2.5" to 3.5" SSD Sled for Mac Pro?

[Rendition]

I'm thinking of getting a Intel 2.5" SSD drive, but I don't want to gerry-rig it with tape in my Mac Pro.

Is there a 2.5" to 3.5" sled so I can buy a 2.5" SSD drive and plug it into the Mac Pro 3.5" HD bays?

[pprior]

I'm thinking of getting a Intel 2.5" SSD drive, but I don't want to gerry-rig it with tape in my Mac Pro.

Is there a 2.5" to 3.5" sled so I can buy a 2.5" SSD drive and plug it into the Mac Pro 3.5" HD bays?

I bought the maxupgrade's one. It was a bit costly, but reportedly well made.

It got here today and I'm picking up my new mac pro (replacment from apple...long story) tomorrow so I'll have a report in a day or two.

[Rendition]

Thanks. Looking fwd to your post, I googled maxupgrades and couldn't find a sled tho.

[nanofrog]

Here (http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product.display&product_id=180) you go. :D
$48.50 each, so not exactly cheap, but could be worse I guess, and really the only option I've seen. ;)

Unless you have some incredible DIY skills, and perhaps a CNC machine. :p

[Pressure]

Every major Solid State Drive manufacturer make a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket.

Look for OCZ, Crucial, Western Digital (they have one for their VelociRaptor drive that will match the Mac Pro) etc.

[pprior]

Yes the link above is what I ordered (sorry I didn't include it).

I bought it because i didn't want to have a 2.5 to 3.5 adaptor and then have to screw that into the mac sled. this is one piece and done. It looks slick and is well made.

Going after work today to pick up computer and have tomorrow off so hopefully will have my SSD report up tomorrow.

[Pressure]

Yes the link above is what I ordered (sorry I didn't include it).

I bought it because i didn't want to have a 2.5 to 3.5 adaptor and then have to screw that into the mac sled. this is one piece and done. It looks slick and is well made.

Going after work today to pick up computer and have tomorrow off so hopefully will have my SSD report up tomorrow.

In effect it would have been like mounting a normal 3.5" harddrive and a lot cheaper :)

[HunterMaximus]

This is what you want: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994064

Standard 2.5->3.5 mounting brackets are made for use in standard PC cases. They're just angle brackets that screw into the sides of the drives. They're not properly aligned for use in backplane/hotswap configurations ala the Mac Pro or various other drive racks.

The only options to my knowledge are the one I linked above (also available in white, but out of stock it seems), the MaxUpgrade one, or the updated WD VelociRaptor sled (which isn't available for separate purchase). For a VR, the $20 plastic job might not be great due to heat concerns, but for an SSD that's really not an issue.

[hayduke]

I can't copy/paste right now because I'm on my iPhone, but there is sled on barefeats.com that can hold two 2.5" drives. There is a switch to run the drives in RAID 0/1. I don't know if you can use it with a single drive.

[nanofrog]

This is what you want: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994064
I hadn't seen this one.

Do you know if it will actually mount to the sled?

[hayduke]

I hadn't seen this one.

Do you know if it will actually mount to the sled?

Looks like it would work perfectly. Thanks for this one!

http://www.newegg.com/picture... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=17-994-064-16.jpg&Image=17-994-064-15.jpg%2c17-994-064-18.jpg%2c17-994-064-17.jpg%2c17-994-064-19.jpg%2c17-994-064-14.jpg%2c17-994-064-20.jpg%2c17-994-064-13.jpg%2c17-994-064-16.jpg%2c17-994-064-11.jpg%2c17-994-064-12.jpg%2c17-994-064-02.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&WaterMark=1&Item=N82E16817994064&Depa=1&Description=ICY%20DOCK%20MB882SP-1S-1B%202.5%22%20to%203.5%22%20SSD%20%26%20SATA%20Hard%20Drive%20Converter%20-%20Black)

Also, here is the sled I was talking about. Very cool. Pretty pricey.

http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2746&RequestTimeOut=500

[nanofrog]

Looks like it would work perfectly. Thanks for this one!

http://www.newegg.com/picture... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=17-994-064-16.jpg&Image=17-994-064-15.jpg%2c17-994-064-18.jpg%2c17-994-064-17.jpg%2c17-994-064-19.jpg%2c17-994-064-14.jpg%2c17-994-064-20.jpg%2c17-994-064-13.jpg%2c17-994-064-16.jpg%2c17-994-064-11.jpg%2c17-994-064-12.jpg%2c17-994-064-02.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&WaterMark=1&Item=N82E16817994064&Depa=1&Description=ICY%20DOCK%20MB882SP-1S-1B%202.5%22%20to%203.5%22%20SSD%20%26%20SATA%20Hard%20Drive%20Converter%20-%20Black)

