MP 7,1 Thoughts on 7,1 purchase

[TECK]

I currently own a Mac Pro 5,1, see my specs into signature. I need to buy a very powerful Windows PC, for my consultant work, so I expect to spend at least $2,500. I also need a Mac who does not have any upgrade issues, therefore I'm look at purchasing a Mac 7,1 which will allow me to run Windows also at required specs.

Memory and CPU upgrades can be done later, easy. Apple sells a refurbished model with specs listed below, which for me is perfect, except the storage capacity of 256GB.

Can I use my Syba SI-PEX40129 holding 2 nVME disks and boot from either, like I do with my Mac Pro 5,1? cc @tsialex

Thank you.

Processor​

3.5GHz 8‑core Intel Xeon W processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz, 24.5MB cache

Memory​

48GB (6x8GB) of DDR4 ECC memory

Storage​

256GB SSD1

Graphics​

Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB of GDDR5 memory

Charging and Expansion​

Two MPX Modules or up to four PCI Express card slots
Three full-length PCI Express gen 3 slots
One half-length x4 PCI Express gen 3 slot with Apple I/O card installed

Input/Output​

Two USB 3 ports (support for USB-A, up to 5 Gb/s)
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports (up to 40 Gb/s)
Two 10Gb Ethernet ports
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the top of the tower enclosure

Audio​

Built-in speaker
3.5mm headphone jack with headset support

Wireless​

802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

 

[DFP1989]

What kind of work are you doing?

 

[TECK]

What kind of work are you doing?

Software related consultant.

 

[Grumply]

If the Syba card works in your 5,1 it’ll probably be fine in the 7,1.

Once boot security is turned off, booting into Windows will be no problem.

I’d suggest keeping the internal SSD for the OS, and then simply moving your “User folder” to an additional SSD (if 256GB isn’t enough space.

Upgrading the machine yourself is really easy, so I think it’ll serve your needs. It’s great having the dual-boot for two computers in one.

 

[TECK]

Thanks @Grumply that was my plan also, keep the OS into internal proprietary SSD and have Windows installed on one of the nVMEs. I'll move /users into the second nVME, I never thought of this because most of large files are directly stored into my NAS.

What's the best way to install Windows on a nVME mounted on a 16x card? I'm familiar with OpenCore method for dual boot, what do you guys recommend? Should I use also OpenCore to make the 2 nVME drives invisible, like I do not with my 5,1 Mac? @cdf, should I use Innie?

 

[tsialex]

Can I use my Syba SI-PEX40129 holding 2 nVME disks and boot from either, like I do with my Mac Pro 5,1? cc @tsialex

Several MacPro7,1 also have this card and works fine for booting macOS, but I don't remember anyone reported successfully booting Windows from one of the NVMe blades from a SI-PEX40129.

 

[cdf]

What's the best way to install Windows on a nVME mounted on a 16x card? I'm familiar with OpenCore method for dual boot, what do you guys recommend? Should I use also OpenCore to make the 2 nVME drives invisible, like I do not with my 5,1 Mac? @cdf, should I use Innie?

I would consider using OpenCore for the seamless customizability it offers. You could also use Innie (I have a version for the 7,1 in testing), but that would come with the headache of using an unsigned kext.

 

[TECK]

I don't remember anyone reported successfully booting Windows from one of the NVMe blades from a SI-PEX40129.

Thanks Alex.

I would consider using OpenCore for the seamless customizability it offers.

I plan to do this, since I'm so used to OC, thanks.

BTW, how are regular users installing Windows, through BootCamp? I never used BootCamp before, as only recently I started needing Windows. Basically, I'm trying to determine what is the best way to use one of the nVMe drives mounted on the PCIe card as Windows disk.

 

[Grumply]

What's the best way to install Windows on a nVME mounted on a 16x card? I'm familiar with OpenCore method for dual boot, what do you guys recommend? Should I use also OpenCore to make the 2 nVME drives invisible, like I do not with my 5,1 Mac? @cdf, should I use Innie?

You should be able to simply bring your existing Windows drive over to the new machine (just hold "option" on startup to select it as the OS you want to boot into).

Opencore isn't needed on the 7,1.

I you do want to start fresh though, this is the tutorial I followed, and it got everything up and running on my 7,1:

Install Windows 10 on Mac using an external SSD [Video] - 9to5Mac

In this video walkthrough and tutorial we show you how to install Windows 10 on a Mac using an external SSD and Boot Camp drivers.

9to5mac.com

 

[flowrider]

^^^^

BTW, how are regular users installing Windows, through BootCamp? I never used BootCamp before, as only recently I started needing Windows.

Lou

 

[TECK]

That's great, the only thing left is to determine how to make the 2 Smamsung nVME drives attached to Syba SI-PEX40129 PCIe card show as Internal. I want to keep the rest of external disk visible, only the 2 nVME internal.