MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro 5.1 & high capacity hard drives

[BobD2]

I haven't visited this thread in quite a while. I posted (#140, Oct. 31, 2019, page 6 in this thread) that I had an issue with 4 GB HGST drives not mounting upon warm restart (but working OK with a cold startup following shutdown). I mentioned in that post that I was going to try a Toshiba disk. I have since replaced the 4GB HGST drive with an 8 TB Toshiba drive. I used one of the OWC mounting plates. Everything worked normally. Drive mounts on cold start and warm restart. No issues were noted with the OWC mounting plate. I have a couple of those OWC mounting plates and never found them faulty in any respect.

 

[153957]

I've installed two WD Gold 18TB hard drives in my 2009 Mac Pro (Mojave), using OWC sleds. First I ran a certify pass using SoftRaid (full write and read) on them and then made single 18TB RAID 1 volume using those two drives. After that I performed a bunch of restarts, some reboots and some shutdown then start up. In both cases the disks showed up without issue. And I've since copied about 8 TB of data to that volume without issue.

During the certify and data copy the disks made hardly any noise (not more then my other drives). However, the disks are sometimes very noisy, mostly during random access I think.. they are enterprise disks after all..

UPDATE: I've since had some occasions where the WD Gold discs did not show up after waking from sleep and a subsequent restart. A shutdown and start up does bring them back.

New Update: I have no longer had any issues with the drives not showing up after waking from sleep.

 

[Valvatorez]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to see if there is a recommendation for an 8TB drive for my Mac Pro 2009 4,1 flashed to 5,1. I would like all 4 drive bays to be 8TB if it can be.

I picked 8TB because it’s a good amount of storage for me and 8TB is at not a bad price point. (Usually like $150)

Thanks for any help.

 

[norwaypianoman]

Add-on question for the Mac Pro 3.1.

With the right upgrade, does this HDD disk fit with the Mac Pro 3.1 ?

Norwegian web store link (actual store.
"Seagate IronWolf 8TB 3.5" NAS HDD
3.5", SATA 6.0Gb/s, 7200RPM, 256MB cache, Agile Array"

Seagate IronWolf 8TB 3.5" NAS HDD - Harddisk 3,5

Seagate IronWolf 8TB 3.5" NAS HDD - 3.5", SATA 6.0Gb/s, 7200RPM, 256MB cache, Agile Array

www.komplett.no

English link
Seagate IronWolf 8Tb NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6GB/S 7200 RPM 256MB Cache for Raid Network Attached Storage (ST8000VN0022), Silver

Seagate IronWolf 8Tb NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6GB/S 7200 RPM 256MB Cache for Raid Network Attached Storage (ST8000VN0022),Silver

Seagate IronWolf 8Tb NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6GB/S 7200 RPM 256MB Cache for Raid Network Attached Storage (ST8000VN0022),Silver

www.amazon.com

 

[HKSig]

Has anyone tried a Toshiba X300 8TB HDWR180XZSTA in a 4,1 / 5,1?

 

[GibbyNLA]

The trimforce tip did not work for me. No change in behavior. Tested under 10.13.2, large HGST drives still mount only if you've cold-booted.

I did come up with a better answer on the pin-3 (play-dead) issue. I did a writeup with pics at my regular digs, but the gist is: use Scotch tape to cover Pin 3 on the drive. It's easy, works like a charm, and doesn't void your warranty.

The idea came from something I vaguely remember from the AGP days. How to modify a 4x/8x card to work in a 2x slot. (the AGP fix required cutting a slot in the card edge, and taping over a pin.)

I noticed in the text of your link that you mentioned using the 2 optical bay connections. Can you verify that it works if I do this. I already removed the optical drive and have my bootup SSD, and a 3 TB drive in there, but if it will stop the 2 6TB from disappearing on reboot, I will definitely swap the drives around. I previously had 2 spinning drives in the optical bays, but was afraid of the heat from the both of them being so close to each other effecting the longevity of the of each of the drives. --Thanks for any info.

 

[HKSig]

I installed (with the OWC bracket) a 14TB Toshiba MG07ACA14TE in my Mac Pro 4,1/5,1. It works fine, and survived a warm reboot.

 

[natjonesart]

I just moved my WD 12 TB disk(shucked from Wd Elements) from my sleds to my optical bay using the Orico rack and it survived a warm boot for the first time. I haven't tested it long term, but it is promising.

