Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MP 7,1 Adding an internal Samsung 4TB SSD to Mac Pro 7-1

P

peletrane

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 19, 2007
93
10
Chicago, IL
Hey, I ordered a 12 core Mac Pro, pre-configured by Apple with 2 TB SSD. When I got the machine, I did get a 2 TB SSD, and it looks like PCI slots 1 and 8 were used. I didn't order anything else other than spec.

I ordered a 4 TB internal 2.5" SSD by Samsung (Samsung 860 QVO SSD 4TB - 2.5 Inch SATA 3 Internal Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology (MZ-76Q4T0B/AM).

I contacted Apple Care on the instructions on how to add this SSD so it is recognized as as a 2nd additional storage space, separate and apart from the Boot Drive. They said there are no specific instructions at this time.

My inference is that it can be added in one of the PCI-e slots, but it needs to be attached to a PCI-e Card. Is this correct? If so, what PCI-e card would you recommend? Are there any instructions on how to add an additional internal SSD drive, as I have described in this scnario?

Any help or advice is appreciated. Apple Care was not really helpful. :( Thanks!
 
First, Samsung QVO drives are not compatible with MP5,1 and a lot of other Macs, but for now we still don't know if it's incompatible with MP7,1 too.

To install SATA drives you need a Promise 2Ji, there is a thread about it Received my Promise 2Ji today.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bsbeamer
mikeboss said:
hm... I installed a 1.0 TB 860 QVO in an iMac Late 2013 and it runs flawless. when you're saying "other Macs" what models exactly are we talking about?
Click to expand...
Personally tested a QVO with MP3,1, MP5,1, MBP8,1, MBP9,1, MM5,1 and MM6,1. Other people had problems with other Macs but no one compiled a list of working Macs that I know of.

Seems everything earlier than 2014 and some of the 2013 iMacs don't work at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikeboss
There MIGHT be firmware updates at play for QVO's with newer updates ones potentially working OK. Some seem to work via specific adapters in client offices, but the general consensus is to buy the EVO's instead and avoid the risk.

Personally can confirm EVO 840, 850 and 860 all work in MP5,1 and via external devices in macOS in various capacities.
 
i contacted Samsung and they said it should be compatible via a PCIe card, but check with the computer manufacturer about any proprietary connectors that may be required to connect the SSD to the PCIe card.
 
bsbeamer said:
There MIGHT be firmware updates at play for QVO's with newer updates ones potentially working OK. Some seem to work via specific adapters in client offices, but the general consensus is to buy the EVO's instead and avoid the risk.

Personally can confirm EVO 840, 850 and 860 all work in MP5,1 and via external devices in macOS in various capacities.
Click to expand...
I have a suspicion, but can be wrong, that the problem is related to the 3V3 pinout too and not just the firmware, like almost all over 6TB recent HDDs.
[automerge]1576529952[/automerge]
peletrane said:
i contacted Samsung and they said it should be compatible via a PCIe card, but check with the computer manufacturer about any proprietary connectors that may be required to connect the SSD to the PCIe card.
Click to expand...
MP7,1 have two SATA data connectors and one multiple power connector for the Promise 2Ji cage. Promise designed and is making the 2Ji cage for Apple, Cupertino opted to not offer an in-house official SATA product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bsbeamer
peletrane said:
Hey, I ordered a 12 core Mac Pro, pre-configured by Apple with 2 TB SSD. When I got the machine, I did get a 2 TB SSD, and it looks like PCI slots 1 and 8 were used. I didn't order anything else other than spec.

I ordered a 4 TB internal 2.5" SSD by Samsung (Samsung 860 QVO SSD 4TB - 2.5 Inch SATA 3 Internal Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology (MZ-76Q4T0B/AM).

I contacted Apple Care on the instructions on how to add this SSD so it is recognized as as a 2nd additional storage space, separate and apart from the Boot Drive. They said there are no specific instructions at this time.

My inference is that it can be added in one of the PCI-e slots, but it needs to be attached to a PCI-e Card. Is this correct? If so, what PCI-e card would you recommend? Are there any instructions on how to add an additional internal SSD drive, as I have described in this scnario?

Any help or advice is appreciated. Apple Care was not really helpful. :( Thanks!
Click to expand...
Maybe one of the OWC Accelsior 4M2 PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD products (1, 2, 4 and 8TB sizes) might be a better choice as the OWC site claims it works with the MP7,1, but not sure about its use as an alternative boot device.... but sure is fast (6GB/sec) as claimed.
 
And the answer is: called Samsung, Apple and Promise. The official line is: too soon to see if Apple supports SSD's through PCIe cards. The Promise Pegesis product only officially supports mechanical drives. Not SSDs.

