Fast, faster, fastest: Musings about the small world of AHCI PCIe blades: bootable speedy SSDs for (some) Early Intel Macs

[Amethyst1]

This post is an attempt to compile information on the few early and short-lived (2013...2015) native-PCIe m.2 SSD "blades" that use the AHCI protocol instead of NVM Express (NVMe).

Why AHCI blades? Aren't NVMe blades much more plentiful, newer, faster, better, etc.?

They are, but there are three caveats with them that may be relevant in the context of early Intel Macs:

1. Apple NVMe blades require OS X Yosemite. Third-party NVMe blades require macOS Sierra for partial support and High Sierra for full support, which pre-2008 Intel Macs can’t run because their CPU(s) is (are) missing the required SSE4 instructions. AHCI blades, on the other hand, can be used with Macs which don't run Yosemite, Sierra or High Sierra respectively.
2. You need a 2010 or later Mac, e.g. a 2010 Mac Pro or 2011 MacBook Pro, for native NVMe boot support. Lacking this means you can use NVMe blades as secondary drives, but you can't boot from them. Earlier Intel Macs can boot from AHCI blades though.
3. Some people would like or need to run an earlier version of OS X that lacks NVMe support.

If at least one of the above conditions applies, then AHCI blades are worth looking at.

What is required to use one of these elusive AHCI blades, then?

1. Non-Apple blades come in the m.2 "NGFF" form factor and use a native PCIe 2.0 or PCIe 3.0 interface. Thus, a passive adapter to go from m.2 to PCIe ×4 is required, such as the Lycom DT-120 (not my auction) or another, cheaper one. There's many of them on e.g. eBay. Apple's custom blades and the Transcend JetDrive 820/825 use a custom form factor and connector. They require a custom PCIe ×4 adapter like this one (not my auction, but that's the one I have).
2. An Intel Mac with either an unused PCIe ×4 or better slot, or a Mac with a Thunderbolt port and a Thunderbolt m.2 or PCIe enclosure to put the blade (and m.2-to-PCIe adapter) into, is required. This means that a Mac Pro (any model), a 2011 or later iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt is required.
3. As far as OS X is concerned, Leopard or a later version is required. Leopard is the oldest version to contain an "universal" AHCI driver which will talk to AHCI blades. They appear just like an internal SATA SSD in System Profiler, but are (substantially) faster due to their native PCIe interface.

What AHCI blades are out there?

The following table lists the AHCI m.2 PCIe blades I'm aware of and provides links to their datasheets/websites, where available. Only capacities that are confirmed to be available are listed. Read/write speds are for the fastest model. Corrections and additions are welcome, of course.

Manufacturer	Model	Controller	PCIe Interface	Capacities [GB]	Max Read [MB/s]	Max Write [MB/s]	Comments
Apple (Samsung)	SSUAX	Samsung S4LN053X01	2.0 ×2 2.0 ×4	128; 256; 512; 768; 1024	1000 (×2) 1000 (×4)	800 (×2) 1000 (×4)	based on Samsung XP941 768 GB, 1024 GB, 2013 Mac Pro: ×4
Apple (Samsung)	SSUBX	Samsung S4LN058A01	3.0 ×4	128; 256; 512; 1024	1500	1425	based on Samsung SM951 AHCI
Apple (SanDisk)	SDNEP	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128; 256	720	340	based on SanDisk A110
Apple (Toshiba)	SRIUP	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128; 256	1000	800	based on Toshiba ???
Kingston	HyperX Predator	Marvell 88SS9293	2.0 ×4	240; 480; 960	1400	1000	Retail; Option ROM
Lite-On	EP1	Marvell 88SS9293	2.0 ×4	480; 960	1500	1200
Lite-On	LJT-256B1P	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	256	740	575	Plextor M6e eng sample
Plextor (Lite-On)	M6e	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128; 256; 512	770	625	Retail; Option ROM
Samsung	XP941	Samsung S4LN053X01	2.0 ×4	128; 256; 512	1170	930	OEM-only
Samsung	SM951	Samsung S4LN058A01	3.0 ×4	128; 256; 512	2150	1500	OEM-only AHCI: "MZH..." NVMe: "MZV..."
SanDisk	A110	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128; 256	740	625	OEM-only
SK Hynix	PC200	Marvell 88SS9293	2.0 ×2	512
Transcend	JetDrive 820/825	Silicon Motion SM2260	3.0 ×2	240; 480; 960	950	950	Retail; 825 includes Thunderbolt encl.

