Four 2,5" SSD to iPass + Four 3,5" HDD to RAID Card connection?

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[nanofrog]

You use a standard eSATA cable and use it between the controller card, and a port multiplier enclosure, typically 4 bay.

Does this help?

 

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[nanofrog]

ok i see that if the hdd's are external.

but the port card from syba has internal ports and i was thinking of using those ports to connect to internal drives - on something like the maxconnect optical mount or something like this;

I apologize, I had forgotten that this was the internal port model.

http://www.noiseblocker.de/en/produkt_entkoppler_nb-xswing.php

I've been interested in these myself. I'm concerned however about clearance. There isn't much room between an occupied drive bay and the PCIe slot below it, and my instincts tell me it would be a problem.

If you need to mount 2 drives internally, there is a solution that will work. It uses the empty optical drive bay. MaxConnect for Mac Pro Optical Drive Bay Disk Mounting Assembly. The downside, is it isn't cheap at $129.00 USD.

without port multiplier then i have the 2 ports on the card supporting 2 hdd's - correct?

Correct.

with port multiplier i was assuming use a fanout cable to connect all 4 drives to one port or 2 cables for 2 drives per port. is that not possible?

You wouldn't be able to use a fan-out cable.
Port multiplication is accomplished by another IC. Usually, it's offered in external enclosures, but I've done a quick search, and located an internal port multiplier. I just don't know if they would ship to the UK.

Always a catch...

Edit: Checked further... They do ship internationally. Didn't have your postal code, but economy shipping still gave a price. Currency exchange gives total cost of $68.00GBP.

 

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[nanofrog]

yep knew about that one - not sure about the support for the top 2 drives tho'

Not quite sure what you mean here.
Clarification might help.

thanks for digging that out NF - appreciated.

think i'll bookmark it & hold fire for now & see how the syba card pans out on it's own.

That's what I would do. If what you have will work as you wish, why spend the money? If not, then it becomes a need, and there is no longer a choice.

 

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[nanofrog]

just a ref to the maxconnect manual linked to by Tbarr earlier in this post.

If you take a look you'll see that the top2 drives are only supported on one side - looks like something you'd want to avoid if you could.

Maybe not an issue immediately but what about as time goes on - vibration/flexing ....

have a look you'll see what i mean even if you don't share the concern

I've only seen photos on their site, but I understand your concern. Hard to tell without getting my hands on it and see for myself.

However, I've had to install many drives that were only held by two screws, and it was never a problem. From this experience, I don't think you really need to panic.

Ultimately, I haven't seen any other product that will allow this sort of installation, so there really isn't any choice.

 

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[nanofrog]

How about you pick up the maxconnect solution
and i'll give the noiseblocker brackets a shot and we can report back - each getting the local solution - assuming youre North America somewhere that is.

Actually tbh i've already ordered some noiseblockers - so will report back in any case

I plan to. But it will have to wait until the new model Mac Pro arrives.

Any info on the noiseblocker would be nice. Especially if it fits.