Which SSDs for an old Mac Pro to run After effects??

Here's the story :

I have a mid 2010 Mac Pro (5,1). And I have been trying to pimp it out to optimise it for After Effects and Premiere Pro usage. I have :
- maxed out RAM at 48GB (the unofficial max).
- successfully put in a Windows Quadro 4000.

....and am now about to add 4 SSDs to the system. 2 in the optical drive bay with an OWC multi-mount and 2 more on a Sonnet Tempo adapter for an empty 16x (or 4x if it makes no difference?) PCI slot.

Optic bay Multi Mount
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MM352A52ST/

Sonnet Tempo http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet Technologies/TSATA6SSDPSE/

My goal is to use one SSD each for each purpose : 1) OS and programs, 2) After Effects program cache, 3) Reading video footage, 4)Writing rendered data. This way all processes are utilising different drives to keep all processes working at maximum speed and efficiency.

I have a choice of 3 SSDs and want to get the best for the job but not pay too much if the drive(s) is overspec for the job. I don't know much at all about the data transfer speeds of hardware components of drives and what it all means with bottlenecks and throughputs or whatever, so I am relying on the kind advice of wise people here.

Here are my choices. I am attaching an image.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolverinejacket/16386201505/



The green dots mark the drives the staff at the shop here in Tokyo suggested for a Mac Pro. The Samsung 850 Pro is almost twice as much as the Toshiba CFD HGS, so of course if there is no added benefit to a more expensive drive in the optic bay and Sonnet Tempo PCI adapter case, then i don't want to spend the extra money.

Please help, and many thanks in advance.

Wade

initialsBB said:

The optical bay is SATA 2 so there is no benefit to getting the latest and greatest SSD as it will be capped by the interface. The Sonnet card is SATA 3 and can make better use of more recent SSDs.
I saw reviews that show the Toshibas to have good overall performance and excellent price-performance ratio so I don't think you can go wrong with them (especially if you are coming from hard disk drives).
Your plan to separate all your media and render drives is logical, but I think you'll be hitting processor peak before saturating your SATA interfaces unless you are rendering to low compression formats (ProRes 444XQ, DPX, TIFF,...). You may be better served by using fewer SSDs and getting a better graphics card ?

As a side note, I'll be going to Japan in April (yay!!). Is there a tech store in particular you recommend in Tokyo ? I won't be buying really, but more looking at gadgets and accessories

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I have a Quadro 4000 (PC card that I got working on Mac). You think it a more powerful card would be a better investment than using SSDs at all..or..better than buying the most expensive choice I have (Samsung)?

I've pretty much decided to just buy 3 Toshibas. I already have one Intel SSD so only need 3 more.

Is there any benefit to use the 16x PCI rather than the 4x?

About Akihabara, I really don't hand around there much at all and usually only go directly to the shop I've found a cheap component at on the net. I think if you google it you'll get far better advice than I could ever give you. Big chain stores might be a good place to start like Bikku Camera, Laox, Yamada Denki, Yodabashi Camrera, Kojima, Ks Denki. You can often get 10% off if you show your passport I believe, so don't forget to take it shopping.

Which SDD to put in the Optical Drive, which in the PCI ?

h9826790 said:

Shouldn't make any difference. A x4 slot already give you 2GB/s, much more than two SATA 3 SSD can do, not bottleneck there. Some people in fact prefer to install them in the x4 slot, and try to avoid blocking the cold air to cool down the GPU.

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I see. Thanks so much for the tip.

My RAM sticks are sometimes recognised and sometimes not when I reseat them. I have tried so many times but I can't get all 3 recognised at once.So it seems like they don't sit in the slots well. Maybe I will try to blow the slots with compressed air to get any dust out.

My next challenge is about where to put each of the 4 SSDs considering the purpose of each. As I mentioned before, I plan to put my divide up my After Effects work flow on my MaPro mid2010(5,1) by using 4 SSDs, one each for the following 4 processes/purposes. 1) OS and programs 2) After Effects (and Premiere Pro) cache 3) reading footage 4) rendering out finished video files.

