SATA 3 Anyone!

[Vapor matt]

I wish I could, but they don't ship to Germany

Instead, I found and ordered this one:
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005GCXS10

which, after close inspection of the pictures should be the same card.

Not booting.

----------

Well that looks like the same card to me, on the front of the box, it says

The best buy of PC peripherals, 4 pictures, cardbus, pci series, pci Express series, express card series, all round pictures. its a blue and grey box. that card looks the exact same card as mine. if it helps I dont mind odering and forwarding on to you in germany. but i have to say it looks the same!

 

[darb10]

Well that looks like the same card to me, on the front of the box, it says

The best buy of PC peripherals, 4 pictures, cardbus, pci series, pci Express series, express card series, all round pictures. its a blue and grey box. that card looks the exact same card as mine. if it helps I dont mind odering and forwarding on to you in germany. but i have to say it looks the same!

I've attached what the front of my box looks like.

 

[funkahdafi]

Well that looks like the same card to me, on the front of the box, it says

The best buy of PC peripherals, 4 pictures, cardbus, pci series, pci Express series, express card series, all round pictures. its a blue and grey box. that card looks the exact same card as mine. if it helps I dont mind odering and forwarding on to you in germany. but i have to say it looks the same!

Hey Vapor, thanks for the offer, I really appreciate that! But if you ship it from the US to Germany, it will go through customs, the German tax department will add their part, so that all in all this will become pretty expensive.

Since everyone believes this is the same card, I will just asume that the reason that it's not booting here must be related to my system. Right now I am waiting for the next generation of SSDs. Once they are out, I will just buy one and then try again with one of those.

 

[Boomhowler]

1) First, if you want to use sata3 speeds but necessarily don't have to boot from the sata3-drives you could use this for your "older" mac pros:

http://blog.macsales.com/12247-upgrade-your-06-08-mac-pro’s-internal-bays-to-sata-3-0

this makes the four internal drive bays upgraded to sata3, but also makes them unbootable so you will have to use one of the two sata-ports on the mother board for the boot drive (which will be sata2), all this is described in the blogpost that I linked to. Very interesting imho!

2) another way to get sata3 working, even bootable, on your mac pro is to use this card.

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/08/increasing-disk-performance-sata-6gbs.html

I've had it for some time now and lo and behold, it's bootable!!! Have been running the SSD for several hours now and no problems.
I got it from eBay for ~$20

3) and as I have linked to before, I cannot stress enough the joy of having a Revodrive PCI-ssd as the users home drive on my mac. Games boots in seconds, archiving files is done in mere moments etc. Just install these drivers and insert the correct drive and you are good to go!

http://www.siliconimage.com/support/searchresults.aspx?pid=27&cat=3

found this on ocz/tonymacx86.com, a Revodrive or Revodrive X2 works in OSX by just installing these drivers. Revodrive 3 does NOT work!
(I used the SiI 3124 Mac OS X 10.6 SATARAID5 7/14/2010 2.0.5.0 version)

4) and last, don't forget angelbird which makes a really cool product for pci-e which should be bootable from osx (but I haven't tried it myself).
http://www.angelbird.com/

// DL

 

[bbdjam]

pci sata III mac pro

Ok as promised a picture of how it looks inside my mac pro

Image

The SSD is under sled 4 as you can see, where the 3.5" drive would normally be, the power cable is a SATA extension cable with both male and female connectors, one connects to motherboard where the 3.5" drive would normally connect to, the other to the SSD drive. SATA cable from SSD to PCIE card which is in PCIE 4X slot 4.

Iam waiting for a 15cm SATA cable to arrive which will make it even more tidy in the case when fitted. but iam happy with how it all fitted and looks. the other HD,s are my bootcamp and music drives in slot 2 and 3 with my original vertex 2 bigfoot SATA 2 drive in slot 1 which i now use for my scratch disk ect. or i might even change it into my bootcamp drive!

No problems so far, everything is running sweet and boots are fast, if you go by the circle under the apple logo, it goes one time round and a third and its booted

hello vapor matt,
here I have read the advice you gave and I thank you for sharing information about the card pci sata 3 and I bought it

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PCIE-SATA-eSATA-CONTROLLER-CARD/dp/B00560ZOGO

can you give me a link to buy the cable
and tell me what is the update to 5.1'm currently on 2009 Mac Pro 2.26 octo snow leopard
I have to go to lion as to use it with my boot ssd crutial m4?
can tel me how did you connect please I not understand your picture
thanks

ps sorry for my English I am a French user

 

[initialsBB]

can you give me a link to buy the cable
and tell me what is the update to 5.1'm currently on 2009 Mac Pro 2.26 octo snow leopard
I have to go to lion as to use it with my boot ssd crutial m4?
can tel me how did you connect please I not understand your picture
thanks

ps sorry for my English I am a French user

Il te faut un câble alimentation SATA que tu brancheras de la carte mère au nouveau SSD, puis un câble SATA données que tu brancheras entre la nouvelle carte PCIe SATA III et le SSD.