Let's see some AHCI PCIe SSD blades flexing their muscles in Early Intel Macs!

SSD	Mac	OS X	PCIe Interface	Working/Bootable	User	Benchmark
Apple SSUBX 256GB	2011 MacBook Pro	10.6.8	2.0 ×4 (TB 1)	yes / yes	Amethyst1	click me
Apple SSUBX 1024GB	2010 Mac Pro	10.10.x	2.0 ×4	yes / unknown	Bare Feats	click me
Lite-On EP1 480GB	2013 Mac Pro	11.x	2.0 ×4 (TB 2)	yes / unknown	Lance Nanek	click me
Samsung SM951 512GB	2009 Mac Pro	10.5.8	2.0 ×4	yes / yes	MrCheeto	click me
Samsung SM951 512GB	2010 Mac Pro	10.10.x	2.0 ×4	yes / unknown	Bare Feats	click me
Samsung XP941 512GB	2010 Mac Pro	10.9.x	2.0 ×4	yes / unknown	Bare Feats	click me

 

[theMarble]

Would a blade work through a 2.5" SATA to PCIe (AHCI, not NVMe) adapter? Or would it have to go through a Thunderbolt enclousure?

Certainly would make my already blazing 2011 Pro even faster (12GB RAM, MX500 500GB, 10.6.8).

 

[Needleroozer]

Would a blade work through a 2.5" SATA to PCIe (AHCI, not NVMe) adapter? Or would it have to go through a Thunderbolt enclousure?

Certainly would make my already blazing 2011 Pro even faster (12GB RAM, MX500 500GB, 10.6.8).

If you’re talking about a 2.5” SATA to B-keyed M.2 adapter, that won’t work - those adapters are just breaking out the SATA pins from the 2.5” drive to those on SATA-compatible M.2 drives. (While M.2 connectors can carry both PCIe and SATA signals, a given drive will tend only to work with one protocol or the other.)
These Apple blades need a PCIe connection since they are an AHCI interface exposed over PCIe.

Possibly you could remove your AirPort WiFi card and run an extension cable somewhere to hook up one of these blades if you really wanted one, though...

 

[Amethyst1]

Would a blade work through a 2.5" SATA to PCIe (AHCI, not NVMe) adapter? Or would it have to go through a Thunderbolt enclousure?

No. These adapters are for m.2 SATA blades only (the kind we've been using with PATA adapters in PPC Macs).
You need a Thunderbolt enclosure for a m.2 PCIe blade. The fact that these early PCIe blades use AHCI makes them usable with early Intel Macs and early OS X versions, but not with SATA.

Certainly would make my already blazing 2011 Pro even faster [...]

Even if it did work, you'd still be limited by the 6 Gbps SATA interface then so it would be pointless.

These Apple blades need a PCIe connection since they are an AHCI interface exposed over PCIe.

All blades I listed use a PCIe connection.

Possibly you could remove your AirPort WiFi card and run an extension cable somewhere to hook up one of these blades if you really wanted one, though...

The AirPort slot is PCIe ×1 (≈500 MB/s max for a 2011 MBP) which would make this pointless though. Same goes for the ExpressCard slot on the 17" model.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I have a Hackintosh desktop purpose-built to run Mavericks. It has an Intel i7-4790K and a Z97 motherboard.

I use a SATA SSD because I just assumed that was the fastest possible storage which Mavericks would know how to read.

Does this thread mean there's something faster I could potentially get for my Hackintosh?

 

[Amethyst1]

I use a SATA SSD because I just assumed that was the fastest possible storage which Mavericks would know how to read.

Nope. Apple started using AHCI PCIe SSDs in the 2013 MacBook Air, which originally ran Mountain Lion. And as tests have proven, even [Snow] Leopard can talk to and boot from these blades.

