Qat_

Q: Bought a SSD today for my MacPro 5,1, need a little .help

Hi,

 

Today I bought a 512GB Samsung SSD 850 PRO for my MacPro late 2012 (5,1).

However it does not fit in the drive holder tray thing(s) for the 3.5 HDDs, so I put it where a second Optical Drive would go for the moment until I get my self one of those 2.5-3.5 things. (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other+World+Computing/MMP35T25/)

 

It does work to have it in the optical drive bay, however I would assume that the 550MB/s on the spec sheet of the SSD wouldn't be as effective so to speak, which is the reason I will move it to where it is supposed to be. I have moved my windows installation using the software that came with the drive so that windows is now running of the drive itself. But when my 2.5 drive holder arrives, and I disconnect the SSD from the optical drive area, will my computer recognise that I moved it? I would assume yes, since you could hold the option key booting it and it would find all the OS volumes and you could just hit the one you want and boot the computer. Am I right? If I am not, should I move my windows back to the HDD before moving my SSD?

 

Also, I have not yet ordered a 3.5 to 2.5 adapter, does anyone have any suggestions for which one to get or where to start looking for them?

 

Thanks in advance!

Mac Pro

Posted on Oct 12, 2014 3:35 AM

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Q: Bought a SSD today for my MacPro 5,1, need a little .help

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  • by FatMac>MacPro,

    FatMac>MacPro FatMac>MacPro Oct 12, 2014 9:49 AM in response to Qat_
    Level 5 (4,825 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 9:49 AM in response to Qat_

    First off, the sled you're going to order from OWC is a combination sled and adapter so you don't need both (I'm using two of them and they work perfectly in a 5,1 Mac Pro).

     

    As far as the "windows installation" goes, are you saying you've got Windows installed in Boot Camp? I use Virtual Machines myself, but it's my understanding that Boot Camp needs to be on the Mac OS boot disk unless you do a lot of tinkering. So is the Mac OS on the SSD also? If it is, it'll work the same way it usually does after you move to one of the HD drive bays.

  • by Martin Pace,Helpful

    Martin Pace Martin Pace Oct 12, 2014 1:14 PM in response to Qat_
    Level 5 (5,118 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 1:14 PM in response to Qat_

    Qat_ wrote:

     

    It does work to have it in the optical drive bay, however I would assume that the 550MB/s on the spec sheet of the SSD wouldn't be as effective so to speak, which is the reason I will move it to where it is supposed to be.

    The 550 MB/s speed is an SATA III speed. Your Mac Pro's built in SATA controller is a SATA II controller and operates at half the speed of SATA III. Unless you buy a SATA III PCIe card with internal connectors you will not see 550 MB/s from your SSD.

  • by The hatter,Helpful

    The hatter The hatter Oct 12, 2014 1:28 PM in response to Qat_
    Level 9 (60,935 points)
    Oct 12, 2014 1:28 PM in response to Qat_

    SATA II is fine actually for system. PCIE adds cost and complexity.

  • by Qat_,

    Qat_ Qat_ Oct 13, 2014 8:24 PM in response to FatMac>MacPro
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 13, 2014 8:24 PM in response to FatMac>MacPro

    I have found no problems having windows on my SSD and Mac OS in a separate HDD so far, in the future I will install Mac OS on another SSD too, which I also believe should work

     

    I am aware of that it is a combination of a sled and adapter, and that you don't need both of them, which one is preferred? Where I currently live the OWC sled costs about $75 (compared to $19), so it'd be preferred to have a cheaper option like an adapter.

  • by FatMac>MacPro,

    FatMac>MacPro FatMac>MacPro Oct 14, 2014 8:00 AM in response to Qat_
    Level 5 (4,825 points)
    Oct 14, 2014 8:00 AM in response to Qat_

    Qat_ wrote:

     

    ...I am aware of that it is a combination of a sled and adapter, and that you don't need both of them, which one is preferred? Where I currently live the OWC sled costs about $75 (compared to $19), so it'd be preferred to have a cheaper option like an adapter.

    The OWC fits and aligns perfectly and also provides more open space around the SSD for better ventilation (SSD's do generate heat and some have firmware which will throttle speed back as the SSD heats up). But the price difference makes it a tough call.