Sur la photo tu vois bien le câble multi couleur (alimentation) puis un câble noir (données). C'est le câble noir qu'il faut trouver en petit sinon ça fait désordre dans la machine.

A Paris tu as toujours la rue Montgallet si tu peux t'y rendre en personne, sinon Surcouf c'est le plus court que j'ai trouvé à 25cm.
http://www.surcouf.com/F-10495-connectique/P-72803-mcl-samar-cable-sata-iii-interne-25cm

Voici un dessin des deux connecteurs:
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2008/08/sata33.jpg

EDIT: tu peux aussi placer le SSD dans le deuxième emplacement pour les graveurs DVDs, il s'y trouve une déjà alimentation, ne te reste qu'à tirer un câble SATA données de la carte vers la baie DVD.

 

[funkahdafi]

have you benchmarked your SSDs on the SATA-3 controller? I am wondering what kind of throughput you can expect. I figure it will max out at 200-300 MB/sec.?

 

[initialsBB]

have you benchmarked your SSDs on the SATA-3 controller? I am wondering what kind of throughput you can expect. I figure it will max out at 200-300 MB/sec.?

It would be great to have an idea of bandwidth and IO/sec... but compared to a mechanical drive, I suppose it can only be better ?

 

[funkahdafi]

It would be great to have an idea of bandwidth and IO/sec... but compared to a mechanical drive, I suppose it can only be better ?

Of course it will be better. Much better.

I asked this question because I want to know if I really gain much speed when putting my SSDs on a separate SATA-3 controller versus keeping them connected to my internal SATA-2 ports. I am tired of searching for a good SATA-3 controller that boots OS X. I have bought 6 pieces so far, they are all junk. If the benchmarks reveal a much higher speed versus my internal SATA-2 ports, I will continue to search for a proper controller. If not, I can just spare myself the trouble.

That's why it would be awesome if someone could do a benchmark of a SATA-3 SSD connected to one of those SATA-3 controllers.

 

[initialsBB]

That's why it would be awesome if someone could do a benchmark of a SATA-3 SSD connected to one of those SATA-3 controllers.

I've just ordered one of these cards to hook up an SSD to it, I just haven't decided which one between Crucial M4 256GB, OCZ Vertex 3 240GB or Samsung 830 256 GB... When I do get it i can benchmark.

 

[funkahdafi]

I've just ordered one of these cards to hook up an SSD to it, I just haven't decided which one between Crucial M4 256GB, OCZ Vertex 3 240GB or Samsung 830 256 GB... When I do get it i can benchmark.

Thanks!

Maybe I can help you decide with your SSD purchase. I too just did a very long research which SSD to buy to replace my old Intel SSDs (1st gen) with.

The Samsung looks like an awesome product and I struggeled buying it but I ended up not doing so. Why? Because it uses idle time garbage collection instead of real time garbage collection. What that means is that if your computer is always doing something, it will not have enough idle time for garbage collection. The result is that your SSD will slow down considerably over time. You could use TRIM but it is not officially supported in Mac OS X for non-Apple SSDs and you need a hack to enable it.

That means the only viable option for OS X are still Sandforce based SSDs (if you are looking for high end performance). They do real time garbage collection and won't see a performance degradation over time. And they don't need TRIM either. It's all automagic Which Sandforce based SSD you buy is basically irrelevant. As long as they use synchronous NAND (like the Vertex 3) they are all the same. So instead of the Vertex 3 you could also get a Corsair Force GT, Patriot Pyro SE, Kingston HyperX, OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G.... the only deciding factor between those is price.

There are Sandforce based SSDs that use asynchronous NAND. Like the OCZ Agility. They are slower!

Hope this helps in making a decision. From your list, I would choose the Vertex 3 (I ended up buying the Crucial Force GT because it was a little cheaper than the Vertex - but it doesn't matter really).

 

[bbdjam]

pci sata III mac pro

Il te faut un câble alimentation SATA que tu brancheras de la carte mère au nouveau SSD, puis un câble SATA données que tu brancheras entre la nouvelle carte PCIe SATA III et le SSD.

Sur la photo tu vois bien le câble multi couleur (alimentation) puis un câble noir (données). C'est le câble noir qu'il faut trouver en petit sinon ça fait désordre dans la machine.

A Paris tu as toujours la rue Montgallet si tu peux t'y rendre en personne, sinon Surcouf c'est le plus court que j'ai trouvé à 25cm.
http://www.surcouf.com/F-10495-connectique/P-72803-mcl-samar-cable-sata-iii-interne-25cm

Voici un dessin des deux connecteurs:
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2008/08/sata33.jpg

EDIT: tu peux aussi placer le SSD dans le deuxième emplacement pour les graveurs DVDs, il s'y trouve une déjà alimentation, ne te reste qu'à tirer un câble SATA données de la carte vers la baie DVD.

thank you very much for your answer, and for links

yes the drive over the bay but the sata cabe is molded with apple + power supply given the need for power supply Connect the SATA cable to the ssd pci card, I have two more ssd m4 crutial need two power supplies.

-how to set the jumpers to use the internal sata?
-What do you think of this cable?

http://www.misco.fr/produits/p25865...=google_1257&gclid=CKHP3_Gqp60CFYQLfAodnWyeoQ

maj-be it that snow leopard lion to be installed for this card is bootable version of the firm and it has an importance

thank you for your help.

ps / I recall that I am on Mac Pro Nehalem 2.26 Octo, snow leopard 10.6.8,

----------

Il te faut un câble alimentation SATA que tu brancheras de la carte mère au nouveau SSD, puis un câble SATA données que tu brancheras entre la nouvelle carte PCIe SATA III et le SSD.

Sur la photo tu vois bien le câble multi couleur (alimentation) puis un câble noir (données). C'est le câble noir qu'il faut trouver en petit sinon ça fait désordre dans la machine.

A Paris tu as toujours la rue Montgallet si tu peux t'y rendre en personne, sinon Surcouf c'est le plus court que j'ai trouvé à 25cm.
http://www.surcouf.com/F-10495-connectique/P-72803-mcl-samar-cable-sata-iii-interne-25cm

Voici un dessin des deux connecteurs:
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2008/08/sata33.jpg

EDIT: tu peux aussi placer le SSD dans le deuxième emplacement pour les graveurs DVDs, il s'y trouve une déjà alimentation, ne te reste qu'à tirer un câble SATA données de la carte vers la baie DVD.

merci beaucoup pour votre réponse,et pour les liens

oui sur la baie du graveur mais le cabe apple sata est moulé avec alim+donné, besoin que de l'alim pour branché le cable sata du ssd vers la carte pci, de plus je possède 2 ssd crutial m4 donc besoin de deux alimentations.

-comment placer les jumpers pour utiliser les sata interne?
-que pensez vous de ce cable?

http://www.misco.fr/produits/p25865...=google_1257&gclid=CKHP3_Gqp60CFYQLfAodnWyeoQ

-faut il que maj snow leopard vers lion soit installé pour que cette carte soit bootable et la version du firm a t elle une importance

merci pour votre aide.

ps/ je rappel que je suis sous mac pro nehalem 2,26 octo, snow leopard 10.6.8,

 

[initialsBB]

That means the only viable option for OS X are still Sandforce based SSDs

Thank you for the tips !

Does this exclude the M4 entirely though ? It is the cheapest of the three with a great deal on Amazon.fr at the moment ...

 

[funkahdafi]

Thank you for the tips !

Does this exclude the M4 entirely though ? It is the cheapest of the three with a great deal on Amazon.fr at the moment ...

Crucial won't tell whether the m4 uses real-time or idle-time garbage collection. Regarding to this Anandtech review (Anandtech does the most comprehensive SSDs review IMO), it looks like it is doing idle-time just like the Samsung:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4253/the-crucial-m4-micron-c400-ssd-review/2

Same issue as with the Samsung. I would stay away from it if using OS X.

 

[initialsBB]

-how to set the jumpers to use the internal sata?

Sorry I don't have this card yet, I don't know.

-What do you think of this cable?
http://www.misco.fr/produits/p25865...=google_1257&gclid=CKHP3_Gqp60CFYQLfAodnWyeoQ

I don't think that's the right cable. I think it should be 1 female connector to get power from the 5.25" bay connector, then out to 2 or 3 male connectors to plug into the SSD. Maybe like this :
http://www.abix.fr/multiprise-alimentation-sata-en-y-vers-3-alimentations-sata,article,147558.html

maj-be it that snow leopard lion to be installed for this card is bootable version of the firm and it has an importance

I don't know, but I imagine you need at least OS 10.6.8, maybe 10.7.2 ?

