MP 6,1 2TB SSD Options?

[Digital_Frank]

I am researching 2TB SSD options for my Mac Pro (6,1) running Mojave (10.14.6)

Here are the 2TB options I have found:
• HP EX950
• Samsung 970 EVO Plus PCIe NVMe
• addlink S70 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4
• Intel 660p PCIe 3.0 x4
• XPG SX8200 Pro NVMe PCIe Gen3x4

I make a living editing video, so performance and reliability are important to me.

Right now, I am leaning towards the HP EX950. Compared to the 970 EVO Plus, the cost is about 30% less
and has similar speed as the 970 Evo Plus:
https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compa...vs-HP-EX950-NVMe-PCIe-M2-2TB/m798635vsm710813

I understand the Mac Pro is PCIe 2.0 x4, and will max out at ~1500 MB/sec, so a faster SSD won't give me any additional speed.

Is the 970 EVO Plus worth the extra 30%?
Are there other 2 TB options?

Thanks in advance.

 

[tsialex]

I am researching 2TB SSD options for my Mac Pro (6,1) running Mojave (10.14.6)

Here are the 2TB options I have found:
• HP EX950
• Samsung 970 EVO Plus PCIe NVMe
• addlink S70 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4
• Intel 660p PCIe 3.0 x4
• XPG SX8200 Pro NVMe PCIe Gen3x4

I make a living editing video, so performance and reliability are important to me.

Right now, I am leaning towards the HP EX950. Compared to the 970 EVO Plus, the cost is about 30% less
and has similar speed as the 970 Evo Plus:
https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compa...vs-HP-EX950-NVMe-PCIe-M2-2TB/m798635vsm710813

I understand the Mac Pro is PCIe 2.0 x4, and will max out at ~1500 MB/sec, so a faster SSD won't give me any additional speed.

Is the 970 EVO Plus worth the extra 30%?
Are there other 2 TB options?

Thanks in advance.

Cheaper blades use TLC or QLC NAND chips and have lower endurance, for video editing this is a reliability problem in the long run, forget the throughput look at endurance/writes per day stats.

Look at blades that use SLC or MLC NAND, like Samsung 970 Pro and others. If you really need a 2TB blade Samsung 970 EVO Plus and Toshiba XG5 have 2TB models with acceptable endurance.

Don't forget you need an adapter from Apple 12+16 format to M.2, like the Sintech one.

 

[Digital_Frank]

Cheaper blades use TLC or QLC NAND chips and have lower endurance, for video editing this is a reliability problem in the long run, forget the throughput look at endurance/writes per day stats.

Look at blades that use SLC or MLC NAND, like Samsung 970 Pro and others. If you really need a 2TB blade Samsung 970 EVO Plus and Toshiba XG5 have 2TB models with acceptable endurance.

Don't forget you need an adapter from Apple 12+16 format to M.2, like the Sintech one.

Thanks for the quick reply and guidance.

I am currently using the older OWC Aura 1TB and running out of space. So a 2 TB SSD would work well for me. That removes the 970 PRO as it doesn't come in a 2 TB.

The Toshiba XG5 looks great, except the price is about $1300 (amazon.ca) and that is too much for me.

From the spec sheets:
HP 950EX:
Memory: Micron 64L TLC
Form factor: Double sided
Endurance: 1400 TBW

970 EVO Plus:
Memory: Samsung 96-layer 3D TLC
Form factor: Single sided
Endurance: 1200 TBW


If I get the HP EX950, I wonder how well the EKWB heat sink will fit, since it is double sided, where the EVO is single sided?


Samsung seems to be everyones favorite, which makes me lean more that way, but the HP EX950 looks comparable.

PS I have the Sintech adapter (both board and mini version) and the EKWB heat sink is on its way

 

[tsialex]

Thanks for the quick reply and guidance.

I am currently using the older OWC Aura 1TB and running out of space. So a 2 TB SSD would work well for me. That removes the 970 PRO as it doesn't come in a 2 TB.

The Toshiba XG5 looks great, except the price is about $1300 (amazon.ca) and that is too much for me.

From the spec sheets:
HP 950EX:
Memory: Micron 64L TLC
Form factor: Double sided
Endurance: 1400 TBW

970 EVO Plus:
Memory: Samsung 96-layer 3D TLC
Form factor: Single sided
Endurance: 1200 TBW


If I get the HP EX950, I wonder how well the EKWB heat sink will fit, since it is double sided, where the EVO is single sided?


Samsung seems to be everyones favorite, which makes me lean more that way, but the HP EX950 looks comparable.

PS I have the Sintech adapter (both board and mini version) and the EKWB heat sink is on its way

I'd look at the Samsung 970 EVO 2TB, the previous model. The Samsung Polaris Phoenix controller is a lot better than the Silicon Motion SM2262EN used by HP.

 

[Digital_Frank]

Thanks again.
Amazon.ca didn't show a 2TB, but newegg.ca did: $800! (Canadian)

I might try the HP EX950, as it should suit my needs for the next year or two. By then it will be time to upgrade everything. (plus, I back everything up daily to multiple drives for peace of mind)

 

[tsialex]

Thanks again.
Amazon.ca didn't show a 2TB, but newegg.ca did: $800! (Canadian)

I might try the HP EX950, as it should suit my needs for the next year or two. By then it will be time to upgrade everything. (plus, I back everything up daily to multiple drives for peace of mind)

Yep, the price difference is considerable.

Silicon Motion SM2262EN is a midrange controller for consumer blades, I wouldn't buy a blade with one to use as a scratch drive for my MP5,1 with SSD7101A-1, the switch converts PCIe 2.0 x16 to PCIe 3.0 x4, but for a MP6,1 with a PCIe 2.0 x4 connection, it won't make much of a difference.

Keep backing up, remember that you need to keep the Apple OEM SSD for firmware upgrades.

 

[Digital_Frank]

I ordered the 2TB HP EX950 today and will have it by next week.

Just for fun, I will run Blackmagic and AJA disk speed tests on the original 256 GB Apple SSD, OWCAura 1TB and the EX950.

Also the 64 GB memory should be in later next week, and next month the 12 core Xeon.

 

[Digital_Frank]

The EX950 is installed and up and running.
I will post a separate thread on the boot times, speed, temp on all 3 drives.

 

[Digital_Frank]

Here is a 30 day review of the EX950:

HP EX950 2TB SSD: 1 Month Review

This forum has been a great help for me to understand what my upgrade options are for my 4 core Trashcan Mac Pro running 10.14.6. So, I wanted to share my results. I use my Mac Pro to edit video and typically have the source files, proxies, etc on the fastest drive I have. That meant my OWC...

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