I have all 4 drive bays full with HDDs, and so will install 2 SSDs into the Optic drive bay with an OWC multi-mount and the other two into a PCI slot on a Sonnet Tempo PCI adapter.

I have two questions that the more research I do the more confused I get because I'm a noob.
1) Considering the 4 processes/purpose I have in mind, which SDDS would be best suited in which spot - optical drive or PCI adapter. And 16x slot or 4x slot ?

2) What is a good method to move my OS and programs to the new SSD? Can it be cones across ? Do I have to install Mavericks or Yosemite from a recovery disc or can I download it from Apple ? Can I install the OS to the SSD for free using my product from my MacPo?

I really need somewhere advice and suggestions.

Thanks,Wade

Thanks for the advice, h9826790.

Lou, there are Samsung 850 EVOs at the store I am going to for about $100 USD (10,000 yen in Japan). If you recommend them over the other SSDs in the image in my original post I will get 3 of them.

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But after I get the SSDs set up in optical drive and on the sonnet tempo (which I already bought a few months ago)....

What is a good method to move my OS and programs to the new SSD? Can it be cloned across ? Do I have to install Mavericks or Yosemite from a recovery disc or can I download it from Apple ? Can I install the OS to the SSD for free using my product code from my MacPo?

I have seen a program that seems swell known called Paragon.
http://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/

Would this to be good to easily move OS and programs over to SSD? Or is there an open source free one anyone recommends?

I really need somewhere advice and suggestions.

Thanks,
Wade

DPUser said:

You don't need the multi mount unless you schlep your Mac around. My solution was to move the (unused) optical drive to the lower optical bay and use it as a shelf, upon which I have four SSDs resting (two connected to a PCIe SATA card, two internal optical SATA), three of which are powered via a splitter connected to one of the optical power ports.

Click to expand...

Ummm...as I only vaguely understand what you're suggesting, I wonder if you know of any links showing the process or videos?

I already have the multi-mount and have a USB Mac drive to use in it's place when I need to read a disc. So in my case, I assume it makes sense to just go ahead and use it.

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h9826790 said:

I his picture, the 850 Evo is 120G, not 500G.

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Yes the Samsung drives in my photo are 120GBs. That makes them not such a bargain I guess, but the reliability is the main reason I'd choose them over Toshiba etc, right?

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flowrider said:

^^^^The SSD acts just like any other drive (HDD). It's just a lot faster. You can clone (I use Disk Utility or TechTool Pro) or install an OS from the Web or an installer USB, again just like any other drive.

An 500 GB 850 EVO for $100.00 is a STEAL!

Of Topic, I spent 2 years in Japan in '59, '60 and '61. I was in the USAF, and yes, I'm an old guy. When I was over there the exchange rate was ¥360 to the $.

Lou

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Yes, the Samsungs are not 500GB. But you still recommend them simply for their reliability over Toshiba etc.

You were in Japan at a good time, Lou...or so I've heard. And the exchange rate, I can't imagine it. Instant wealth !

I don't think Apple gave me a disc with the OS when I got this Mac Pro so I don't have a copy of the OS, I believe. I know Mavericks was free but that was upgrading a existing OS version, right?

I am not in any super-rush to have the OS migration to SSD complete fast, I need to go the cheapest route, hopefully free tools. I wasn't aware an OS could be migrated, I thought you needed a disc or purchase a new copy of the OS in some way.

Formatting new SSDs and using Optical drive externally?

Ok, guys, I have mounted two Samsung SDD 850 EVOs into an OWC multi mount and put them into the optical drive bay. Turned on the MacPro and ‘The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer’ message popped three times,once for each new SSD.

My question is should I initialise the SSDs before installing the drivers or after? Or doesn’t it matter?

