Hey all!
I'm transitioning from an MP3,1 and have an iMac (27" i7) arriving on Thursday. I'm trying to see if the iMac meets my needs; otherwise it is a nMP.
Anyway, either option has made me rethink my storage plans to go from internal storage (4-HDD RAID10 + multiple SSDs) to external storage (multiple SSDs to replace the HDD RAID). I've been playing with a few options including the (internal PCIe) Sonnet Tempo Pro cards on my MP, each with 1-2 SSDs.
Here's where I made the error: I thought I could pop 1 or 2 of them into a Sonnet Echo Express II SE Thunderbolt enclosure @ $450 for either the iMac or nMP and be off and running. Not cheap, but it seemed to be the price for moving forward. Turns out the Echo Express II only does half-length cards.
I could step up to the Express III, but it is 2x the price (possibly larger & louder, too).
Or I could get Sonnet Tempo cards (instead of the Tempo Pro), but then I'm limited to 1 drive per card and slightly slower speeds.
I had hoped to possibly run 2 of the SSDs in a RAID0 configuration.
Sonnet enclosures are upgradable to Thunderbolt 2 (appealing, but maybe not something to worry about).
I already own the SSDs I'd like to use.
Are there any other options? Another wrinkle is that I'd like to get one of these fast to evaluate the iMac.
Promise J4 diskless? Can't say I love the looks. Also, 750MB/s peak with SSDs)
Promise R4 diskless? Looks bigger/bulkier than the Sonnect devices. Cost is between the Echo Express II SE and the III....and I don't need the Tempo/Pro cards....but unavailable for weeks?
Anything else?
Thank you for the thoughts.
I'm transitioning from an MP3,1 and have an iMac (27" i7) arriving on Thursday. I'm trying to see if the iMac meets my needs; otherwise it is a nMP.
Anyway, either option has made me rethink my storage plans to go from internal storage (4-HDD RAID10 + multiple SSDs) to external storage (multiple SSDs to replace the HDD RAID). I've been playing with a few options including the (internal PCIe) Sonnet Tempo Pro cards on my MP, each with 1-2 SSDs.
Here's where I made the error: I thought I could pop 1 or 2 of them into a Sonnet Echo Express II SE Thunderbolt enclosure @ $450 for either the iMac or nMP and be off and running. Not cheap, but it seemed to be the price for moving forward. Turns out the Echo Express II only does half-length cards.
I could step up to the Express III, but it is 2x the price (possibly larger & louder, too).
Or I could get Sonnet Tempo cards (instead of the Tempo Pro), but then I'm limited to 1 drive per card and slightly slower speeds.
I had hoped to possibly run 2 of the SSDs in a RAID0 configuration.
Sonnet enclosures are upgradable to Thunderbolt 2 (appealing, but maybe not something to worry about).
I already own the SSDs I'd like to use.
Are there any other options? Another wrinkle is that I'd like to get one of these fast to evaluate the iMac.
Promise J4 diskless? Can't say I love the looks. Also, 750MB/s peak with SSDs)
Promise R4 diskless? Looks bigger/bulkier than the Sonnect devices. Cost is between the Echo Express II SE and the III....and I don't need the Tempo/Pro cards....but unavailable for weeks?
Anything else?
Thank you for the thoughts.