special HDD drives for macs?

Everything SATA II or SAS works.

Any SATA drive will work. SAS only works if you have an SAS card.

Do not buy an EIDE or PATA drive, as those are for older systems, and the Mac Pro does not use them.

TEG

hamsterburger said:

Hi

This may be an obvious question, but here goes: Can I buy a regular of the shelf PC HDD and put it in my Mac Pro, or do i need to use some kind of special drive?

Fanks

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An Apple sales person would like you to believe their "Apple branded hard drives" are special. Aside of the Apple logo on the sticker their drives are same as every single OEM/Retail drive on the market, but you'll pay an premium for them. If I were you, just stick in any SATA 3.0 Gigabit or SAS drive (interface card required) and format it for Mac.

UltraNEO* said:

An Apple sales person would like you to believe their "Apple branded hard drives" are special. Aside of the Apple logo on the sticker their drives are same as every single OEM/Retail drive on the market, but you'll pay an premium for them. If I were you, just stick in any SATA 3.0 Gigabit or SAS drive (interface card required) and format it for Mac.

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True, except that Apple Branded Drives are covered by Apple Care, whereas if another drive you install causes your system to die or while in the process of installing you destroy your computer, it is not covered (officially).

TEG

Tallest Skil said:

Everything SATA II or SAS works.

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Got it backwards, I think, lol. I believe its SATA drives work on SAS controllers but SAS drives do not work on SATA controllers.

TEG said:

True, except that Apple Branded Drives are covered by Apple Care, whereas if another drive you install causes your system to die or while in the process of installing you destroy your computer, it is not covered (officially).

TEG

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All the drives I've ever bought have had much longer warranty periods than the year of AppleCare that comes with a Mac. I've only had 2 drives fail INSIDE the warranty period (Usually 3 years for a consumer drive), and both times WD and Seagate were very helpful.

m1stake said:

All the drives I've ever bought have had much longer warranty periods than the year of AppleCare that comes with a Mac. I've only had 2 drives fail INSIDE the warranty period (Usually 3 years for a consumer drive), and both times WD and Seagate were very helpful.

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But if they cause a problem with the computer, then it will not be covered.

TEG

Like what? Not trying to be facetious, I can't imagine an issue that messes with your computer where you couldn't go back to the company and say "this doesn't work the way it's supposed to."

I suppose that for the uninitiated, replacing the thing yourself might be scary. AppleCare DOES beat DIY if you're not willing to... DIY.

TEG said:

True, except that Apple Branded Drives are covered by Apple Care, whereas if another drive you install causes your system to die or while in the process of installing you destroy your computer, it is not covered (officially).

TEG

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So TEG. You're telling me you'd sooner buy a drive from Apple, pay more for a small drive just so you get AppleCare cover on the HD? Where as the average OEM/Retail drive comes with 5 years warranty and costs less... Yeah I know.. Buying one from Apple doesn't void the system warranty.... but installing more HD's on the MP is user serviceable, just like installing RAM!

The MP's user manual (which everyone has) gives you step by step instructions on how to install more drives, on the current chassis it's completely idiot proof. One would have to be a complete f#$kin moron to screw up! Seriously.. those people who can managed to mess-up and kill their system/hardware don't deserve to be using them...

Apple Drives are special

The drives Apple sells for use in their systems have certain features set by the OEM manufacturer to integrate in with the system. These maybe error reporting, power features, temperature monitoring or others. On the whole though most other drives will perform adequately without much difference.

Rick Here said:

The drives Apple sells for use in their systems have certain features set by the OEM manufacturer to integrate in with the system. These maybe error reporting, power features, temperature monitoring or others. On the whole though most other drives will perform adequately without much difference.

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You're absolutely right! In addition to the superior HDD firmware, Apple also contracts Intel to use the special Gigafaeries to speed up the Mac Pro. This feature is ONLY enabled for Apple customers, so we can frolic in the fields and cover ourselves in AppleJam.

grue said:

You're absolutely right! In addition to the superior HDD firmware, Apple also contracts Intel to use the special Gigafaeries to speed up the Mac Pro. This feature is ONLY enabled for Apple customers, so we can frolic in the fields and cover ourselves in AppleJam.

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LMAO.
Thanks. I needed a good laugh.

grue said:

You're absolutely right! In addition to the superior HDD firmware, Apple also contracts Intel to use the special Gigafaeries to speed up the Mac Pro. This feature is ONLY enabled for Apple customers, so we can frolic in the fields and cover ourselves in AppleJam.

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I have to echo nanofrog's sentiment! That definitely is the post of the day in my book!

UltraNEO* said:

So TEG. You're telling me you'd sooner buy a drive from Apple, pay more for a small drive just so you get AppleCare cover on the HD? Where as the average OEM/Retail drive comes with 5 years warranty and costs less... Yeah I know.. Buying one from Apple doesn't void the system warranty.... but installing more HD's on the MP is user serviceable, just like installing RAM!

The MP's user manual (which everyone has) gives you step by step instructions on how to install more drives, on the current chassis it's completely idiot proof. One would have to be a complete f#$kin moron to screw up! Seriously.. those people who can managed to mess-up and kill their system/hardware don't deserve to be using them...

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Actually, NO, I would do it myself. I'm only saying that if someone is not comfortable with computers, they should get Apple do it. Plus, you can buy the components you want, wherever you want and just get the Apple Store or Authorized Repair center to do the install. I've done things with my systems that Apple doesn't even allow to be done in the stores, and I'm a Computer Engineer, I know and understand how to do the work. My only concern for the OP was if they were unsure about what kind of hard drives you need for a Mac Pro, it is likely that they shouldn't be messing with system themselves, because if anyone were to read the manual, they would find that the exact the specs for hard drives to go into the Hard Drive bays is printed, plain as day, within.

TEG

Make sure the drive is no thicker than 1" or it won't fit in the bay.

krye said:

Make sure the drive is no thicker than 1" or it won't fit in the bay.

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Any standard 3.5" drive would work.
Standards. Gotta love 'em.