Now that I’ve taken out my optical drive, I have no way of installing the drivers by the CD that came with the SSDs. I thought I could use my old Apple Superdrive external disc drive that came with my bold Mac Air but it is incompatible. Is there a way to use the internal disc drive externally through an adapter cable (SATA to USB?) ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Wade

Cloning OS and selected Adobe programs possible?

Macsonic said:

Hi Wade. You will need to initialize your SSDs by formatting them as "Mac OSX Journal Extended" so you could install your OSX. You don't have to use the optical drive to install the OS. Just create a bootable USB thumb drive. Here are some instructions on creating a bootable thumb drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9pCWE2ahNY

The above video is for Mountain Lion bootable drive but you can also choose Mavericks or Yosemite. With Yosemite, I read somewhere that it disables the trim enabler but it can be enabled. I don't use Yosemite so I am not too familiar with this.

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Thanks for the tip, Macsonic. If I just use a bootable USB flash drive to put the Mavericks on one of the newly installed SSDs, that's good, but is it possible that I clone my current OS (Mavericks) along with some selected programs I have installed like Adobe After Effects etc?

I have heard of SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner. Wondering is these or other software would do this?

Macsonic said:

Welcome Rootarty. Yep you can clone your current OS Mavericks to your new SSD using either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. I always make it a habit to keep a clone of my main boot drive as backup. Like if I installed a new software or update and encountered problems or glitches, I can easily switch back to the former state of my OS drive. That's the advantages of having internal drives in the Mac Pro.

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Is it possible to clone only the OS and my Adobe programs from my original HDD to my new SSD using SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner? My HDD in 1TB but my SSD is only 120GB.
I only want the operating system and Adobe programs on the SSD.
And I don't want to got to the bother of reinstalling all my Adobe software, especially all the plug-ins I use in After Effects.

Is it also possible to leave all my other programs on the old HDD, or do they need to be with the OS on the SSD to be used?

Use internal optical drive as an external drive?

Macsonic said:

Hello. Yep you can clone only your OS and Adobe programs or any other applications from your 1TB HDD to your 120g SSD as long as the total file size from your 1TB is less than 120gb. You can try leaving your other apps in your old HDD. As long as your HDD also resides in the same Mac Pro, there should be no problem. I also tend to avoid reinstalling Adobe software as far as I know, there is a limit to how many times you deactivate and activate the Adobe softwares. I think, if I am not mistaken, the limit is 21 times to activate. Beyond that I think you will need to call Adobe customer support for addition permissions to activate.

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I think I successfully cloned my system, OS and apps only, but I have to fully check out everything works. Thanks for the guidance.

However......I took my Optical Drive out of my Mac Pro mid2010 (5,1) to put in two SSDs into the bay using an OWC Multi-mount. Now I've realised my Appple Super drive is not compatible with my Mac Pro apparently. Though I read you can hack ytour OS to make it accept the SuperDrive.

Personally I'm not so comfortable with that so I asked OWC what I can do and they suggested these two products.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/VL2STOPTU2/

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MRSFW8U3/

One is over double the price of the other but I don't know the difference between the two. All I want to be able to do is occasionally play a DVD or read a data CD on my MacPro. And burn to CD/DVD possibly.

I thought I could just buy some kind of SATA to USB adapter cable....but I can't seem to identify such a cable....

Can anybody advise me on how to do that as cost effectively as possibly?

Thanks in advance, Wade

h9826790 said:

Just to add "mbasd=1" to the Kernel Flags in com.apple.Boot.plist, then the external super drive will work again (after boot into the OS).

My wife had this drive for her MacBook air, and I use this method to give my 4,1 an extra super drive.

No complicated hacking procedure required, and works like a charm.

Click to expand...

Hi. Thanks and I appreciate the reassurances but I have no idea how to do that. I really could screw something up. Would it be possibly to post a link to a guide or a video?