Slot organisation...

Killerbob · Feb 4, 2013, 08:37 AM

Hi,

I have the MacPro3,1, and I have decided to do all the upgrades I possibly can, whilst not holding my breath for the 2013-Mac Pro...

So, a new GTX680 graphics card, and an Accelsior 960GB SSD card are on their way to me as I write this.

Preparing for the installation I have a question:

Does it matter how I install these two cards in the MP? I.e. any particular reason why I would put the Accelsior card in Slot1 and the GTX680 in Slot2, or vice versa? They both require PCIe 2.0, and hence I can't use Slots 3 and 4.

My logic in putting the Accelsior in Slot1 is that this gives some space between the two cards.

ashman70 · Feb 4, 2013, 10:58 AM

Generally speaking, I believe the video card is supposed to go in slot 1, however I think some people have had varying results in slots 1 or 2, depending on the card. I know when I installed my 670, I put it in slot 1 where my 5770 had been and I had no issues. Not sure if there would be any downside to putting the video card in slot 2 though.

seveej · Feb 4, 2013, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashman70

Generally speaking, I believe the video card is supposed to go in slot 1, however I think some people have had varying results in slots 1 or 2, depending on the card. I know when I installed my 670, I put it in slot 1 where my 5770 had been and I had no issues. Not sure if there would be any downside to putting the video card in slot 2 though.

I won't contradict this information, as I really do not know, but on another level the card producing more heat should always have as much air around it.

RGDS,

Killerbob · Feb 4, 2013, 12:06 PM

That was my logic as well. If I put the graphics card in Slot1, and the Accelsior card in Slot2, there will be very little space between the two cards. However, if I switch the two cards, the Accelsior card will be in Slot1, which is a dbl. space slot, and hence have 1 slot height up to Slot2 with the graphics card.

DanielCoffey · Feb 4, 2013, 01:51 PM

The 6XX cards produce less heat than you may be used to with, say the 5870. Most of it will be generated on the top surface where the card cooler is doing its work. I wouldn't worry which slot it went into.

alphaod · Feb 5, 2013, 03:21 AM

Even though slot 3 and 4 only run in x4 mode, they have more than enough bandwidth for the OWC Accelsior card.

Killerbob · Feb 5, 2013, 04:40 AM

Correct, but the MacPro3,1 only has PCIe2.0 in slots 1 and 2. Putting any card, graphics, Raid, or SSD card, in slots 3 and 4 equals half transfer rates, at least if the card is intended for version 2.0 or 3.0...

BigJohno · Feb 5, 2013, 10:52 AM

I remember when I had my 5770 in slot 2, the expansion slot fan would spin up quite a bit. When I put it back in slot 1 it went back to normal. Now I have a 670 in slot one and the only time the expansion slot fan spins up is on a fresh boot. I I have to stress the video card for the fans to slow down. I wonder if slot 2 would be the same results with my 670?

Giuly · Feb 5, 2013, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killerbob

Correct, but the MacPro3,1 only has PCIe2.0 in slots 1 and 2. Putting any card, graphics, Raid, or SSD card, in slots 3 and 4 equals half transfer rates, at least if the card is intended for version 2.0 or 3.0...

PCIe 1.0 x4 has a bandwidth of 1000MB/s. As far as I can see, your SSD card tops out at 800MB/s. Should work just fine.

hfg · Feb 5, 2013, 01:35 PM

The lower 2 slots appear to be the same spec, just have double spacing for the video card. You should be able to install either card in either slot, although if you have a double-wide video card in slot-2 it will prevent use of slot-3.

Mac Pro Developer Note
PCI Express Architecture
The Mac Pro has four internal PCI Express (PCIe) links connected to the North Bridge IC and South Bridge
IC. Two of the links provide 4-lane expansion slots supporting the PCIe 1.0a standard at 2.5 GHz. The
other two links provide 16-lane 5.0 GHz PCIe 2.0 interfaces: one double-wide graphics slot and one
expansion slot.

Killerbob · Feb 5, 2013, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giuly

PCIe 1.0 x4 has a bandwidth of 1000MB/s. As far as I can see, your SSD card tops out at 800MB/s. Should work just fine.

According to the Accelsior details inserting the card in a PCIe ver. 1.0 equals lower transfer rates... "PCIe 2.0 x4 slot or better is required. Use of a PCIe 1.0 x4 slot will reduce performance."

Giuly · Feb 5, 2013, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killerbob

According to the Accelsior details inserting the card in a PCIe ver. 1.0 equals lower transfer rates... "PCIe 2.0 x4 slot or better is required. Use of a PCIe 1.0 x4 slot will reduce performance."

Judging by the appearance of the card, it's actually PCIe x2 and not x4, which means it would be limited to 2x250MB/s on PCIe 1.0, but runs on 2x500MB/s on PCIe 2.0.

Killerbob · Feb 5, 2013, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giuly

Judging by the appearance of the card, it's actually PCIe x2 and not x4, which means it would be limited to 2x250MB/s on PCIe 1.0, but runs on 2x500MB/s on PCIe 2.0.

You are probably right. On OWCs web-page it says "Interface - PCIe 2.0 x2".

Seeing as the max. transfer rate from the card is approximately 800MB/s, that's why it needs ver. 2.0.

Anyways, I think I'll go with the Accelsior card in Slot 1, and the GTX680 card in Slot2.

wonderspark · Feb 5, 2013, 07:20 PM

For what it's worth, I have a 5870 in slot 1, and a full-size Areca 1880ix-12 RAID card in slot 2, just a few millimeters above the GPU, and the temps have been fine for over a year of heavy video editing use every day.

