Mac Pro HDD size limit

Megabyte · Apr 18, 2008, 01:51 AM

I'm considering a MAC Pro , I have a question on the HDD size limitation. Is it merely because current drives max out at 1TB and hence 4x1TB is the limit, or is there some other s/w h/w firmware restriction that would prevent 2TB , 4TB etc etc disks being installed when they become available as they inevitably will do given time.

Thanks.

Mr.Noisy · Apr 18, 2008, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megabyte

I'm considering a MAC Pro , I have a question on the HDD size limitation. Is it merely because current drives max out at 1TB and hence 4x1TB is the limit, or is there some other s/w h/w firmware restriction that would prevent 2TB , 4TB etc etc disks being installed when they become available as they inevitably will do given time.

Thanks.

If and when 2 or 4tb drives become available then no doubt Apple will sort the Mac Pro to be compatible, imagine the back up nightmares

is 4tb not enough storage ??

iToaster · Apr 18, 2008, 02:48 PM

As far as I know, there is not size limit to speak of. As long as it uses a SATA connector it will fit in and should be recognized in the Mac Pro.

Tallest Skil · Apr 18, 2008, 03:01 PM

The physical size limit is in the exabytes. When you get a couple 3.5" exabyte drives, let me know.

Megabyte · Apr 19, 2008, 01:45 AM

Thanks.

iPhil · Apr 19, 2008, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

The physical size limit is in the exabytes. When you get a couple 3.5" exabyte drives, let me know.

It's 8 EiB max per file and 16 EiB Max volume size in HFS+ ...

It's 16 EiB max per file and 16 EiB Max volume size in ZFS ...

MacsAttack · Apr 19, 2008, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Noisy

is 4tb not enough storage ??

No. It isn't. Once you have a Raid 1 array running you end up with a lot less "usable" storage. And the only practical "inexpensive" backup option is another raid array in an external SATA box...

Once the disk manufactures get a move on and introduce new drives in the 1.5 to 2 TB range I know I'll be in the market for a few of them.

spotlight07 · 12:15 AM

sorry for the double post

spotlight07 · Nov 28, 2008, 12:13 AM

http://www.apple.com/macpro/design.html

Quote:

"Slide-in storage.

The Mac Pro comes with four 3.5-inch internal hard drive bays for an enormous amount of internal storage — up to 4TB. These bays are direct-attach and cable free, so it’s easy to add or remove drives. Just attach the drive carrier to either a Serial ATA 3Gb/s or Serial Attached SCSI 3Gb/s drive, and slide the drive into place. There are no connectors or cables to contend with. Lock the drives with the side door latch, and you’re done."

So there must be a limit?

richard.mac · Nov 28, 2008, 12:19 AM

^ there are currently single 1.5 TB hard drives so you could get 6 TB of space but they are expensive and not as mainstream yet.

Cave Man · Nov 28, 2008, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richthomas

^ there are currently single 1.5 TB hard drives so you could get 6 TB of space but they are expensive and not as mainstream yet.

Here in the US the 1.5 TB drive goes for $120. Not a bad price at all. If only Seagate could get their failure rate down.

awolfend · 06:08 PM

There is a hard limit on MacPro INTERNAL Storage.
Mac Pro including Original up to Mac Pro (Early 2008) = 4TB
Mac Pro (Early 2009) and 8 Core = 8TG
If you go over these limits the system will not boot.
Trust me I have tried it!
There is a reason they state limits in the specs.
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP11
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP506

__________________
MacPro (2008) 32GB, 4TB; MacBook Pro 17; MacBook Air; Mac Mini Server; iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 3G, iPhone
1st Mac - Original Macintosh

SimonTheSoundMa · Feb 24, 2010, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awolfend

There is a hard limit on MacPro INTERNAL Storage.
Mac Pro including Original up to Mac Pro (Early 2008) = 4TB
Mac Pro (Early 2009) and 8 Core = 8TG
If you go over these limits the system will not boot.
Trust me I have tried it!
There is a reason they state limits in the specs.
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP11
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP506

This is why people are moving from Apple to IBM or HP workstations in the masses. I can count over ten friends who work in video post production and audio who have moved from Mac to PC.

Apple just cant make a decent workstation any more, 2009 Mac Pro has problems with RAID, Firewire and PCI, 2007 Mac Pro will not accept newer video cards.

At least the audio causing CPUs to get hot seems to be fixed.

Transporteur · Feb 25, 2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awolfend

Mac Pro including Original up to Mac Pro (Early 2008) = 4TB
Mac Pro (Early 2009) and 8 Core = 8TG
If you go over these limits the system will not boot.
Trust me I have tried it!
There is a reason they state limits in the specs.
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP11
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP506

Actually, I don't trust you.
Even the G5 can take 4TB internal!
There are various statements of people around the Apple support forums that have 8TB or even more of internal storage INSIDE the 2008 Mac Pro.

And the limits they state rely on the current maximum drive capacity. They also stated that the current gen Quad Pro can only use 8GB of memory.