Does this thread mean there's something faster I could potentially get for my Hackintosh?

Sure thing! For best results, get your hands on a 256GB or larger Apple “SSUBX” (easy to find) or Samsung SM951 (you need the hard-to-find AHCI version of the SM951, not the easy-to-find NVMe one!), put it in a PCIe adapter and watch it smoke your SATA SSD.

Your Z97 mainboard should actually support booting from PCIe SSDs (this is not the case on pre-9 series boards).

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Super cool!

...The only thing is, I currently use a 4 TB boot drive, and I don't particularly want to go down. If anything I'd like it to be larger.

I did some googling for "AHCI SSD" and found this thread in the Mac Pro section... it actually looks like there might be two 8 TB AHCI drives? I wonder if those would work, or is there some gotcha? (Of course, I haven't checked prices yet...)

Rocket Q: Phison E12S controller: NVMe, M.2 blade
Micron 96L 3D QLC
Available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB
PCIe 3.0 x4
Speeds: up to 3,400 MB/s read, up to 3,000 MB/s write (4TB)
Sector size: 512 bytes per sector (emulated), 4 KBytes physical
Datasheet
Compatibility status: Good
4Kn support: Yes

Corsair Force:

MP400: NVMe, M.2 blade
Available in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
Phison E125 controller, Micron 96 layer QLC
PCIe 3.0
Speeds: up to 3480 Mbps read/ 3000 Mbps write
IOPS: depending on blade size, from random 190 000 read to random 710 000 write
Sector size: Unknown
Compatibility: Good
4K support: Unknown
Warranty: 5 years

 

[Amethyst1]

it actually looks like there might be two 8 TB AHCI drives?

CAUTION. Both of these are NVMe blades, not AHCI ones. NVMe blades will NOT work in Mavericks!

The vast majority of native PCIe SSDs are NVMe (because that protocol was designed just for them), so you are restricted to the few AHCI blades I was able to track down, unless you upgrade to High Sierra which fully supports NVMe blades, or someone sits down and writes an NVMe driver for Mavericks.

If you don't need to boot off it ('cause you can't), this bugger and other Fusion-io PCIe drives might be worth looking at. AFAICS there are drivers for Yosemite and older versions, if you can track them down.

 

[Needleroozer]

CAUTION. Both of these are NVMe blades, not AHCI ones. NVMe blades will NOT work in Mavericks!

The vast majority of native PCIe SSDs are NVMe (because that protocol was designed just for them), so you are restricted to the few AHCI blades I was able to track down, unless you upgrade to High Sierra which fully supports NVMe blades, or someone sits down and writes an NVMe driver for Mavericks.

If you don't need to boot off it ('cause you can't), this bugger and other Fusion-io PCIe drives might be worth looking at. AFAICS there are drivers for Yosemite and older versions, if you can track them down.

This is a little off-topic, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the Sun F40/F80 WarpDrive cards, like in this listing:

Sun 7069200 800GB PCI Express Flash Accelerator for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sun 7069200 800GB PCI Express Flash Accelerator at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Apparently they have four SAS MLC SSDs connected to an LSI SAS2008 controller that can be reflashed from IT to IR mode to RAID all four drives together for speed (up to 800MB/s read and 600MB/s write according to a servethehome review of a WarpDrive).

Converting a Sun/Oracle F40/F80 Flash Accelerator to a LSI/Seagate Warpdrive | Kenneth Kasilag

www.kasilag.me

Since it’s an LSI card, would the driver/booting situation be better? I started looking into it a little but figured it wouldn’t hurt to consult the experts...

 

[Amethyst1]

Apparently they have four SAS MLC SSDs connected to an LSI SAS2008 controller that can be reflashed from IT to IR mode to RAID all four drives together for speed (up to 800MB/s read and 600MB/s write according to a servethehome review of a WarpDrive).

The speeds are nothing special anymore; a single blade will match or exceed them. But they're interesting from the capacity-per-price perspective.

Since it’s an LSI card, would the driver/booting situation be better?