Also, here is the sled I was talking about. Very cool. Pretty pricey.

http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2746&RequestTimeOut=500
I knew about the one from TransIntl. :) It is expensive, and you can't access the drives individually as designed. :( You might be able to by modding it a little (for RAID with a hardware controller). No way to know for sure without getting my hands on one, and I'm not willing to experiment with $169+s/h. :p

[brand]

The Pro Drive from Transintl (http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2746&RequestTimeOut=500) looks to be a very nice option. Too bad it wont accept the bare VelociRaptor drives. I can understand not being able to on the first and maybe second hard drive because of the clearance with the fan assembly but I would think it would be possible on the third and fourth and maybe the second depending on the clearance. It would be nice to also have that as an option instead of loosing the second optical drive. Then you could have four or six VolociRaptor drives in a RAID0...:eek:

[wpc33]

Why waste the space of a bay? Those bays are also thermally sound. Just attach your not-hot, silent, lower-wattage SSD to one of the two extra SATA ports on the motherboard. An SSD doesn't need to be level, and can be wiggled safely if you move your tower. Your SSD is light, isn't it? Why do you need to bolt the little wafer down in your bay?

[nanofrog]

The Pro Drive from Transintl (http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2746&RequestTimeOut=500) looks to be a very nice option. Too bad it wont accept the bare VelociRaptor drives. I can understand not being able to on the first and maybe second hard drive because of the clearance with the fan assembly but I would think it would be possible on the third and fourth and maybe the second depending on the clearance. It would be nice to also have that as an option instead of loosing the second optical drive. Then you could have four or six VolociRaptor drives in a RAID0...:eek:
What do you mean with the Velociraptor? The connector location? Or clearance?

If that's the case, they do make a 2.5" version (WD3000BLFS (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=494&language=en)) hat is compliant with a 2.5" backplane (meant for blade servers). ;)

The downside to say 6 VR's in RAID 0, is 6x the failure rate for a single VR. :eek:

n drives * single drive Failure rate = Failure Rate (RAID 0) :(

[pprior]

Why waste the space of a bay? Those bays are also thermally sound. Just attach your not-hot, silent, lower-wattage SSD to one of the two extra SATA ports on the motherboard. An SSD doesn't need to be level, and can be wiggled safely if you move your tower. Your SSD is light, isn't it? Why do you need to bolt the little wafer down in your bay?

Can you boot and run normally from those extra SATA ports?

[brand]

What do you mean with the Velociraptor? The connector location? Or clearance?

If that's the case, they do make a 2.5" version (WD3000BLFS (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=494&language=en)) hat is compliant with a 2.5" backplane (meant for blade servers). ;)

The downside to say 6 VR's in RAID 0, is 6x the failure rate for a single VR. :eek:

n drives * single drive Failure rate = Failure Rate (RAID 0) :(

The clearance between the sled and the top of the fan assembly. I just checked my Mac Pro and there would be nothing blocking the second, third, and fourth hard drive sleds so they could make a Pro Drive that was a little thicker to accommodate the extra thickness of VelociRaptor drives.

As with any RAID0 there is a chance but the extra speed could outweigh that when working with something like HD video.

[nanofrog]

The clearance between the sled and the top of the fan assembly. I just checked my Mac Pro and there would be nothing blocking the second, third, and fourth hard drive sleds so they could make a Pro Drive that was a little thicker to accommodate the extra thickness of VelociRaptor drives.

As with any RAID0 there is a chance but the extra speed could outweigh that when working with something like HD video.
I wasn't sure about clearance. I no longer have access to a MP. :eek: (I had to forgo it due to the limited drive bays).

You could use RAID 0 for scratch (say 2 drives), and possibly applications only, but I wouldn't trust anything else to it. Not the OS, and certainly not data.

The thing is, by the time you did something like this, you could go 6 or 8 drives in a 1+0 RAID configuration, and have both speed and redundancy. RAID 5 is also a possibility (potential of a "write hole" failure*), but it depends on what risk level you wish to live with. ;) Differences in $$$ too, as it would require a hardware solution from "Fake RAID" to a full blown hardware controller. (IOP, cache, Partition Table backups, boot support,...).

