SATA Express meets the '09 Mac Pro - Bootable NGFF PCIE SSD

Discussion in 'Mac Pro' started by handheldgames, Dec 18, 2013.

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  1. crjackson2134, Sep 15, 2014

    crjackson2134 macrumors 68020

    crjackson2134

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    #226
    Pretty sure it will sooner or later. Apple seems to always push forward on storage Tech.
     
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  2. CASLondon, Sep 15, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2014

    CASLondon macrumors 6502a

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    #227
    Hey, I think I just picked up a samsung apple pcie 1tb for a very good price. My part number is a little different

    MZ-KPU1T0T/0A1

    It sold as a nMP/rMP/MBA late 13 compatible drive, 4 lane connection, just that ending of the model number is slightly different. I'm sure it will be fine. But I couldn't find a reliable part number guide

    Any insights?

    BTW, peoples, there's another one up for sale

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/301315542126

    Have fun
     
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  3. handheldgames, Sep 16, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #228
    Not a bad price, several vendors have it for $750, including this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231266248400

    Best luck!


     
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  4. CASLondon, Sep 17, 2014

    CASLondon macrumors 6502a

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    #229
    Got my 1tb for $530.

    Very pleased, I've actually never won an ebay auction in my life, I think I just got lucky with timing. Looking forward to booting off this thing.
     
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  5. Macsonic, Sep 17, 2014

    Macsonic macrumors 65816

    Macsonic

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    #230
    Awesome Deal! Congrats and enjoy your fast Samsung PCIe :)
     
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  6. handheldgames, Sep 17, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #231
    Nice! The 1tb appears to be apples only ssd with a x4 connection. Enjoy the 1000mb/s it brings to the cMP.
     
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  7. handheldgames, Sep 20, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #232
    Market update

    Currently, the 1TB Samsung/Apple SSD is the best option for the Mac Pro. At an auction price of around 550 with shipping from Korea, or $750 buy it now, the 1tb part matches the 1000MB/S+ performance of nMP SSD's AND the 512gb Samsung XP941. Most 128, 256 and 512gb parts sold on EBay are limited to PCIe x2 speeds and top out under 800MB/sec.

    September pricing:
    Xp941 256 & adapter $300
    Apple/Samsung 512gb x2 Apple ssd & Adapter $450
    Xp941 512gb & adapter $600
    Apple/Samsung 1024gb x4 Apple ssd & adapter $600

    The 512 gb variant is $150 cheaper than the faster xp941, and $150 more than the 256 xp941. This also matches the price of the lower performing options from plextor. While the 1TB configuration matches the price of a xp941 512gb setup. Clearly the best combination of performance and storage capacity available today.

    The cheapest solution today is the 256gb xp941, currently selling for $250ish at newegg, delivering a complete solution for under $300.
     
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  8. RoastingPig, Sep 20, 2014

    RoastingPig macrumors 68000

    RoastingPig

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    #233
    Do these blade ssds show up as external or internal drives?
     
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  9. handheldgames, Sep 21, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #234
    Neither - The drives are show as "removable" but not "detachable". As a boot drive, the drive cannot be ejected. As a stand alone volume, the drives can be ejected and remounted.

    FWIW - the XP941 is shown as a 6G SATA device while the Apple SSD shows as a SATA Express PCI Device and that Trim has been deactivated on the XP941 once again.

    [​IMG]
     

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  10. CASLondon, Sep 22, 2014

    CASLondon macrumors 6502a

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    #235
    I wonder what happened, if Samsung are ramping up to retail these soon (as OWC and Sonnet are preparing high speed PCI-e flash options in theory any day), it looks like 1tb prices have dropped this week a fair amount
     
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  11. handheldgames, Sep 22, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #236
    If you are willing to wait for a good price at Auction, 1TB PCIe SSD's can definitely be picked up for a deal. I got tired of waiting and pulled the trigger on a 1TB Mac Pro version from a US reseller for 700 shipped. Auctions from South Korea have been going has high as $650 + $45 shipping for the last couple rounds and getting up at 5:25am precludes me from staying up for auctions ending at 12:45am.

    I'm going to post the 512Gb Apple SSD I received last week back on EBay for $399. I picked it up for a good price, time to pass on the favor.
     