Unique Visuals · Feb 25, 2010, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awolfend

There is a hard limit on MacPro INTERNAL Storage.
Mac Pro including Original up to Mac Pro (Early 2008) = 4TB
Mac Pro (Early 2009) and 8 Core = 8TG
If you go over these limits the system will not boot.
Trust me I have tried it!
There is a reason they state limits in the specs.
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP11
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP506

Those links lead to two year old spec docs that haven't been updated to reflect what the machine capacity is now. Those specs where based on max hard drives sizes offered by Apple at that time.

I have 8TB in mine now. A Buddy has 12TB using both the optical bays for hard drives. Not a problem at all

Cave Man · Feb 25, 2010, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awolfend

There is a hard limit on MacPro INTERNAL Storage.

Nothing like resurrecting a dead thread to exposure your ignorance.

monyker · Dec 6, 2012, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cave Man

Nothing like resurrecting a dead thread to exposure your ignorance.

And nothing like replying to said dead-thread-resurrecting post to exposure yours.

Oh...right.

h4lp m3 · Jan 18, 2013, 05:51 PM

and nothing like a bbbj

OS6-OSX · Jan 26, 2013, 07:24 PM

And nothing like a (4x3TB)=12TB internal RAID.

Baklava · Jan 26, 2013, 09:30 PM

A bit off topic: to get a RAID 1 working, do the HDs have to be the exact same model from the same vendor?

Giuly · 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diwali

A bit off topic: to get a RAID 1 working, do the HDs have to be the exact same model from the same vendor?

No, but your RAID 1 will be limited to the size of the smallest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OS6-OSX

And nothing like a (4x3TB)=12TB internal RAID.

Except maybe for the 4x4TB=16GB internal RAID.

Apr 18, 2008, 01:51 AM	#1
Megabyte macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Cape Town	Mac Pro HDD size limit I'm considering a MAC Pro , I have a question on the HDD size limitation. Is it merely because current drives max out at 1TB and hence 4x1TB is the limit, or is there some other s/w h/w firmware restriction that would prevent 2TB , 4TB etc etc disks being installed when they become available as they inevitably will do given time. Thanks.
	0

Apr 18, 2008, 02:48 PM	#3
iToaster macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2007 Location: In front of my MacBook Pro	As far as I know, there is not size limit to speak of. As long as it uses a SATA connector it will fit in and should be recognized in the Mac Pro. __________________ MacBook Pro \| 2.66 i7 \| 8GB \| 1TB \| Matte HR \| iPhone 5 \| 64 GB \| iPad WiFi \| 64 GB MRoogle
	0

Nov 28, 2008, 12:12 AM	#8
spotlight07 macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2007	sorry for the double post Last edited by spotlight07; Nov 28, 2008 at 12:15 AM. Reason: double post
	0

Nov 28, 2008, 12:19 AM	#10
richard.mac macrumors 603 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: 51.50024, -0.12662	^ there are currently single 1.5 TB hard drives so you could get 6 TB of space but they are expensive and not as mainstream yet. __________________ http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4894/haxe.png If you can't innovate, I guess you just imitate, but it's never quite as good as the original.
	0

Feb 24, 2010, 05:53 PM	#12
awolfend macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Southport Australia	Make no mistake There is a hard limit on MacPro INTERNAL Storage. Mac Pro including Original up to Mac Pro (Early 2008) = 4TB Mac Pro (Early 2009) and 8 Core = 8TG If you go over these limits the system will not boot. Trust me I have tried it! There is a reason they state limits in the specs. http://support.apple.com/kb/SP11 http://support.apple.com/kb/SP506 __________________ MacPro (2008) 32GB, 4TB; MacBook Pro 17; MacBook Air; Mac Mini Server; iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 3G, iPhone 1st Mac - Original Macintosh Last edited by awolfend; Feb 24, 2010 at 06:08 PM.
	0

Apr 18, 2008, 03:01 PM	#4
Tallest Skil Banned Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: 1 Geostationary Tower Plaza	The physical size limit is in the exabytes. When you get a couple 3.5" exabyte drives, let me know.
	0

Apr 19, 2008, 01:45 AM	#5
Megabyte Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Cape Town	Thanks.
	0

Jan 18, 2013, 05:51 PM	#18
h4lp m3 macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New Orleans	and nothing like a bbbj __________________ *MY DAD'S NOT A PHONE!*
	0

Jan 26, 2013, 07:24 PM	#19
OS6-OSX macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: California	And nothing like a (4x3TB)=12TB internal RAID. MacPro 2008 3.1 \| 14GB Ram \| Quadro 4000 \| MC6.0 \| OS 10.6.8 \| MOTU HDX-SDI \| ATTO R644\| LaCie 324
	0

Jan 26, 2013, 09:30 PM	#20
Baklava macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Germany	A bit off topic: to get a RAID 1 working, do the HDs have to be the exact same model from the same vendor? __________________ formerly known as Diwali "The Theme" by Jade Alley Project MacRumors 'Apple Issues SMC Firmware Update' - devilbond 'Updated. Very happy. Safari is way snappier now.'
	0

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