SSD drives for Apricorn Velocity Duo x2

[MacSince1985]

I have decided to update my Mac Pro 5,1 with a Velocity Duo x2. Now I need to decide which drives to install (they will be raid 0)

Samsung 840, Samsung 850 (EVO or PRO), Crucial, Sandisk, Transcend, Mushkin? I've been around computers for a long time but SSD comparisons confuse me.

 

[MassMacMan]

I have decided to update my Mac Pro 5,1 with a Velocity Duo x2. Now I need to decide which drives to install (they will be raid 0)

Samsung 840, Samsung 850 (EVO or PRO), Crucial, Sandisk, Transcend, Mushkin? I've been around computers for a long time but SSD comparisons confuse me.

You can get a good deal on Crucial M500 960GB SSD from OWC. They have them for $325. I put one in my MacPro, along with a Samsung 840, and they play well together. Put in two M500s and use software RAID and you'll be good to go.

 

[MacSince1985]

Thanks. That's a great deal. The 2 drives with the Duo x2 cost about the same as the Accelsior I had to return, has twice as much disk space and from what I gather will deliver similar performance.

 

[h9826790]

May I know why not go for the nMP SSD with a PCIe adaptor?

I am currently using a Tempo SSD with 840 Evo. Works very well. However, if I am looking for an upgrade now. I will consider to get a nMP SSD from ebay with the adaptor. Very good speed with native TRIM support. It may cost a bit more, but IMO it's worth to pay more for that.

 

[MacSince1985]

May I know why not go for the nMP SSD with a PCIe adaptor?

I'll let more knowledgeable people fill in the pros and cons of that approach (extensive thread on the subject here).

In my case, I wanted a solution that had been thoroughly tested and deemed stable. I did not want to risk using material from a manufacturer who could disappear one day and leave me without possibility of future firmware updates or other compatibility issues. I need this Mac to be stable since I earn a living with it.

I'm sure there are faster options if you're willing to tinker a bit more.

 

[MacSince1985]

I just got the drives and the duo x2. A couple of questions:

• Apricorn says that each drive must be zeroed out. Which app do you recommend to do that? (Disk Utility won't do it)
• What block size do you recommend for a main drive? (system, apps, and documents)?

 

[scottsjack]

My Velocity Duo x2 arrived this afternoon. I've got two 960GB M500s with Yosemite on them. I plan to keep the one currently in the MP as the boot drive and maybe use the second for Aperture libraries and some music.

OTOH I might try to coerce W8.1 or W10 on to the second one as an experiment. Anyway it will be nice to have the MP's M500 running close to the speeds that the mini's M500 achieves.

 

[Marcosmach]

Please Help

I received my apricorn velo duo card. My MP is the 2009 model (4.1).
Can I install the card on the PCI slot#3 instead of slot #2 (which is too close to the graphic card.
On slot #1 I have a USB3 Card.

Thanks for the Help

 

[flowrider]

^^^^^My Video Card is a MVC modified accelerated GTX 780 (Gigabyte 3 fan model). I have two Duo x2s. One is in slot 2 and the other in slot 3. Slot 4 contains a RocketU USB3 card.

I assume you made an error saying your USB card was in slot 1 - I believe you mean slot 4?

Anyway, I have no problems with the Duo mounted in slot 2 (just above the GTX). I have no heat related issues.

Since the Duo x2 is a 2 lane card and slot 3 (and 4) are 4 lane, the Duo will work just fine in slot 3.

Lou

 

[Marcosmach]

Thanks Lou,
Yes, The USB3 card is on slot4, my mistake. The reason I asked is because it seems the PCI slots on the MP's are not the same depending on the model. Is your MP a 2009 model? It looks like the majority uses slot2 for this card but it is so close to the GPU (1/8) and it covers 25% of the fan which is an exhaustion fan so I guess its ok. I'll try slot3 as you mentioned. Do you by any chance know if slots 3 and 4 shares the same bandwidth on the 2009? If it does, would the USB3 that is on slot4 slow down the speed of the SSD's that is on slot3?

 

[flowrider]

^^^^My Mac is a 2010 5,1 DP Mac Pro that I have upgraded to X5677 CPUs. The specifications of the PCIe slots is the same in a 4,1 or 5,1 Mac Pro. And yes, slots 3 and 4 share bandwidth. My boot drive is on the card in slot 3 and I have not found bandwidth sharing to be an issue. My boot drive is an 840 Pro.

See attached.

Lou

 

[Marcosmach]

Thanks Lou

 

[IowaLynn]

I'll let more knowledgeable people fill in the pros and cons of that approach (extensive thread on the subject here).

In my case, I wanted a solution that had been thoroughly tested and deemed stable. I did not want to risk using material from a manufacturer who could disappear one day and leave me without possibility of future firmware updates or other compatibility issues. I need this Mac to be stable since I earn a living with it.

I'm sure there are faster options if you're willing to tinker a bit more.

All reasons why I skip on a "controller" and go with Lycomm adapter and blade which had been found to work and be bootable in ALL Classic MP models running 10.5.x and up. No driver or fireware needed. Drop in appropriate Samsung PCIe-SSD device. I chose to go with XP941 style.

I got burned once on Sonnet (have bought from Sonnet for 20 yrs btw) Tempo SSD device and I would not use or touch an OWD product.

The 2008's two 4x slots are PCIe 1.1 standard so not ideal, my system I am usiing an 8x slot. The day of needing PCIe 3.0 I guess could be one step closer.