Highpoint 7102

[pierre1610]

Does the Highpoint 7102 work well with 2TB 970 Evo on the 2010 mac pro under high sierra?

I don't need it to boot at the moment but if I'm spending the money it seems daft not to get one that enables it.

I looked through the Highpoint 7101A thread and couldn't see a definitive answer. Am i correct in thinking the only difference between these cards is the 7102 is bootable with the EFI/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0

 

[startergo]

Last time I checked with the support it had no Mac support for booting. They said they were "working on it,"

 

[pierre1610]

Last time I checked with the support it had no Mac support for booting. They said they were "working on it,"

Would it likely be a firmware update?

 

[bsbeamer]

Would it likely be a firmware update?

POSSIBLY a firmware update from Highpoint. Unsure if a MP5,1 firmware update would "fix" the bootable "issue".

Contact Highpoint support if you're serious about purchasing. 7102 has been backordered for awhile and B&H is now saying end of March 2019 for delivery. At basically the same exact price as the 7101A, I see little reason to take the "risk" with the 7102 right now.

 

[tsialex]

Does the Highpoint 7102 work well with 2TB 970 Evo on the 2010 mac pro under high sierra?

I don't need it to boot at the moment but if I'm spending the money it seems daft not to get one that enables it.

I looked through the Highpoint 7101A thread and couldn't see a definitive answer. Am i correct in thinking the only difference between these cards is the 7102 is bootable with the EFI/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0

If you don't make a RAID with SSD7101A, you can boot from it with 140.0.0.0.0.

High Point unfulfilled promise is that 7102 will be bootable with RAID.

 

[crjackson2134]

Does the Highpoint 7102 work well with 2TB 970 Evo on the 2010 mac pro under high sierra?

I don't need it to boot at the moment but if I'm spending the money it seems daft not to get one that enables it.

I looked through the Highpoint 7101A thread and couldn't see a definitive answer. Am i correct in thinking the only difference between these cards is the 7102 is bootable with the EFI/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0

I don't have a 7102, but the 7101A is already bootable on cMP with EFI/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0, and has been since day 1.

 

[Kai.Def]

the drive (2TB) 970 Evo has already been confirmed to work well.

since the 7102 is boot raid capable yet unfortunately not in osx (hopefully later - ie. later versions of osx) - i would try to create a raid on 2-3 m.2 drives for now & then fusion it to enable it booting (alongside a raid). I havent tried this so please correct me if i am wrong. Nonetheless thats how I'd approach it if i had such a card. hope this helps.

 

[Poke-151]

If you don't make a RAID with SSD7101A, you can boot from it with 140.0.0.0.0.

High Point unfulfilled promise is that 7102 will be bootable with RAID.

Hey, isn't that a complete waste to buy a SSD7101-A RAID controller and not use the on-board RAID or am I missing something? I know you can't boot using HighPoint's RAID array created via their web GUI...So then why not just buy a dumb card without the RAID controller and save the cash...but maybe I'm missing something?

Anyway, I have SSD7101-A and use the on-board RAID but of course I can't boot from it, sadly. But it's fast as krap for a 4TB drive. I have often wondered if I created a special Mojave installer which contained the kext for the 7101-A if it would boot...prob it's the EFI which would have to make that happen...not sure. Any thoughts?

Also, the freakin fan...I just bought heatsinks for the individual NVME drives (all 4) and tokk the black cover/aka bigazz heatsink off. And I certainly disconnected the Loud fan.

One last thing, HighPoint's raidman-httpsd web GUI is...meh ok but when I restart that process hangs my box and spindumps thus getting a shutdown_stall_2019-03-19-213151_Ye-Old-Mac-Pro.shutdownStall file...irritating. Anyone else? (btw look in HD->Library->Logs->DiagnosticReports)

be well

-s

 

[tsialex]

Hey, isn't that a complete waste to buy a SSD7101-A RAID controller and not use the on-board RAID or am I missing something? I know you can't boot using HighPoint's RAID array created via their web GUI...So then why not just buy a dumb card without the RAID controller and save the cash...but maybe I'm missing something?

Anyway, I have SSD7101-A and use the on-board RAID but of course I can't boot from it, sadly. But it's fast as krap for a 4TB drive. I have often wondered if I created a special Mojave installer which contained the kext for the 7101-A if it would boot...prob it's the EFI which would have to make that happen...not sure. Any thoughts?

Also, the freakin fan...I just bought heatsinks for the individual NVME drives (all 4) and tokk the black cover/aka bigazz heatsink off. And I certainly disconnected the Loud fan.