----------

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4253/the-crucial-m4-micron-c400-ssd-review/2

Thanks for the link. Didn't know about this TRIM issue on the M4, many people recommended it on these very forums. I'll look into the TRIM enabling tips before buying though.

 

[Vapor matt]

Hi to all, hope you have had a good xmas, also wishing you all a very happy new year!

Well i thought it was time to do a little update on the SATA 3 controller card.

And it has been 100% reliable, it has never failed to boot, it has been and remains as fast as when i first installed it.

I can still select which drive i wish to boot from by holding alt key (option key) when first booting as i also have a SATA vertex 2 drive that i use for windows 7 and for gaming. I don't use boot camp for win 7 pro its a clean install directly to the drive no boot camp required.

so far this has been one of the best value upgrades i have done for my mac. what i would like to see now is mac osx lion support blue ray so i can fit a blue ray drive and use it in mac osx aswell as win 7 pro.

and another soon as possible upgrade will be the new Ati 7970 when they become available and not a mac one but a flashed PC one hopefully. they are showing some good results here and would like one for my mac pro.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=3

well i hope some are seeing the benefits of SATA-3 now instead of waiting for the new mac pro which dosnt look like it going to happen anytime soon.

happy holidays!




http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=3

 

[bbdjam]

pci sata III mac pro

Hi to all, hope you have had a good xmas, also wishing you all a very happy new year!

Well i thought it was time to do a little update on the SATA 3 controller card.

And it has been 100% reliable, it has never failed to boot, it has been and remains as fast as when i first installed it.

I can still select which drive i wish to boot from by holding alt key (option key) when first booting as i also have a SATA vertex 2 drive that i use for windows 7 and for gaming. I don't use boot camp for win 7 pro its a clean install directly to the drive no boot camp required.

so far this has been one of the best value upgrades i have done for my mac. what i would like to see now is mac osx lion support blue ray so i can fit a blue ray drive and use it in mac osx aswell as win 7 pro.

and another soon as possible upgrade will be the new Ati 7970 when they become available and not a mac one but a flashed PC one hopefully. they are showing some good results here and would like one for my mac pro.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=3

well i hope some are seeing the benefits of SATA-3 now instead of waiting for the new mac pro which dosnt look like it going to happen anytime soon.

happy holidays!




http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=3

Oh hello vapor matte,
Happy Holidays and thank you for all the info I hope to have the same success as you on the map pci sata III
you run this card with lion?

can you confirm that this box in pj is the same as yours?

 

[bbdjam]

pci sata III mac pro

Oh hello vapor matte,
Happy Holidays and thank you for all the info I hope to have the same success as you on the map pci sata III
you run this card with lion?

can you confirm that this box in pj is the same as yours?

oups Here the picture

 

[Vapor matt]

can you confirm that this box in pj is the same as yours?

That is the same card as mine!

 

[funkahdafi]

That is the same card as mine!

@bbdja: I figure you bought this card somewhere in Europe? Do you have a link?

Thanks

 

[initialsBB]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PCIE-SATA-eSATA-CONTROLLER-CARD/dp/B00560ZOGO

Amazon UK, I ordered mine from amazon FR at the same sticker price but in euro !

 

[bbdjam]

pci sata III mac pro

Amazon UK, I ordered mine from amazon FR at the same sticker price but in euro !

yes funkahdafi that is what the above link

thank you for the confirmation vapor matte
I'm really glad it works for you and I hope the same for me

remains lion's try with uprgrade

 

[funkahdafi]

well that is very strange because I have the exact same card. the box was different, but the card is 100% the same (judging from the pictures). and it does not boot here.

 

[initialsBB]

well that is very strange because I have the exact same card. the box was different, but the card is 100% the same (judging from the pictures). and it does not boot here.

You mean it won't boot a RAID0 ? From your earlier posts I gather you could not try booting a solo SSD as you didn't have one spare to test ?

 

[funkahdafi]

You mean it won't boot a RAID0 ? From your earlier posts I gather you could not try booting a solo SSD as you didn't have one spare to test ?

yes, that's right. I couldn't boot into a RAID-0 SSD array (Apple Software Raid, btw.). But I also wasn't able to boot any CD/DVD when I had an optical drive connected to the card.

I am waiting for my new SSD, should arrive today. It will not go into RAID. I will report back once I have tested it.