 

[yurc]

I do have a 3D printer and was not aware of the sled design before ordering the OWC sleds. That said my first reaction when I saw that idea in this thread was wow, I wonder if the plastic will holdup under the temperature in the MacPro where failure would likely destroy the SATA connector. That said while it's not summer temperatures the drives are showing ~40C (perhaps 45C at most). That is well away from the temps that of a concern for say PLA or PET.

When do custom 3D parts for Mac Pro e.g drive sleds, never bother with hobbyists PLA. They not intended for real world use especially with prolonged exposed heat. PETG is flexible but they also still weak with heat. Nylon is only best choice, ABS is for fall back if you can't print nylon properly.

Also for special case, I prefer ordering to local MJF printing service rather than my home FDM machine, because not only look better but also more precisely made too.

 

[macstatic]

An update: I purchased 3 of the new style drive trays from OWC Europe (costing me quite a bit though: around EUR 94/US$ 106 with shipping/import duties), but at least I don't have to worry about the drives falling off 🙂
They were indeed a little "off" lengthwise compared to the original Apple trays, but I haven't experienced any "bulging" towards the computer's side panel. I've so far only mounted two new trays, but hope I won't experience the problems others have had in this thread.

Regarding the drive I decided to dig really deep into my pockets and do an upgrade that would last, so I bought a Seagate Exos X10 10 TB/7200 RPM/256 MB (ST10000NM0016) which is an "enterprise" type drive filled with helium (!). Apparently that should improve on performance, I don't know, but price and featurewise it appeared to be a good buy compared to others. It plugged in and worked right out of the box, and with the new trays the new style screw layout was no problem.

I'm currently awaiting a second drive (for Time Machine backups): a Toshiba 12 TB/7200 RPM/256 MB enterprise drive (MG07ACA12TE) and hope it'll work out of the box as well. That should give me enough storage space for a while!

UPDATE 2: I received the mentioned Toshiba 12TB drive yesterday and that too worked without any issues whatsoever (once I put it in a "new style" OWC drive tray because of the different mounting screw arrangement -which I believe is now standard among larger HDDs). Just plug it in, format it and off you go!
It's now been busy backing up my entire machine overnight and hasn't reported any issues.

I usually don't quote my own postings but though I'd report back here on my experiences with the above, after about 6 months of regular use.
Both drives have worked without any issues of any kind. The only downside is that the 12 TB Toshiba (MG07ACA12TE) has a very loud "ticking" (drive seek? head stepping?) sound which is a downer. I believe I was warned out this earlier in the thread but didn't understand it to be this noticeable!

It's not the drive motor that bothers me (my ATI HD-5870 graphic card's fan is making a racket even after replacing it with a new compatible fan so it's hard to tell, but I believe I tried to listen by momentarily sticking my finger into the HD-5870 fan to stop it and the hard drive noise was negligible).

I use it as a Time Machine backup drive, and every time it makes a backup I hear this very busy tick-tick,ratattattatattattata type sound. The cMP is in a common room, so it's quite noticeable if we have for instance the TV on low or whatever. So I'm considering using this drive as an additional removable backup and get a more quiet 12 TB drive to put inside the computer as a Time Machine backup drive.
If I 'm not mistaken I would have to go for a "regular" drive then, and not an "enterprise" model as the one I already have, correct? Any particular drive(s) people here would recommend?

EDIT: it's actually both drives!
My main drive (10 TB Seagate Exos X10 ST10000NM0016) makes equally loud "stepping" noises. It's only more noticeable with the Time Machine drive as it does its hourly backups. So the preliminary conclusion is that "enterprise" drives appear to be generally noisy than the cheaper consumer grade drives.

 

[Don_Con]

Random check-in on this topic, but I've been running 3x10.0TB Seagate Enterprise Capacity disks in my 5,1 (using it as a Raid 5 via SoftRaid). The other drive bay is a 2tb SSD.

No issues since I installed back in OCT 2019.

 

[Tommi14]

I am considering buying 2 x WD Gold 16 TB to be used as a RAID 1 volume (set by Disk Utility) for my dual CPU 4,1->5,1 Mac Pro running macOS Mojave. Should I expect any problems with this setup? Has anyone tried WD Gold 16 TB in Mac Pro? Also, has anyone ordered OWC sleds recently? Have they been in specs and not caused any fitting problems? Is there any difference between ordering the sleds from US or EU OWC shop?