Feb 4, 2013, 08:37 AM	#1
Killerbob macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	Slot organisation... Hi, I have the MacPro3,1, and I have decided to do all the upgrades I possibly can, whilst not holding my breath for the 2013-Mac Pro... So, a new GTX680 graphics card, and an Accelsior 960GB SSD card are on their way to me as I write this. Preparing for the installation I have a question: Does it matter how I install these two cards in the MP? I.e. any particular reason why I would put the Accelsior card in Slot1 and the GTX680 in Slot2, or vice versa? They both require PCIe 2.0, and hence I can't use Slots 3 and 4. My logic in putting the Accelsior in Slot1 is that this gives some space between the two cards. __________________ MP 2.8GHz 8C/16GB/960GB Accelsior/250GB SSD/GTX680 - MBP 15"/2.53GHz/8GB/250GB SSD - MBP 15"/2.66GHz/8GB/250GB SSD - MBA 2GHz i7/8GB/250GB - MMI 2.3HGz/8GB/500GB - TC 3TB - ReadyNAS Pro 6x3TB
	0

Feb 4, 2013, 10:58 AM	#2
ashman70 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2010	Generally speaking, I believe the video card is supposed to go in slot 1, however I think some people have had varying results in slots 1 or 2, depending on the card. I know when I installed my 670, I put it in slot 1 where my 5770 had been and I had no issues. Not sure if there would be any downside to putting the video card in slot 2 though. __________________ Iphone 4s 16GB, iPad Mini 32GB wifi Mac Pro 3,1 2x2.8GHz Xeon quad core, EVGA 670, 16GB RAM, 1x256GB SSD, 1x2TB, 4x3TB, LG Bluray burner, 3x Dell 23" LED
	0

Feb 4, 2013, 12:06 PM	#4
Killerbob Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	That was my logic as well. If I put the graphics card in Slot1, and the Accelsior card in Slot2, there will be very little space between the two cards. However, if I switch the two cards, the Accelsior card will be in Slot1, which is a dbl. space slot, and hence have 1 slot height up to Slot2 with the graphics card. __________________ MP 2.8GHz 8C/16GB/960GB Accelsior/250GB SSD/GTX680 - MBP 15"/2.53GHz/8GB/250GB SSD - MBP 15"/2.66GHz/8GB/250GB SSD - MBA 2GHz i7/8GB/250GB - MMI 2.3HGz/8GB/500GB - TC 3TB - ReadyNAS Pro 6x3TB
	0

Feb 4, 2013, 01:51 PM	#5
DanielCoffey macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Edinburgh, UK	The 6XX cards produce less heat than you may be used to with, say the 5870. Most of it will be generated on the top surface where the card cooler is doing its work. I wouldn't worry which slot it went into. __________________ MacPro 5,1: 6 x 3.33 GHz / 12 GB RAM / AMD 7950 3Gb / 120Gb SSD, 240Gb SSD, 500Gb HDD / ACD 27" / APC SMT1000I iPhone 5: 32Gb White / O2 3G / TwigCase Bamboo / BodyGuardz Pure
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 03:21 AM	#6
alphaod macrumors P6 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NYC	Even though slot 3 and 4 only run in x4 mode, they have more than enough bandwidth for the OWC Accelsior card. __________________ Mac Pro \| 27" iMac \| 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display \| iPhone 5 \| iPad 3 \| iPad mini
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 04:40 AM	#7
Killerbob Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	Correct, but the MacPro3,1 only has PCIe2.0 in slots 1 and 2. Putting any card, graphics, Raid, or SSD card, in slots 3 and 4 equals half transfer rates, at least if the card is intended for version 2.0 or 3.0... __________________ MP 2.8GHz 8C/16GB/960GB Accelsior/250GB SSD/GTX680 - MBP 15"/2.53GHz/8GB/250GB SSD - MBP 15"/2.66GHz/8GB/250GB SSD - MBA 2GHz i7/8GB/250GB - MMI 2.3HGz/8GB/500GB - TC 3TB - ReadyNAS Pro 6x3TB
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 10:52 AM	#8
BigJohno macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SF	I remember when I had my 5770 in slot 2, the expansion slot fan would spin up quite a bit. When I put it back in slot 1 it went back to normal. Now I have a 670 in slot one and the only time the expansion slot fan spins up is on a fresh boot. I I have to stress the video card for the fans to slow down. I wonder if slot 2 would be the same results with my 670? __________________ Mac Pro 5,1 3.33 SSD's GTX 670, Macbook Pro 2.66, iPhone, iPad Flickr
	0

Feb 5, 2013, 01:35 PM	#10
hfg macrumors 68000 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA.	The lower 2 slots appear to be the same spec, just have double spacing for the video card. You should be able to install either card in either slot, although if you have a double-wide video card in slot-2 it will prevent use of slot-3. Mac Pro Developer Note PCI Express Architecture The Mac Pro has four internal PCI Express (PCIe) links connected to the North Bridge IC and South Bridge IC. Two of the links provide 4-lane expansion slots supporting the PCIe 1.0a standard at 2.5 GHz. The other two links provide 16-lane 5.0 GHz PCIe 2.0 interfaces: one double-wide graphics slot and one expansion slot.
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Feb 5, 2013, 07:20 PM	#14
wonderspark macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Denver, CO	For what it's worth, I have a 5870 in slot 1, and a full-size Areca 1880ix-12 RAID card in slot 2, just a few millimeters above the GPU, and the temps have been fine for over a year of heavy video editing use every day. __________________ Wait a second... So you're telling me anything that happens in the sky is legal, and there's a giant crime-blimp flying around this place? I don't know how I missed that.
	0

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