internal SSD Swap

Question

rscott126 Author

Level 1

12 points

internal SSD Swap

Hello All

So im considering buying a Mac Pro

There are various reasons for this that could be an entire thread all its own.

My direct Mac Pro question is this

I know the SSD in the MAC PRO is removable. There is a you tube video on a guy that removes his before sending the computer in for a warranty problem because he did not want his personal info on the drive. ITs one screw and it pops out.

My question is the following. Does anyone make an aftermarket hard drive with the same connector that you could just pop in?

The max internal storage as ordered from apple is 1tb but i have seen SSD drives that are 2tb from samsung like this one below. Does anyone know of any replacement internal SSD drives that work with the MAC PRO? Yes i know external is an option but i would prefer internal for certain things and externals for others.

Also the only external i have found is the lacie 1TB sad for $1400

Are there any options on there

http://www.microcenter.com/product/451727/850_EVO_Series_2TB_SATA_III_6Gb-s_25_I nternal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)_MZ-75E2T0B-AM

iMac

Posted on Feb 7, 2016 9:51 AM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Feb 7, 2016 10:03 AM in response to rscott126

See:

Where to buy ssd 512 Gb for a Mac pro late 2013?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura-for-Mac-Pro/

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Answer 2

Feb 7, 2016 10:09 AM in response to rscott126

You should order your new Mac Pro late 2013 with the largest SSD drive you can reasonably afford. Buyng a new Mac and immediately replacing its major components is a generally mistake. Adding more memory has always been the exception, but Apple memory prices have moderated somewhat.

The internal SSD is only intended as the Boot drive. Your data files are intended to go elsewhere, on external drives. The scheme has been around since before the late 2013 Mac Pro was introduced, and was used as a Mac pro speedup, as described here:

User Tip: Creating a lean, fast Boot Drive

.

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Answer 3

Feb 7, 2016 10:08 AM in response to rscott126

The PCIe Blade type SSD in a Mac Pro is different to your standard SATA SSD like the one you link to.

Larger Blade Type drives are hard to come by, and can be very very expensive.

OWC (macsales.com) does make one such 2TB drive though:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDA13MP2.0K/

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Answer 4

rscott126 Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 7, 2016 10:16 AM in response to rscott126

Thanks for the info

Normally i would agree but here is my concern

External thunderbolt SSD storage is wildly expensive.

Like i mentioned the external lacie sold by apple which seems to be one of the only options other then a raid configuration for even more space is wildly expensive

Im really only looking for maybe 2-4 tb of storage total. However i have a few thunderbolt drives and all they are is 7200 rpm drives in disguise with a thunderbolt plug

Whats the point of buying a really expensive and fast computer if your primary storage is slow

So thats why i really wanted to upgrade the internal.

And to be downright honest, I'm just being impatient. I wanna go run to the store and buy the 6 core model today! The store only carries the base model with the 256gb ssd so i was wondering if i picked it up if i can just scoop up a new internal ssd for it

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Answer 5

rscott126 Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 7, 2016 10:27 AM in response to rscott126

I guess the real question to ask is should i buy one or get another iMac completely maxed out

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Answer 6

Feb 7, 2016 11:03 AM in response to rscott126

You can also put your files on USB-3 drives, but there is a limit.

There is enough bandwidth behind the USB ports to support one USB-3 channel, fully loaded, both directions, as fast as it can possibly go. If you run multiple drives accessed at exactly the same time, they may tend to be slowed down a little.

The iMac has very similar drive issues, except that it is marketed at users who may well put all their files on the Boot Drive or a fusion drive.

--------

The Mac Pro late 2013 is "all tuned up" for Big processing power AND Dual Graphics cards (one reserved for GPU computing) on a large Error Correcting RAM memory, all adequately powered and cooled. It may be a mistake to choose it for less demanding tasks.

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Answer 7

rscott126 Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 7, 2016 11:13 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Well without flooding you with details let me tell you what the purpose of the machine is.

Im an engineer and currently have a 2011 iMac that is just a base i5 config with a 1tb drive 12gb ram with a 4th thunderbolt external where i have some personal go pro video stored and its partitioned for my time machine as well. It seems VERY slow to transfer (just a side note)

I am forced to use parallels for many tasks because lots of engineering software i use requires windows. I also do a fair bit of math computation using MATLAB on the mac side. 99% of my problems stems from parrelles and windows.

Real shocker there i know!

I generally run 2 VM,s at once. win 7 , ubunto and osx all at the same time. My iMac just can't keep up.

I do understand that to take advantage of a mac pro really you need software written to perform on multi core system. I highly doubt that includes parrells and most other things i use besides matlab. Also on the wish list is a multi screen setup. I very occasional make some fun you tube video in iMovie just of family stuff.

So i don't know which is best for me but what i can tell you is my iMac hardly gets out of bad in the morning Its 5 years old and is a total dog.

The internal drive is maxed out and 12g of ram is hardly enough to allocate to the win 7 virtual machine pig of an OS

Ive read some reviews on both machines and even seen a few comparisons you tube videos but not talked to anyone of any real understanding of my situation.

Im not a computer engineer so high performance workstations are not my area of expertise. If you guys have some thoughts i would be open to hearing them

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Answer 8

Feb 7, 2016 11:24 AM in response to rscott126

the 2009 and later Mac Pro silver tower are still a good machines. They have slots and can support a large error-corrected RAM memory.

Do not accept a 2008 model unless it "falls on you", and do not pay money for a pre-2008 model at this late date.

But it does NOT support ThunderBolt, and never will.

It is an Engineer's machine in that it can be upgraded in many directions.

The late 2013 Mac pro is a completely different machine, "all tuned up" for certain kinds of work.

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Answer 9

rscott126 Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 7, 2016 11:31 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

although what you say may be 100% i don't know enough about what I'm looking at to buy a used machine.

Really looking for a new option with apple care and warranty

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