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ender78

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2005
599
353
I have "tried" to install a usb3 card in my 2009 MP with no luck. The lack of n easy way to get power to the usb3 card and the work around required almost caused me to fry my machine. Others have gotten various usb3 cards working but there is no easy and trouble free solution I am aware of.

Putting those 3tb drives into an external enclosure is not hard to do.
 

tony3d

macrumors 6502
Apr 6, 2006
377
2
Hey everyone i've been looking from the outside in for a long time on a mac pro, i've always been the guy to buy imacs, laptops, and mini or two but i've always wanted a mac that i could update easily, and would not have to worry about a screen failing or a internal component failing thats not as easily upgradeable as it would be on the mac pro.

A few Months ago i got an idea why not wait for the new mac pro. I had dreams about this thing being a tower based user upgradable beast with all the cutting edge tech out today. I was so ready to throw piles of cash at apple for a newly updated mac pro. But seeing what unraveled yesterday will cause me to shy away from buying the new McTrashcan. Im not ready for blade style ssd's that cost 400-500 a pop for decent size ones for media storage when i got 2 and 3 terabyte drives laying around, as well as The GPU that you buy is what you keep forever. I am so over having to buy a new computer every time i want a new GPU. I am from the belief that all components should be inside.

Here are something i want to go over because one of the benefits of using stock machines are the user experiences, it's the little things that matter like seeing a boot screen or not having sleep from wake issues.

My plan is to go look for a stock 2010 mac pro on the craigs.
get a pcie ssd from owc for OS, a gtx 670 or a mac edition 680, and a usb 3.0 card "very Important to me" 2.0 is no longer an option in 2013 for me. I also want to always run the latest OS.

My questions are
  • Will pcie ssd have trim support?
  • is there a usb 3.0 card that works as good as what now comes native in new apple machines?
  • can i do plug and play with a 670 and have a boot screen?
  • can i plug and play a mac edition 680 and have a boot screen?
  • does the 670 have sleep from wake issues?

The last thing do i have to update all the drivers for things like usb 3.0 card and whichever graphics i use every time i update to the latest release OS? i am not one who likes to Finnic with terminal and i dont plan on opening this thing very much, just every now and then. Is the 2010 Mac Pro for me?

If you put either the Saphire 7950, or the GTX680 Mac editions in you will get the boot screen. They should be drop in plug, and play. Don't know whether a PCIe SSD card supports trim or not, but I really don't think you need it. I'm probably going to install the OWC Mercury Accelsior_E2 PCI Express SSD into my new 3.06 gig 12 core Mac Pro. I like their products, and have had very good luck with them. You really won't need any drivers for it unless you plan to use the rear eSata ports in which case there is a sleep issue that they have fixed with drivers.

As far as usb3.0 is concerned, many people like the CalDigit card and is probably the card I would install. Does not require any power supply I know of. It works in Windows as well, is backwards compatible with 2.0, but does require a driver.

I love my 2012 12 core 3.06 gig machine, and with the SSD card, and new video card it should serve me well for at least another 3 years. I still like the tower form factor much better than having a mess of cables, and boxes on my desk.

The tower Mac Pro is so easy to upgrade, swap out drives, and such. You'll love it if these things are important to you.
 
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bearcatrp

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2008
1,733
69
Boon Docks USA
Either deal with the limitations of current macs or move ove to a pc workstation thats updated properly with the latest and greatest. The 2012 models are no slouch but not that latest technology. You could build a sweet dual processor one under 4 grand and probably 3 if your careful on components with current technology.
 
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