One last thing, HighPoint's raidman-httpsd web GUI is...meh ok but when I restart that process hangs my box and spindumps thus getting a shutdown_stall_2019-03-19-213151_Ye-Old-Mac-Pro.shutdownStall file...irritating. Anyone else? (btw look in HD->Library->Logs->DiagnosticReports)

be well

-s

I bought it because I want to install four blades with just one slot and have speeds over 1500MB/s, not because of RAID. It's nice to have it, but it's not the motive that made me buy the SSD7101-A.

High Sierra is the last macOS version that can boot from a RAID array that macOS sees the individual components, so SSD7101-A RAID is useless with Mojave for booting.

Btw, no it's not the kext that it's the problem, it's APFS that don't support RAID arrays yet.

 

[crjackson2134]

So then why not just buy a dumb card without the RAID controller and save the cash...but maybe I'm missing something?

Yes, you are missing a lot...

The 7101A has a PLX switch that lets the PCIe 2.0 connection leverage the x16 slot to get speeds nearly equal to PCIe 3.0 x4. It's WAY faster than you can get out of any dumb cards on a cMP.

The 7101A will achieve speeds (with 1 NMVe SSD) that are as fast as a dumb card using 2 NVMe SSD's in RAID0 on a cMP. You need to do some more reading, all the info is there.

Also, as @tsialex stated, you can use 1 PCIe slot and gain 4 fast SSD's.

 

[Mac_User 0101]

POSSIBLY a firmware update from Highpoint. Unsure if a MP5,1 firmware update would "fix" the bootable "issue".

Contact Highpoint support if you're serious about purchasing. 7102 has been backordered for awhile and B&H is now saying end of March 2019 for delivery. At basically the same exact price as the 7101A, I see little reason to take the "risk" with the 7102 right now.

This is good info. Do you still feel this way about the SSD7102? No advantage to buying it over a 7101-A? I explained in another thread I'm not looking to boot to RAID anyway but I'm not sure if the 7102 had any upgraded or newer components. Perhaps it's the same switch as 7101-A which is more than capable.

 

[startergo]

This is good info. Do you still feel this way about the SSD7102? No advantage to buying it over a 7101-A? I explained in another thread I'm not looking to boot to RAID anyway but I'm not sure if the 7102 had any upgraded or newer components. Perhaps it's the same switch as 7101-A which is more than capable.

There was a user saying that 7102 boots OSX (non raid) same as 7101A .I would like to see more reports from the end users using those for booting before I jump to any conclusion.

 

[wjesse]

Does the Highpoint 7102 work well with 2TB 970 Evo on the 2010 mac pro under high sierra?

I looked through the Highpoint 7101A thread and couldn't see a definitive answer. Am i correct in thinking the only difference between these cards is the 7102 is bootable with the EFI/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0

I got a Hightpoint SSD7102 two month ago, it is indeed bootable on my cMP under high sierra/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0.
7102 works great with NVMe or AHCI PCIe SSD, just plug and play, no any driver needed.
but no hardware RAID supported, I use a software RAID 0 setup(two samsung 970 Pro 512GB) under high sierra and it is also bootable, read speed up to 4382mb/sec, write speed up to 3616mb/sec.

I'm not sure if that is another PEX chip on the back of logic board(support bootable hardware RAID?), I think maybe that's the main difference between 7101A and 7102.

 

[startergo]

I got a Hightpoint SSD7102 two month age, it is indeed bootable on my cMP under high sierra/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0.
7102 works great with NVMe or AHCI PCIe SSD, just plug and play, no any driver needed.
but no hardware RAID supported, I use a software RAID 0 setup(two samsung 970 Pro 512GB) under high sierra and it is also bootable, read speed up to 4382mb/sec, write speed up to 3616mb/sec.

I'm not sure if that is another PEX chip on the back of logic board(support bootable hardware RAID?), I think maybe that's the main difference between 7101A and 7102.

Thanks for the report .it looks quite fast too .It looks faster than 7101A

 

[w1z]

Thanks for the report .it looks quite fast too .It looks faster than 7101A

I don't think it's faster than the 7101A ... same PLX switch so same results with 2 NVMe drives in raid 0 as with 7101A. The only possible speed difference would be with 4 NVMe drives on the 7102 due to the extra PLX switch on the back... I find the location a bit strange, with no cooling.

@wjesse could you possibly take a closer photo of the PLX switch on the back?

