost too much.

Also, would it make any difference on such an old system if I put the flash drive in the x16 slot or one of the x4 slots?

EDIT: I forgot to ask if it might be better speed-wise on such a machine to put a normal 2,5" SSD in the optical bay?

Thanks very much in advance
Philip

 

[tsialex]

Mac Pros older than MP3,1 only support AHCI M.2 SSDs. Read the first post of the sticky thread:

PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI

This is a general info thread for blade SSDs that can be used in the Mac Pro. This is a WikiPost so anyone with the proper credentials may edit it. NVMe SSDs can be used as a boot drive in the MP5,1 and MP6,1 with the latest firmware installed (beginning with version 140.0.0.0.0 for MP5,1 and...

forums.macrumors.com

Btw, you have to mod the MP3,1 EFI to have boot support for a M.2 NVMe blade. It's not possible to do the same with earlier Mac Pros.

 

[pullman]

Thank you very much, Alex. I'm not looking to add anything to my 3,1. I'm only wondering about which drive to put in the 2,1.

I saw that thread but it seems aimed at later Mac Pro models. There seems only to be a few AHCI blades mentioned, the rest is all NVME.

Cheers
philip

Mac Pros older than MP3,1 only support AHCI M.2 SSDs. Read the first post of the sticky thread:

PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI

This is a general info thread for blade SSDs that can be used in the Mac Pro. This is a WikiPost so anyone with the proper credentials may edit it. NVMe SSDs can be used as a boot drive in the MP5,1 and MP6,1 with the latest firmware installed (beginning with version 140.0.0.0.0 for MP5,1 and...

forums.macrumors.com

Btw, you have to mod the MP3,1 EFI to have boot support for a M.2 NVMe blade. It's not possible to do the same with earlier Mac Pros.

 

[tsialex]

Thank you very much, Alex. I'm not looking to add anything to my 3,1. I'm only wondering about which drive to put in the 2,1.

I saw that thread but it seems aimed at later Mac Pro models. There seems only to be a few AHCI blades mentioned, the rest is all NVME.

Cheers
philip

MP1,1 and MP2,1 only support AHCI M.2 blades, NVMe support is not possible at all. I talked about MP3,1 just to be precise about what is possible.

 

[pullman]

Thank you, I really appreciate the explanation. Are there speed improvements using AHCI M.2 drives versus an SSD in the optical bay? I'm asking because my Goggle Fu doesn't bring up many AHCI blades at all and those that do appear are really expensive.

MP1,1 and MP2,1 only support AHCI M.2 blades, NVMe support is not possible at all. I talked about MP3,1 just to be precise about what is possible.

 

[tsialex]

Thank you, I really appreciate the explanation. Are there speed improvements using AHCI M.2 drives versus an SSD in the optical bay? I'm asking because my Goggle Fu doesn't bring up many AHCI blades at all and those that do appear are really expensive.

SATA native ports are SATA-2, limited to around 250MB/s real world throughput. The best PCIe AHCI M.2 blade can achieve ~750MB/s with a MP1,1/2,1, it's up to you factor the cost/benefit.

 

[pullman]

Thanks, yes it comes down to that. And whether it is at all possible to find AHCI blades.

SATA native ports are SATA-2, limited to around 250MB/s real world throughput. The best PCIe AHCI M.2 blade can achieve ~750MB/s with a MP1,1/2,1, it's up to you factor the cost/benefit.