So, returning the Samsung SSD post haste for a full refund.
 
peletrane said:
And the answer is: called Samsung, Apple and Promise. The official line is: too soon to see if Apple supports SSD's through PCIe cards. The Promise Pegesis product only officially supports mechanical drives. Not SSDs.

So, returning the Samsung SSD post haste for a full refund.
Click to expand...
Is the MP7,1 the official end of "it just works"? The trash can was a configuration headache, the new cheese grater is looking like a nightmare. (And T-Bolt is the root of the nightmare.)

These configuration questions are mind boggling.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parzival
Nearly all third party vendors are saying TBD. A lot has to do with actually testing their products for official support. Sonnet one of the few that had pre-delivery testing with Apple.
 
bsbeamer said:
Nearly all third party vendors are saying TBD. A lot has to do with actually testing their products for official support. Sonnet one of the few that had pre-delivery testing with Apple.
Click to expand...
Give us a month and I suspect many of these type questions will get resolved, one way or the other. It will take a 'critical' number of MP7,1 owners to check these things out for us to feel comfortable with what works and what doesn't work.

We had the same set of questions with the G3, G4 and G5.... so I'm not surprised nor disillusioned one bit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thisisnotmyname and chfilm
peletrane said:
And the answer is: called Samsung, Apple and Promise. The official line is: too soon to see if Apple supports SSD's through PCIe cards. The Promise Pegesis product only officially supports mechanical drives. Not SSDs.

So, returning the Samsung SSD post haste for a full refund.
Click to expand...
Promise not officially supporting SSDs is just a format/size problem, SSDs are 2,5” while the cage is made for 3,5” HDDs. Use an adapter, like we use for MP5,1 HDDs bays.
 
bxs said:
Give us a month and I suspect many of these type questions will get resolved, one way or the other. It will take a 'critical' number of MP7,1 owners to check these things out for us to feel comfortable with what works and what doesn't work.

We had the same set of questions with the G3, G4 and G5.... so I'm not surprised nor disillusioned one bit.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And why I’m waiting it out a little bit. No point to rush order before 2019 EOY at this point.
 
bsbeamer said:
Exactly. And why I’m waiting it out a little bit. No point to rush order before 2019 EOY at this point.
Click to expand...
Even if one does 'stick the neck out' many of the vendors sporting these devices we're interested in will typically allow returns for full refunds. Even the MP7,1 has a 14-day full refund policy.
 
Thessman said:
I have a 2TB 860 QVO that's working flawlessly in my 4.1 -> 5.1 for the past three months on 10.13.6
Click to expand...
What's the firmware version? Do you use a PCIe SATA card? First time I hear it working in a MP5,1.
 
1.png
 
If i remember correctly it also worked directly as a SATA II in the CD ROM extra connectors for a while, but I moved it to a PCI slot for SATA III speed.
 
Thessman said:
If i remember correctly it also worked directly as a SATA II in the CD ROM extra connectors for a while, but I moved it to a PCI slot for SATA III.
Click to expand...
It "works", but KPs frequently. People also reported that it disappears when warm rebooting while connected to the native SATA ports, like the newer SATA high capacity HDDs that have the 3V3 problem.

Another weird thing with these QVO drives, maybe it's inconsequential, but it reports as AHCI 1.19 in your screenshot while most current drives are AHCI 1.30. Last time I saw a 1.19 AHCI version was with Intel ESB2 SATAII from MP3,1.
 
Last edited:
I know several people have received the nMP and several others have received their J2I's (like me). But surely someone has received both and can tell us if a 2.5 SSD works in slot 2? I hope so, I've just received a 860 Pro 4TB and bracket to go into the Pegasus J2I spare slot
 
davidec said:
I know several people have received the nMP and several others have received their J2I's (like me). But surely someone has received both and can tell us if a 2.5 SSD works in slot 2? I hope so, I've just received a 860 Pro 4TB and bracket to go into the Pegasus J2I spare slot
Click to expand...
Have faith my man.... if the 3.5" disk works so will a lowly 2.5" SSD. :cool:
 
  • Like
Reactions: davidec
I emailed Promise about how an SSD in the J2i would compare in terms of speed with an NVMe M2 PCIe card and they wrote back:
SSD installed will be faster but unfortunately we have not qualified any SSD as yet.
 
aliengirl said:
SSD installed will be faster
Click to expand...

This isn't even remotely true. An SSD on the J2I carrier will be limited to SATA3 speeds, which is 6Gbits/sec. An NVMe running at full tilt can hit anywhere from 24-32Gbits/sec depending on the model. They're literally 4-5 times faster than SATA3 drives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back