1+0 is a decent alternative, given you only need the drives & cables. OS X is capable of performing it. The compromise is, it uses the system's resources to handle the load, and those clock cycles used could slow the other programs running. (Heavy load conditions). Light duty; no need to be concerned about it. ;)

Depending on DIY skills/ingenuity, and the drives used, you can make it fit. :eek: :)

* Possible, and varies with quantity and specific drives used. Higher data densities/platter (~ size related) and larger # (n), increases this risk. If the array is large enough, it becomes a situation of failure = guaranteed. :eek:

[PowerPaw]

I think someone has already mentioned the Icy Dock

http://www.icydock.com/product/mb882sp-1s-1.html

For $22.99 at Newegg you can't really complain unless you want to leave the side panel off your Mac Pro so it has to be aluminum!

[Rendition]

Can someone here confirm for me that this $20 ICYDOCK http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994064

works on the Mac Pro with Intel 2.5" SSD? Thanks.

[Mac Husky]

Why waste the space of a bay? Those bays are also thermally sound. Just attach your not-hot, silent, lower-wattage SSD to one of the two extra SATA ports on the motherboard. An SSD doesn't need to be level, and can be wiggled safely if you move your tower. Your SSD is light, isn't it? Why do you need to bolt the little wafer down in your bay?
Can you boot and run normally from those extra SATA ports?
Questions unanswered so far.
Can someone tell if it works and whether the SSD really needs to be built in using one of the mentioned sleds?!

This one (http://www.preis.de/produkte/OCZ-2-5-auf-3-5-Zoll-SSD-Adapter/302152.html) is (and looks) very cheap. Just about 12 USD. I think tape would do, also.

[Mac Husky]

Push this thread up. Maybe the open questions can be answered (Postings #14&16, summery in #21)?

[nanofrog]

Push this thread up. Maybe the open questions can be answered (Postings #14&16, summery in #21)?
If you find a location you can fit it in, and secure it to your satisfaction (assuming it doesn't cause other issues, such as airflow or even a short), go for it. :D

As for the clearance issue for placing two drives in a single bay, GREAT. But it would be up to a company like Trans Intl. to make it for most, unless they have access to a machine shop and can design/build their own PM board for attaching both drives to the single SATA port on the logic board. Beyond most DIY enthusiasts I think. :(

Perhaps a group effort to flood Trans Intl's email with requests for such a device would help. :D :p

[Mac Husky]

If you find a location you can fit it in, and secure it to your satisfaction (assuming it doesn't cause other issues, such as airflow or even a short), go for it. :D
Thx. Do you also know about the mentioned SATA ports on the motherboard and pprior´s question if booting is possible from them (see #14/16)?

[nanofrog]

Thx. Do you also know about the mentioned SATA ports on the motherboard and pprior´s question if booting is possible from them (see #14/16)?
YES, it can boot, but you would need to locate and install AHCI drivers if you wish to use it under Windows. You'd want them anyway, as it allows the drive to operate as intended (throughput). OS X, just plug in the cables IIRC. :)

Search for AHCI & ODD_SATA ports, as there's a few threads on this (mid 2008). It would help, and might clear up some other questions. There's also a link to download the AHCI drivers as well, if you need them.

Hope this helps. :)

[Mac Husky]

YES, it can boot, but (...)
Hope this helps. :)
Thanks again, nanofrog.
As for the clearance issue for placing two drives in a single bay, GREAT. But it would be up to a company like Trans Intl. to make it for most, unless they have access to a machine shop and can design/build their own PM board for attaching both drives to the single SATA port on the logic board. Beyond most DIY enthusiasts I think. :(

Perhaps a group effort to flood Trans Intl's email with requests for such a device would help. :D :p
Maybe we will see how it works (even RAID0 ?!) soon - here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7542033&postcount=89)?!

[nanofrog]

Thanks again, nanofrog.
No problem. :)
Maybe we will see how it works (even RAID0 ?!) soon - here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7542033&postcount=89)?!
It shouldn't be a problem. ;) Just keep in mind, the PM chip used will slow you down.

PM only gets 250MB/s (max throughput with a PM chip to a single SATA port). :(

[Mac Husky]

It shouldn't be a problem. ;) Just keep in mind, the PM chip used will slow you down. PM only gets 250MB/s (max throughput with a PM chip to a single SATA port). :(
Right. I did not consider that so far.

[whatisthe]

It shouldn't be a problem. ;) Just keep in mind, the PM chip used will slow you down.

This is only for the 09 Pros right?

With the 08's you have two sata ports to connect them to so there is no need for a PM, but for the 09's there's the single sata port located in the bay which would require a PM.