 

[macstatic]

Regarding the "new screw-hole layout" sleds: I bought mine from the OWC European store and they were also slightly off-spec as described earlier in this thread. They probably all come out of the same production moulds/machines anyway.
The problem is that because they physically touch the removable Mac Pro side-panel, the spinning HDDs sometimes transfer vibrations through them (the original sleds don't). That's my experience anyway.

As posted earlier I'm frustrated with the increased noise from my 10TB (main drive) and 12TB (Time Machine) "enterprise" drives (replacing my much slower (but also quieter) Western Digital 2TB and 3TB "green" drives) and am looking into methods to improve on this.
What I might try are fastening thin rubber strips between the OWC sleds and the side-panel, and also HDD mounting screws with rubber washers in between. If none of that works I might actually consider replacing the 12TB Time machine drive at least (possibly also the main drive) with 10TB and 12TB "consumer" hard drives which would be less noisy in daily use, and use those Enternprise drives as backups. What a waste to put high performance drives to that kind of use, but the "tick-tick-tick" sounds drive me crazy -especially when doing large backups.

Regarding those WD Gold drives -I have no experience with them, but from memory recall that certain high capacity drives don't work at all with Mac Pro machines (or modifications/workarounds are needed), so you're wise to ask here before buying 🙂

 

[MarkC426]

I just installed one of these in optical bay (for an ssd drive)
It comes with rubber rings to stop vibrations from 'spinny' drives.

ORICO Aluminium 2.5" / 3.5" Hard Drive Mounting Adapter for 1x 2.5 inch SSD/HDD to 5.25 Inch PC Bay - Black

ORICO Aluminium 2.5" / 3.5" Hard Drive Mounting Adapter for 1x 2.5 inch SSD/HDD to 5.25 Inch PC Bay - Black

www.amazon.co.uk

May be an option for the two HDD's if you don't need dvd drive..... 😉

 

[macstatic]

Hey, that's an excellent idea!
I actually do have a similar mounting adapter (used for an SSD) in the lower drive bay (I need to keep the DVD drive in the upper bay) which takes at least one 3.5" HDD (not sure if it takes two). I could put one of the drives there and plug it the "lower" bay SATA connector.
If it takes both 3.5" HDDs I assume I can connect a SATA cable between the drive and the drive bay where it used to be.
I can't remember getting any of those rubber vibration-removal mounts. Are they sold on their own somewhere, and do they help?
Unfortunately the irritating noise from my HDDs is mostly from the drive head moving and not the spinning motor, but who knows -maybe the rubber mounts will help anyway.

 

[MarkC426]

Presumably they buffer any vibration, I have an ssd installed so not an issue for me.
Plus at £7.95 a bargain.

 

[Tommi14]

User 153957 reported above that WD Gold 18 TB disks have worked with him more or less perfectly. So, what do you think, is it safe to assume that WD Gold 16 TB disks will perform similarly?

Anyway, if there were problems, would it be just the disks disappearing at wake-ups or restarts and reappearing after shutdown and subsequent start? Or has anyone have more serious problems like loosing data?

Toshiba 12 TB disks might be another option. Toshiba seems to be what OWC is selling, so it might be a safer option too. However, I would really like 16 TB disks. And the noise you are saying that the Toshiba disks make does not sound great either.

I sent a question about the sleds to OWC. So, let's see what they will answer to it. I am just thinking whether the out-of-specs sleds are from one batch only sold in EU shop or are all the sleds like that. In OWC US shop the sled seems to have rating 4.8/5 and no one complains the sleds being out of specs, which seems odd if all the sled are like that.

 

[macstatic]

Toshiba 12 TB disks might be another option. Toshiba seems to be what OWC is selling, so it might be a safer option too. However, I would really like 16 TB disks. And the noise you are saying that the Toshiba disks make does not sound great either.

I actually looked at OWC's website myself and chose a Toshiba 12 TB (for Time Machine backups) when upgrading my cMP.
The particular model number I went for is Toshiba MG07ACA12TE.
As far as I remember it used the "new style" screw hole layout (hence the need for replacement drive trays/sleds from OWC) and there have been no issues with it (although DriveDX has reported 1 instance of "Overlimit shock events". From what I've found out this means it might have gotten bumped while in use or something, but I've never had any rear/write problems or anything like that.
I have no complaints at all with it except for the very noticeable tick-tick sounds as mentioned earlier. It's very irritating, but I'm going to try the suggestion of mounting it in the lower DVD drive compartment upon rubber rings. Maybe that will at least make it a little less noticeable.