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  12. ibarnett, Sep 23, 2014

    ibarnett macrumors regular

    ibarnett

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    #237
    The Korean auctions are interesting.......
    I bid yesterday, after asking about the "new never used etc".
    The answer came back - pulled from a MBP, hardly ever used (?)
    Anyway I bid as the 1st bidder at $500, soon outbid at $510. I waited till last minute to bid again, but missed, bid finished at about $665.
    Then shortly after I got the eBay 2nd chance notification:
     

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  13. CASLondon, Sep 23, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2014

    CASLondon macrumors 6502a

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    #238
    Not that I'm an experienced eBayer, but I did use this app to manage my bid - enter the max you want to pay, leave it running and it will automate a sniped bid for you

    https://www.jbidwatcher.com

    Mine came from a US source, it seemed packaged as a new replacement part - in factory anti-static, and even came with Apple instructions for replacement in a nMP and a packaged anti-static wristband. Not pulled from a machine at all
     
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  14. mikeboss, Sep 23, 2014

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    mikeboss

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    #239
    I got mine from this seller. the SSD had 24 power-on-hours according to S.M.A.R.T. utility.
     
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  15. handheldgames, Sep 23, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #240
    There seems to be a regular set of 2 1TB SSD's showing up on auction every 2 days from that seller. The only negative part of the deal is $45 shipping.




    Thanks for the tip on the tool. Automation is a good thing! I'll definitely take advantage of it going forward to save some $$$.
     
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  16. ShawnF, Sep 24, 2014

    ShawnF macrumors regular

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    #241
    I am looking to install 2 SSD blades in one adapter and I saw on RAM city a 2 bay adapter. Do you know if this works with the Apple SSD? I prefer to use an Apple setup as I want the in-built TRIM support instead of using Cindori TRIM tool.

    Also, the adapter I saw indicated that an additional PCI-E slot is needed if you are planning to run 2 blades-kind of self-defeating since the idea is to save a spare slot. Is this a must or are there other options that will allow you to run 2 blades without take up an extra slot?
     
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  17. mikeboss, Sep 24, 2014

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    #242
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  18. handheldgames, Sep 24, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #243
    I've been watching for x8 Two slot m.2 ngff PCIe SSD adapters since last year and have communicated with Lycom and Sintech Product Managers about the need. I anticipate a product of this nature will be out by q1 2015. Until then, you will need a pcie slot for each blade ssd. Sintech does have a m.2 pcie and m.2 sata blade adapter. Each connection is limited to x2.

    Mixed m.2 ngff / sata3 Marvell based combo adapters are also arriving, current versions provide X2 connections to each onboard device.
     
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  19. Loa, Sep 24, 2014

    Loa macrumors 65816

    Loa

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    #244
    If we had them, would the PCIe connectors in the 2009 MP have the real world bandwidth to handle 2000+ MB/s for a RAID0 of 1TB Apple/Samsung SSDs?

    Loa
     
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  20. Synchro3, Sep 24, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2014

    Synchro3 macrumors 6502a

    Synchro3

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    #245
    Question: Will this adapter with Apple-SSD work/boot under OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.5? Or is OSX Mavericks mandatory?

    Thanks in advance!
     
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  21. handheldgames, Sep 24, 2014

    handheldgames thread starter macrumors 6502a

    handheldgames

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    #246
    Yes. You could easily double what's capable in the nMP using PCIe slot #2.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    ----------
    I've never tried it in ML. Any OS from Late 2013 onward, when the late 2013 rMBP shipped, should be covered with proper KEXT support.
     
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  22. ShawnF, Sep 25, 2014

    ShawnF macrumors regular

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    #247
    I wouldn't mind buying the more premium adapters, especially if they include features like built-in SMART detection and internal SATA3 or external eSATA3 ports or even better SATA Express. A few of the pricier solutions like the one from Sonnet has them.
     
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  23. mikeboss, Sep 25, 2014

    mikeboss macrumors 6502a

    mikeboss

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    #248
    tested it right now: works flawless (incl. TRIM) even with Snow Leopard.
     
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  24. Synchro3, Sep 25, 2014

    Synchro3 macrumors 6502a

    Synchro3

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    #249
    Wow! This is excellent! So i don't have to take care of OS X Compatibility. ;)

    I did not think that Apple would it make so easy to use their PCI Express SSD's.
     
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  25. Loa, Sep 25, 2014

    Loa macrumors 65816

    Loa

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    #250
    It is indeed surprising, what with iCloud Drive **only** working with PCs and iOS right now. Sheesh... Apple must have missed the fact that those SSDs were backwards compatible. Otherwise, they would have added firmware that would have prevented this.

    :)

    Loa

    ----------
    Yes, using #2 *and* #3. But judging by the graphs, if my math is right and the slot is the bottleneck, slot #2 can only read at 1450 and write at 1050.

    Not bad, but not able to handle a RAID0 of two 1TB Apple SSD on a X8 PCIe card.

    Do we have other faster benchmarks of slot #2 on its own?

    Loa
     
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