[nanofrog]

This is only for the 09 Pros right?

With the 08's you have two sata ports to connect them to so there is no need for a PM, but for the 09's there's the single sata port located in the bay which would require a PM.
It's in terms of using a device (Pro Drive (http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2746&RequestTimeOut=500)) Trans Intl makes that attaches two drives to one sled port. This would apply to any PM chip tied to a single port, internal or external.

[Tesselator]

Really? The SATA ports in ANY of the Mac Pros are multiples? I thought all 4 (and I recently learned there were 6) were dedicated and port multiplying wasn't even supported by the controller.

No?

[nanofrog]

Really? The SATA ports in ANY of the Mac Pros are multiples? I thought all 4 (and I recently learned there were 6) were dedicated and port multiplying wasn't even supported by the controller.

No?
The SATA ports (at least those for the sleds), actually worked with a simple PM (2 drives to 1 port). Trans Intl built the Pro Drive for just that purpose, but was limited to 2.5" drives for clearance.

I'm not sure about the '09's, as I haven't checked if Trans Intl verified they'll work with these. As I understand it, the sleds are deeper on the new models.

[Mattww]

I was going to get a Icy Dock adaptor for an SSD but can't find any UK source. Can anyone confirm the OCZ adaptor works OK with the 2009 drive sleds? These do seem to be available? Also does it matter if the SSD is 7 or 9mm tall?

[Tesselator]

The SATA ports (at least those for the sleds), actually worked with a simple PM (2 drives to 1 port). Trans Intl built the Pro Drive for just that purpose, but was limited to 2.5" drives for clearance.

I'm not sure about the '09's, as I haven't checked if Trans Intl verified they'll work with these. As I understand it, the sleds are deeper on the new models.

So those ports are multipliable but not multiplied as currently configured. This is what I had thought too. That's kewl tho! It means if we're not using our top PCIe slot then we could easily rig three of the bays to hold 2 HDD units each just by simply piggybacking and modifying the cables. That's an internal 7 drives plus the two not connected to anything (that can be mounted under the optical drive) making it 9 total. And if we run the drive-bay 1 cable Y mod over a little we could maybe put a third drive piggybacked on the drive-bay 2 sled. That would make 10 total! Sweet!

If the two "secret" SATA ports are multipliable we could triple up bays 3 and 4 too for a total of 12.

If any combination can be used in a RAID that would be three 4-drive RAID 0 arrays! At $80 a pop now that's only about $1k for 12TB of RAID 0 space. Or $2K for 24TB if we use the 2TB drives.

Mmmm.... <ponders actually doing this mod> :cool:

[casw1000]

I was going to get a Icy Dock adaptor for an SSD but can't find any UK source. Can anyone confirm the OCZ adaptor works OK with the 2009 drive sleds? These do seem to be available? Also does it matter if the SSD is 7 or 9mm tall?

I have also shopped around to find a bracket for my ssd. I have been to maplins, yoyo, and no-one seems to have anything close. If the OCZ adapter works, great where can I buy one or more.

Edit: I did some googling and found the OCZ that your talking about, not sure this will work, as the mounting doesn't look right. Our ssd's need to be mounted using the under side screw holes. The other options mention sound fine, but expensive. I am considering a 2 port PCI-e card and installing the SSD into an external esata portable case. Maybe if we can get those WD adapters that might work.

Thanks,
Colin
fold4life.com

[300D]

If you get a card, set the SSD in the PCIe slot area. The drive does not vibrate and it is not susceptible to vibration so it will be fine there.

[silby101]

I used the one that came with my OCZ Vertex 2, but not in the way they thought it would be used. I modified it so that it would support the SSD in one of the main HDD bays.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=11483628&postcount=24

[steffi]

Does anybody know what RAID controller this is using? I've just had a bad experience with Icy Dock's dual 2.5 RAID adapter so much so that in addition to their RMA unit I'm sending them back the original, the RMA replacment as well as their single drive unit in the same anodized enclosure. I'm done with IcyDock. Their product just doesn't work for me. The single drive unit does but I simply don't want any of their hardware near my computer now.