SAS2008 cards aren't supported OOTB by macOS and the driver situation seems a bit hacky. But I don't have actual experience with these cards.

 

[rampancy]

Sigh. I was imagining buying a discounted Samsung 870 EVO M.2 SSD and simply dropping it into my 2010 MacBook Air for fun and profit, but Apple just had to make it that much more harder, didn't they?

 

[Amethyst1]

Sigh. I was imagining buying a discounted Samsung 870 EVO M.2 SSD and simply dropping it into my 2010 MacBook Air for fun and profit, but Apple just had to make it that much more harder, didn't they?

Not sure if I’m missing the joke ( ) but here goes: the 2010…2012 MBAs use SATA blades in a custom form factor.

 

[Amethyst1]

I was imagining buying a discounted Samsung 870 EVO M.2 SSD and simply dropping it into my 2010 MacBook Air […]

Yes, you can — as long as you stick to SATA m.2 blades.

 

[rampancy]

Not sure if I’m missing the joke ( ) but here goes: the 2010…2012 MBAs use SATA blades in a custom form factor.

Yes, you can — as long as you stick to SATA m.2 blades.

Huh. I remember seeing a lot of folks asking around if they could buy standard off the shelf SSDs for use in their MacBook Air, only to be told they couldn't due to either technical incompatibilities (NVMe vs. SATA, it would seem) or issues with the SSDs themselves being too physically big. But I might revist this with my old 11" 2010 MBA...

 

[f54da]

Seems at one point there used to be a 3rd party nvme driver that from what i can see did not rely on the 10.10 driver as a base. Creator was jimj740, maybe possible to reach out to him and see if he is willing to share source? I have PM'd him, not sure if he still checks macrumors though...

 

[TheShortTimer]

Huh. I remember seeing a lot of folks asking around if they could buy standard off the shelf SSDs for use in their MacBook Air, only to be told they couldn't due to either technical incompatibilities (NVMe vs. SATA, it would seem) or issues with the SSDs themselves being too physically big. But I might revist this with my old 11" 2010 MBA...

Have a look through my thread on the very topic of using non-proprietary SSDs in the 11" 2010 MBA. I obtained a cheap equivalent of the Sintech adapter that @Amethyst1 has linked to above and bought a new 256GB SSD for significantly less than a used Apple equivalent.

 

[B S Magnet]

This post is an attempt to compile information on the few early and short-lived (2013...2015) native-PCIe m.2 SSD "blades" that use the AHCI protocol instead of NVM Express (NVMe).

Why AHCI blades? Aren't NVMe blades much more plentiful, newer, faster, better, etc.?

They are, but there are three caveats with them that may be relevant in the context of early Intel Macs:

1. Apple NVMe blades require OS X Yosemite. Third-party NVMe blades require macOS Sierra for partial support and High Sierra for full support, which pre-2008 Intel Macs can’t run because their CPU(s) is (are) missing the required SSE4 instructions. AHCI blades, on the other hand, can be used with Macs which don't run Yosemite, Sierra or High Sierra respectively.
2. You need a 2010 or later Mac, e.g. a 2010 Mac Pro or 2011 MacBook Pro, for native NVMe boot support. Lacking this means you can use NVMe blades as secondary drives, but you can't boot from them. Earlier Intel Macs can boot from AHCI blades though.
3. Some people would like or need to run an earlier version of OS X that lacks NVMe support.

If at least one of the above conditions applies, then AHCI blades are worth looking at.

What is required to use one of these elusive AHCI blades, then?

1. Non-Apple blades come in the m.2 "NGFF" form factor and use a native PCIe 2.0 or PCIe 3.0 interface. Thus, a passive adapter to go from m.2 to PCIe ×4 is required, such as the Lycom DT-120 (not my auction) or another, cheaper one. There's many of them on e.g. eBay. Apple's custom blades and the Transcend JetDrive 820/825 use a custom form factor and connector. They require a custom PCIe ×4 adapter like this one (not my auction, but that's the one I have).
2. An Intel Mac with either an unused PCIe ×4 or better slot, or a Mac with a Thunderbolt port and a Thunderbolt m.2 or PCIe enclosure to put the blade (and m.2-to-PCIe adapter) into, is required. This means that a Mac Pro (any model), a 2011 or later iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt is required.
3. As far as OS X is concerned, Leopard or a later version is required. Leopard is the oldest version to contain an "universal" AHCI driver which will talk to AHCI blades. They appear just like an internal SATA SSD in System Profiler, but are (substantially) faster due to their native PCIe interface.