I tried to find out which other 12TB drives there are these days, but it seems they're all "enterprise" models in that size and I can probably expect the same type of noise from other models as well.
Anyone know of anything different?

I sent a question about the sleds to OWC. So, let's see what they will answer to it. I am just thinking whether the out-of-specs sleds are from one batch only sold in EU shop or are all the sleds like that. In OWC US shop the sled seems to have rating 4.8/5 and no one complains the sleds being out of specs, which seems odd if all the sled are like that.

Please let us know what they answer.

 

[macstatic]

Presumably they buffer any vibration, I have an ssd installed so not an issue for me.
Plus at £7.95 a bargain.

I have some good news and bad news. The good news first 😉
I removed my 12 TB Toshiba (Time Machine) HDD and temporarily connected it to the lower DVD SATA connector instead, while holding it in my hand, then powering up the computer just to test.
Surprise! I could obviously feel powerful movement with each "tick", but now it was much less audible! Obviously, with it attached to the drive tray the vibrations transfer over to the rest of the computer.

Now for the bad news 🙁
My Sharkoon BayExtension adapter (see photo in another posting of mine) turns out not to screw holes for the "new style" layout which my 12 TB drive uses, but only takes "old style" HDDs:

So I either need to precisely (not very easy without the right equipment) drill two new holes or get another mounting adapter which does take "new style" HDDs, and attach it with those thick rubber cushions.
Judging by the photos it appears your Orico mounting adapter is similar and doesn't take "new style" HDDs either. Correct me if I'm wrong.

But with the good news in mind it looks like there's light in the tunnel and that these drives might be usable after all (next I need to find out how to shock-mount the main drive (10 TB Seagate) to eliminate all that noise within the OWC drive tray).

 

[MarkC426]

Yep you are correct, the holes in the Orico are closer together....unfortunately.

 

[Tommi14]

I got a reply from OWC saying that the problem is only with Mac Pro 2008. 🙄

I just ordered four sleds. Hope they fit. I will let you know.

 

[mikas]

They didn't answer the right question I'm afraid. Mac Pro 2007 and 2008 sleds are totally incompatible with 2009, 2010 and 2012 Mac Pros. The difference is in centimeters between them.

We are talking about 1-2 mm too long sleds here. They will fit in there, but they do touch the Mac Pro sidepanel.

 

[macstatic]

They really should redesign, making up for the inaccuracies with the next batch.

As far as I know OWC doesn't really have any competition in this field (cMP replacement trays for both old and new style HDDs), so they can do as they please. But their reputation would certainly benefit from listening to customers' experiences.

 

[macstatic]

Yep you are correct, the holes in the Orico are closer together....unfortunately.

Seems like it.
I've searched for 5.25" to 3.5" adapters which take "new" HDDs but so far nothing.
I did come across an interesting one though, in the context we're talking (mechanical noise reduction): a shock absorbing 5.25" to 3.5" adapter which I'm pretty sure would help:

(photo taken from Newegg.com)

The HDD appears to be mounted from the sides. I'm not sure if the screw-hole spacing is the same or different between new and old HDDs, but might be worth looking into if the underneath screw-holes for "new" style HDDs aren't available.

Another thing: are there 5.25" adapters available that take two 3.5" HDDs? The ones I've come across only take one (but yp to four 2.5" drives). Putting both my noisy 3.5" drives into such an adapter could probably solve my HDD noise problem.

 

[Frixo Cool]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to see if there is a recommendation for an 8TB drive for my Mac Pro 2009 4,1 flashed to 5,1. I would like all 4 drive bays to be 8TB if it can be.

I picked 8TB because it’s a good amount of storage for me and 8TB is at not a bad price point. (Usually like $150)

Thanks for any help.

Hi! So, what you installed? Any problems?

I am to decide between WD Gold 8 or 10 TB and Seagate Enterprise 8 TB HDD for MacPro 5,1, any recommendation? What about Toshiba?

Anyone bought some new model lately? Any hint?

Thanks! 🙂