Looks like it would work perfectly. Thanks for this one!

http://www.newegg.com/picture... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=17-994-064-16.jpg&Image=17-994-064-15.jpg%2c17-994-064-18.jpg%2c17-994-064-17.jpg%2c17-994-064-19.jpg%2c17-994-064-14.jpg%2c17-994-064-20.jpg%2c17-994-064-13.jpg%2c17-994-064-16.jpg%2c17-994-064-11.jpg%2c17-994-064-12.jpg%2c17-994-064-02.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&WaterMark=1&Item=N82E16817994064&Depa=1&Description=ICY%20DOCK%20MB882SP-1S-1B%202.5%22%20to%203.5%22%20SSD%20%26%20SATA%20Hard%20Drive%20Converter%20-%20Black)

Also, here is the sled I was talking about. Very cool. Pretty pricey.

http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2746&RequestTimeOut=500

[steffi]

In the UK you're probably hard up for choices. There's a video on YouTube that shows you one buy who simply drilled holes into a CD and used that in addition the sled to adapter the SSD to the sled. That's your best solution.

I have also shopped around to find a bracket for my ssd. I have been to maplins, yoyo, and no-one seems to have anything close. If the OCZ adapter works, great where can I buy one or more.

Edit: I did some googling and found the OCZ that your talking about, not sure this will work, as the mounting doesn't look right. Our ssd's need to be mounted using the under side screw holes. The other options mention sound fine, but expensive. I am considering a 2 port PCI-e card and installing the SSD into an external esata portable case. Maybe if we can get those WD adapters that might work.

Thanks,
Colin
fold4life.com

[nanofrog]

Does anybody know what RAID controller this is using? I've just had a bad experience with Icy Dock's dual 2.5 RAID adapter so much so that in addition to their RMA unit I'm sending them back the original, the RMA replacment as well as their single drive unit in the same anodized enclosure. I'm done with IcyDock. Their product just doesn't work for me. The single drive unit does but I simply don't want any of their hardware near my computer now.
The Icy Dock unit is just a mount to stuff 2.5" disks into a 3.5" location.

The Pro Drive most likely uses a part from Oxford (PLX now) or Silicon Image.

[steffi]

The Icy Dock Dual Drive RAID unit (hardware RAID 1 0 etc) lets you use two 2.5's in a 3.5 bay. Didn't work out for me and uses a JMicron controller.

The single drive product they have that uses the same case essentially did work and all it does it just lets you seat 2.5 in the Mac Pro sled via their enclosure.

I probably won't buy anything Icy Dock in the future based on what I've seen with their RAID unit.

The Icy Dock unit is just a mount to stuff 2.5" disks into a 3.5" location.

The Pro Drive most likely uses a part from Oxford (PLX now) or Silicon Image.

[nanofrog]

The Icy Dock Dual Drive RAID unit (hardware RAID 1 0 etc) lets you use two 2.5's in a 3.5 bay. Didn't work out for me and uses a JMicron controller.

The single drive product they have that uses the same case essentially did work and all it does it just lets you seat 2.5 in the Mac Pro sled via their enclosure.

I probably won't buy anything Icy Dock in the future based on what I've seen with their RAID unit.
The pic was just a drive mount, so that's what I was going by for the Icy Dock.

As per the types of chips used, keep in mind they're cheap, which means compromised. JMicron is no different, and results in a fair number of legitimate complaints as to usability/problems associated with products built on their components. The others aren't much different either (Oxford had some serious issues in the not too distant past, which is part of the reason they went up for sale and were purchased by PLX). Since the PLX purchase, their parts have improved.

But all of them still have their faults, especially with Port Multiplier chips and SATA controllers when they're each from different manufacturers (what none of them will tell users - directly or through the vendor).

[h4lp m3]

$15
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ICY-DOCK-MB882SP-1S-2B-2-5-3-5-SSD-SATA-Hard-Drive-Converter-/300611541708?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fdd81acc

[nambuccaheadsau]

Get an Icy Dock that is advertised as metal and plastic. They have locking clips which prevent any movement or vibration when the slide is closed. Not the all plastic one as above.

[tpavur]

OWC has them very cheap... like less than 20$

[G-Force]

Get an Icy Dock that is advertised as metal and plastic. They have locking clips which prevent any movement or vibration when the slide is closed. Not the all plastic one as above.
SSDs do not vibrate. I'm using the plastic one in my 2009 Mac Pro and it works great.

[Nachhaltig]

The AdaptaDrive from Newer Technology seems to be a very attractive mounting solution for the Mac Pro (tested with 1,1):
http://www.newertech.com/products/adaptadrive.php.
It looks like there are no electronic parts on the board, so SSDs should work exactly as they would if they were plugged in directly. The adapter is made of die cast aluminum (painted).

[Boomhowler]

this one is also pretty neat:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MM352A52MP/