What AHCI blades are out there?

The following table lists the AHCI m.2 PCIe blades I'm aware of and provides links to their datasheets/websites, where available. Corrections and additions are welcome, of course.

Manufacturer	Model	Controller	PCIe Interface	Capacities [GB]	Max Read [MB/s]	Max Write [MB/s]	Comments
Apple (Samsung)	SSUAX	Samsung S4LN053X01	2.0 ×2 2.0 ×4	128; 256; 512; 768; 1024	1000 (×2) 1000 (×4)	800 (×2) 1000 (×4)	based on Samsung XP941 768 and 1024 GB models and all Mac Pro versions use four lanes
Apple (Samsung)	SSUBX	Samsung S4LN058A01	3.0 ×4	128; 256; 512; 1024	1500	1425	based on Samsung SM951
Apple (SanDisk)	SDNEP	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128	720	340	based on SanDisk A110
Apple (Toshiba)	SRIUP	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2 2.0 ×4	128; 256; 512; 1024	1000 (×2)	800 (×2)	based on Toshiba ??? 1024 GB model uses four lanes
Kingston	HyperX Predator	Marvell 88SS9293	2.0 ×4	240; 480; 960	1400	1000	Retail; on-board Option ROM
Plextor	M6e	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128; 256; 512	770	625	Retail
Samsung	XP941	Samsung S4LN053X01	2.0 ×4	128; 256; 512	1170	930	OEM-only
Samsung	SM951	Samsung S4LN058A01	3.0 ×4	128; 256; 512	2150	1500	OEM-only; also available as NVMe blade
SanDisk	A110	Marvell 88SS9183	2.0 ×2	128; 256	740	625	OEM-only
Transcend	JetDrive 820/825	Transcend S1A393AA	3.0 ×2	240; 480; 960	950	950	Retail; 825 includes Thunderbolt case

Let's see some AHCI PCIe SSD blades flexing their muscles in Early Intel Macs!

SSD	Mac	OS X	Host PCIe Interface	User	Benchmark
Apple SSUBX 256GB	2011 MacBook Pro	10.6.8	2.0 ×4 via Thunderbolt 1	Amethyst1	click me
Samsung SM951 512GB	2009 Mac Pro	10.5.8	2.0 ×4	MrCheeto	click me

This deserves to become a WikiPost, and all it would need is an additional column in Table 1 to denote who’s verified a model known to work.

 

[Amethyst1]

This deserves to become a WikiPost, and all it would need is an additional column in Table 1 to denote who’s verified a model known to work.

I can do this. The second table lists known working models and setups. I’m collecting additional blade models right now for some more testing. Stay tuned.

 

[B S Magnet]

I can do this. The second table lists known working models and setups. I’m collecting additional blade models right now for some more testing. Stay tuned.

Shall do!

 

[Amethyst1]

Update: Added the Lite-On EP1, Lite-On LJT-256B1P (an engineering/pre-production sample of the Plextor M6e) and SK Hynix PC200. Also added a couple of working setups with benchmarks.

 

[f54da]

Why does the jetdrive site (https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-787) say 10.10 is min for their ahci drive?

 

[Amethyst1]

Why does the jetdrive site (https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-787) say 10.10 is min for their ahci drive?

Beats me… but I have bought one and will test it with 10.4+.

 

[splifingate]

I have a (Lenovo MZHPV512MDGL-000L1) 512GB SM951 AHCI that I successfully used in my 2012 MP5,1 a few years ago (and another 'new' one that's never been initialised sitting on a shelf somewhere).

Main reason I switched to nvme was for greater capacity, but having native boot added really incentivized the transition