Cheers

 

[Mac_User 0101]

I got a Hightpoint SSD7102 two month age, it is indeed bootable on my cMP under high sierra/Bootrom 140.0.0.0.0.
7102 works great with NVMe or AHCI PCIe SSD, just plug and play, no any driver needed.
but no hardware RAID supported, I use a software RAID 0 setup(two samsung 970 Pro 512GB) under high sierra and it is also bootable, read speed up to 4382mb/sec, write speed up to 3616mb/sec.

I'm not sure if that is another PEX chip on the back of logic board(support bootable hardware RAID?), I think maybe that's the main difference between 7101A and 7102.

Thanks for sharing the info. It looks amazing. Could you confirm the version of the two switches? Are they PEX 8725 or something else? Also, I may be wrong but I think there might be an EEPROM with UEFI for booting a RAID array on later versions of Windows. There may also be an onboard RAID controller that is setup with the Highpoint browser-based management tool. I see that is an available download from their website. Have you tried it? It's browser-based so you can try it on MAC OS. I'd also like to know if it comes with any thermal pads or heat spreaders for the NVMe. I'm think I'm going to get one, it's pretty exciting!

 

[crjackson2134]

I don't think it's faster than the 7101A ...

100% agree... The 7101-A already pushes the limits of the cMP magically. I’m betting it’s more related to RAID functionality perhaps on a Windows machine.

High Point says this...

Fast & Secure NVMe Booting Solution

Unlike the majority of NVMe RAID controllers on the market, the SSD7102 can support a variety of NVMe-based boot configurations for Windows and Linux-based platforms.

 

[w1z]

I'd also like to know if it comes with any thermal pads or heat spreaders for the NVMe. I'm think I'm going to get one, it's pretty exciting!

You see that big white/light greyish thing on the inside of the black face cover.. That whole thing is the thermal pad, good for 4 NVMe drives.

 

[w1z]

100% agree... The 7101-A already pushes the limits of the cMP magically. I’m betting it’s more related to RAID functionality perhaps on a Windows machine.

High Point says this...

Yeah, I think so too. I also just noticed they changed the fan from a 2-pin (as on the 7101A) to a 3-pin variable speed temperature controlled fan probably due to complaints or feedback they have received on the 7101A's loud fan.

 

[tsialex]

Yeah, I think so too. I also just noticed they changed the fan from a 2-pin (as on the 7101A) to a 3-pin variable speed temperature controlled fan probably due to complaints or feedback they have received on the 7101A's loud fan.

Seems a Marvell controller on board, maybe HPT implemented real hardware RAID with the 5th PLX port?

We need better photos of the back of the card.

 

[crjackson2134]

I also just noticed they changed the fan from a 2-pin (as on the 7101A) to a 3-pin variable speed temperature controlled fan probably due to complaints or feedback they have received on the 7101A's loud fan.

That’s a nice refinement. One that us early adopters missed out on I guess. I have a hearing impairment, so the noise doesn’t bother me.

 

[Mac_User 0101]

You see that big white/light greyish thing on the inside of the black face cover.. That whole thing is the thermal pad, good for 4 NVMe drives.

Thanks, I see that now. That's actually really nice it's integrated like that and a very efficient heatsink the lid makes.
[doublepost=1557883016][/doublepost]You're right about that being an odd location for the other PLX on the bottom. No cooling there. I would try to add a thin copper heatsink on it. Good thing my video card is blower style cooler.

 

[tsialex]

I was very curious about the SS7102 differences from SSD7101. Found a little better images here and the second PLX chip is another PCIe switch, besides the usual PEX8747 from SSD7101-A:

• PEX8714 General Features 12-lane, 5-port PCIe Gen3 switch

Seems that 4 lanes go from the PEX8747 to the PEX8714, but from there the lanes change to vias.

Still can't see the Marvell controller inscriptions, this is the one that I want to know what is the function on SSD7102. Manual from SSD7102 makes no mention whatsoever about the hardware itself.

 

[wjesse]

Seems a Marvell controller on board, maybe HPT implemented real hardware RAID with the 5th PLX port?

We need better photos of the back of the card.

OK! Here we go, see the photos I upload.
Front chip is PEX8747, but back chip is PEX8714

Front chip is PEX8747

back chip is PEX8714

 

[tsialex]

OK! Here we go, see the photos I upload.
Front chip is PEX8747, but back chip is PEX8714

Thx for the photos, could you please take a photo of the Marvell chip? The black one down from the PEX8714.
[doublepost=1557925835][/doublepost]