If I purchase the "base" Mac Pro configuration are there any limitations to upgrading it down the road? In other words, does the base model have the same slots, ports, power supply, etc. as a maxed out model?
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MP 7,1 Upgrading new base Mac Pro
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yes. the only notable difference is the ram will run at 2666MHz with the 8 core CPU, so the 12 core is a pretty worthwhile upgrade
The RAM shipped with the base model (at least for the first machines) is actually the same as the faster CPU units it just gets downclocked due to the CPU, so if you upgrade the CPU down the road it will still work at full speed without any limitation.
While a CPU upgrade is technically possible I don't think Apple is officially supporting it. So, unless you are a dedicated nerd this is something I would not attempt to do but I'd rather suggest you choose the CPU that most likely will see you through the next few years. In my opinion the sweet spot between power/price (also keeping single core performance in mind) is at 16 cores. Everything else is much easier to upgrade.
Only limitation I'm aware of is that the Apple flash storage cannot be upgraded later. Of course storage can be added via PCIe, TB3, etc. That's the same for any of them, not just the base model.
It's tied to the T2. There have been some threads and posts explaining the technical issues; the kind that make your head dizzy. On a practical level, of all the specifications of my 7.1, choosing the 8tb ssd has been the most useful right off the mark then followed by the contribution of the afterburner card for editing. My two cents.
Unless I am missing something the internal SSD is about the only thing that (supposedly) cannot be replaced? Power supply, fans, almost everything else is possible. So what happens if the SSD craps out after warranty (or even during warranty)?
^^^^I made the mistake of upsizing the SSD to the 1TB level. I say mistake because it is sitting in my machine unused. I plan never to use it due to the restrictions imposed by the T2. I have six other SSDs (Two on a Syba I/O Crest and four on a Highpoint 7103) in my machine.
But, if the stock SSD craps out it is my understanding that you can lug the machine to an Apple store and they can replace it for you. However, there a couple of threads on this forum with folks wanting to upsize the stock SSD and that was a No-Go with Apple.
Lou
But, if the stock SSD craps out it is my understanding that you can lug the machine to an Apple store and they can replace it for you. However, there a couple of threads on this forum with folks wanting to upsize the stock SSD and that was a No-Go with Apple.
Lou
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Also looks like all the SSD's over 1TB are installed in pairs? Do they mount on the desktop as a single volume?
What is the top transfer speed on these SSDs?
What is the top transfer speed on these SSDs?
Yes, the dual OEM SSD cards act like a single device at the hardware level. They default as a single volume, but you can repartition them into multiple volumes like any other similar storage. The Apple native SSD has T2 integrated security, but the performance is not as good as cheaper 3rd party storage and doesn't have any physical layer redundancy. My take is that it is best used as the boot volume and that any data that requires performance and/or redundancy be offloaded to a better storage solution (of which there are many, PCI/Thunderbolt/SAN and even a couple good SSD's mounted to internal SATA is an option...)
I opted for the 1TB storage as I assumed that using both interfaces would improve the baseline performance (although I never confirmed that) and that is plenty of space for a few boot volumes and wasn't a super expensive bump considering the difficulty of changing it later. I would research alternatives very carefully before going beyond the 1TB storage option.
I opted for the 1TB storage as I assumed that using both interfaces would improve the baseline performance (although I never confirmed that) and that is plenty of space for a few boot volumes and wasn't a super expensive bump considering the difficulty of changing it later. I would research alternatives very carefully before going beyond the 1TB storage option.
i literally don't understand not using the built in SSD for your boot drives. you're foregoing the entirety of the security benefits of the T2, and the EFI secure boot and hardware accelerated FDE are huge imo
what exactly are you gaining putting MacOS on other storage?
what exactly are you gaining putting MacOS on other storage?
I went with 2 TB, with this reasoning. First, while I believe I've read how to boot to other other internal storage, I didn't want to bet the farm on it, and also I don't need a ton of storage from the start, so I'd just as soon wait, take the time, upgrade any other storage down the road.
But 256 GB standard is just too pathetic, sad they even had this as the base. And I use a lot of audio plugs, which don't live happily on anything other than the boot drive (yes, you can move sample libraries elsewhere, etc, I already do). So I know from experience that while 1 TB may be good enough for a boot drive, if I want to live with it a bit as primary storage, I'll bump my head on that roof way right away. So, what the heck, another $400 for the 2 TB, and maybe there will be more choices by the time I get to PCI-based storage.
So, you could say I paid $800 when I could have put that towards bigger faster PCI storage. But I was never going to buy with the base 256 GB SSD, I would have felt I was buying something wounded. From my point of view, I stretched $400 for something I can use for a while at least. I'm not cranking through video, storage isn't going to be my bottle neck anyway. I simply don't need the 8 TB at super high rates people are drooling over. My bottle neck is cpu/cores.
Nobody uses my machine but me. The "security" is something I don't need or want. There should be an option to disable it. And to let common folks replace the stock SSD.
choreo, the only SSD that is only one module is the stock 256GB. Alll others, including the 1TB option are two modules. And if split into two drives, I doubt the two drives would be the two physical modules.
Lou
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I went with the stock 256GB from Apple.
I've left Catalina on there and installed all my software on there too (and have 175GB free still).
All my physical files are on other internal drives that I've added since.
I added the J2i and an extra 2TB spinner that I already had files on from my old 5,1.
I've then added a 1TB NVME too and saved myself a bunch of cash over Apple prices.
Unless you really need the larger Apple SSD I'd weigh up your options before spending the cash.
I've left Catalina on there and installed all my software on there too (and have 175GB free still).
All my physical files are on other internal drives that I've added since.
I added the J2i and an extra 2TB spinner that I already had files on from my old 5,1.
I've then added a 1TB NVME too and saved myself a bunch of cash over Apple prices.
Unless you really need the larger Apple SSD I'd weigh up your options before spending the cash.
This is the stock 256GB.
I put a 1TB Sabrent NVME on a PCIe card in and get the below speeds. The extra 1TB and card cost me £150. Apple wanted £400 to upgrade to 1TB.
Read speed is about the same. Write is faster.
I don't think many people would need the system to run any faster the stock internal drive speeds, personal opinion of course. If you're using the machine for video editing you wouldn't use the internal as your main storage spec anyway as it would be too small (or expensive if you choose 8 TB)
I'm a video editor. I bought almost based model from Apple Store and upgraded by my self.
My configuration is:
8 Cores CPU + 32GB RAM + 8TB internel SSD + DUO W5700X MPX.
of course base model have same motherboard like the top configuration.
I updated my CPU to 28 Cores and RAMs to 384GB, totally not any problems.
My configuration is:
8 Cores CPU + 32GB RAM + 8TB internel SSD + DUO W5700X MPX.
of course base model have same motherboard like the top configuration.
I updated my CPU to 28 Cores and RAMs to 384GB, totally not any problems.
Here's the 2 TB option from Apple, which is two 1 TB modules instead of one 256 TB for stock, so its faster:
