Resolved Dual boot CONFIRMED for new Apricorn Velocity DUO X2!!!

[Loa]

Thanks for this update!

After installing on slots 2 and 3, I find that you can install and boot OSX.

Not sure what you mean by 2 *and* 3. It's a single width card, right?

Loa

 

[ShawnF]

Thanks for this update!

Not sure what you mean by 2 *and* 3. It's a single width card, right?

Loa

Yes the card is single width - I was just swapping between the Mac Pro PCI-E slots to see if they had any affect with the boot process. Sadly, could not get the bootcamp to work on the Msata SSD.

 

[Loa]

Ok.

Would you happen to have a pair of mSATA SSDs? I'm curious to know just how fast the card (and chip on it) can go using RAID0. In another thread, someone told me that it would top out at around 800MB/s.

Loa

 

[ShawnF]

Ok.

Would you happen to have a pair of mSATA SSDs? I'm curious to know just how fast the card (and chip on it) can go using RAID0. In another thread, someone told me that it would top out at around 800MB/s.

Loa

Yes - I do have a pair of Samsung mSATAs, each 128GB in capacity. These SSDs are not the EVO model but a generation earlier, with slower write speeds of around 140MB and read speeds around 400MB.

Running them in RAID0, I got the following when using the Blackmagic disk tester:

Write: 260MB
Read: 700MB

So for the price, I am really happy with the performance in RAID. I can only guess that the speeds will be much improved if I start using the faster EVO mSATA SSDs. Using the Marvell utility, you can configure as RAID 0, 1 and 10. If I had a really fast mSATA, I would also be satisfied to run it as individual disk using JBOD.

 

[Loa]

Thanks again for the info!

I didn't know they could do their own RAIDs. Nice bonus option.

I'm really tempted now. I'd use the 4 drive version with 2 drives in RAID0 for OS and 2 other drives in RAID0 for other data as needed. I know the card will be a bottle neck, but for the space of a single PCIe card (at a bargain price too!), it's an amazing package!

Loa

 

[ShawnF]

Thanks again for the info!

I didn't know they could do their own RAIDs. Nice bonus option.

I'm really tempted now. I'd use the 4 drive version with 2 drives in RAID0 for OS and 2 other drives in RAID0 for other data as needed. I know the card will be a bottle neck, but for the space of a single PCIe card (at a bargain price too!), it's an amazing package!

Loa

I agree - for $55 it is a very low risk investment. If you do buy, do share you experiences here - especially with Bootcamp.

Note: The Marvell utility only works in Windows. So make sure you log into your bootcamp, install the utility and then apply the RAID settings and then you are good to go!

 

[Loa]

Ok, will do if I decide to buy it. Exploring other options right now and I'll see what seems best.

I don't use Bootcamp, and in any case I think I'd use OS X's software raid.

Loa

 

[Durex]

Ok, will do if I decide to buy it. Exploring other options right now and I'll see what seems best...
Loa

Hi Loa, I've been reading your comments here, and also in the other related thread. You bring up some very good points on the price/performance ratio of these PCIe-based storage solutions.

The XP941 is wicked fast, but if such performance cannot be realized with typical usage, then the performance gains are worth possibly less. It is a challenge for each of us to find the price/performance ratio that is acceptable for our individual needs.

For myself, I like the idea of having two SSD based drives connected through a single slot PCIe connector, with both drives bootable --- one for OS X and one for Win8. The addonics product is enticing as it can hold four mSATA on it (2 each in RAID0 to boost performance). As you mentioned elsewhere, though, the x4 PCIe connector will be a bottleneck.

I will probably wait it out for the Sonnet Tempo 4 mSATA SSD Pro with it's PCIe 2.0 x8 connector, it will hopefully alleviate some of the bottlenecks.

 

[Loa]

As you mentioned elsewhere, though, the x4 PCIe connector will be a bottleneck.

Actually, even though the card is 4X, the chip on it is 2X max, so a "true" 4X card and chip would offer a lot more headroom.

I will probably wait it out for the Sonnet Tempo 4 mSATA SSD Pro with it's PCIe 2.0 x8 connector, it will hopefully alleviate some of the bottlenecks.

Yes, but it won't cost 55$!!!! :-D

Loa

 

[Durex]

Yes, but it won't cost 55$!!!! :-D
Loa

True! I will have to wait it out for the price, and then calculate total cost for such a solution to see if it is worth it for me.

I hope that it is, say < $200 (which is probably unlikely), but a significant factor will be the boot capability of the product. If it can have two RAID 0 on the adapter card, and both are bootable on the Mac, that is a big deal. At the moment (at least) one of the addonics cards seems to have some boot problems --- at least as far as I can gather from ShawnF's post. If ShawnF does test the 4 mSATA addonics card, it would be great to hear if it has better boot support.

 

[ShawnF]

Thanks again for the info!

I didn't know they could do their own RAIDs. Nice bonus option.

I'm really tempted now. I'd use the 4 drive version with 2 drives in RAID0 for OS and 2 other drives in RAID0 for other data as needed. I know the card will be a bottle neck, but for the space of a single PCIe card (at a bargain price too!), it's an amazing package!

Loa

I just checked the Marvell utility again. It seems that my PCI-E is running at 2X. It also shows the maximum bandwidth of the card to be at 5Gbps, which I thought was weird. The marketing copy clearly says 6Gbps. I've attached a screencap for reference below.

The good news is the performance has been solid throughout - been using the drive as my Final Cut scratch disk and it's been good so far.

 

[Loa]

It seems that my PCI-E is running at 2X.

Yep, it's the chip. You could connect it to a PCIe X16, and it would still go at 2X...

Loa

 

[ShawnF]

It seems Firmtek have launched another 2X PCI-E card with 2 card mounting and onboard RAID. Doesn't mention the brand of the controller - I suspect it could be Marvell.

Price: $199
OSX boot: yes
Bootcamp boot: no

http://barefeats.com/hard184.html

 

[m4v3r1ck]

DUO X2 in MP 5.1 -> Dual Boot OS X + Windows 8 confirmed

Still WON'T work in MP 3,1!

Just received my (test) MP 5.1 2012 12c @ 2.66 Ghz.

Very excited, but first things first because I never got any feedback from Apricorn Engineers about the DUO X2 in a MP 5.1...

Moved both my OS X 10.9.3 (13D65) SSD EVO 1TB (Jumper1) & Windows 8 Pro x64 SSD EVO 500GB (Jumper2) and I can 100% confirm that both OS's can be booted from the DUO X2!

pci1b4b,9230:

  Type:	AHCI Controller
  Driver Installed:	Yes
  MSI:	Yes
  Bus:	PCI
  Slot:	Slot-2
  Vendor ID:	0x1b4b
  Device ID:	0x9230
  Subsystem Vendor ID:	0x1b4b
  Subsystem ID:	0x9230
  Revision ID:	0x0011
  Link Width:	x2
  Link Speed:	5.0 GT/s

OS X: booted with not one glitch

The Macintosh HD is the original Apple 512GB SSD that came with the MP 5.1.

Windows: needed to update the hardware, but after that it rebooted flawless.

When Im done extensive testing the MP 5.1, I'll will ofcourse test the DUO X2 icw the SOLO X2:

DUO X2 -> RAID0 OSX
SOLO X2 -> RAID0 Wndows

and visa-versa.

Keep you updated.

I'll be phoning with M$ (after testing) for a new key for my Windows 8 that I moved from the MP 3.1 to the MP 5.1 as it is now not activated anymore.

~ Cheers

 

[shindom]

Very interesting, Thanks BDM for the update.
Can't wait to see the results for OSX raid0 with the DUO .. I guess it will be capped since it is SATA 3 but still good to know.

It would be also nice to know what price range that card would be at .. if you have any idea.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

That's all folks (for now)

Update: combining the SOLO X2 and DUO X2 is a no-go. Another set of annoying boot-errors. Bye Bye SOLO X2 and a very warm welcome to the DUO X2! I hope Apricorn will let me keep it, I was a beta tester after all.

As soon as I hear from Apricorn again (?), I'll check with them if this card will go into production and what the ~ street price range will be.

Thanks to all readers and posters in this (somewhat hijacked) thread!

- Cheers

 

[hfg]

Update: combining the SOLO X2 and DUO X2 is a no-go. Another set of annoying boot-errors. Bye Bye SOLO X2 and a very warm welcome to the DUO X2! I hope Apricorn will let me keep it, I was a beta tester after all.

As soon as I hear from Apricorn again (?), I'll check with them if this card will go into production and what the ~ street price range will be.

Thanks to all readers and posters in this (somewhat hijacked) thread!

- Cheers

Sounds great ... thanks for all your effort to test this card and keep the forum updated. Good job!

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Sounds great ... thanks for all your effort to test this card and keep the forum updated. Good job!

YMW hfg. Sharing is caring & teaching is learning!

 

[ShawnF]

So I took the plunge and bought the Addonics Quad mSATA PCIe SSD:

http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php

Installed it on my Mac Pro and - it BOOTS BOTH my mSata OSX and Windows 8 boot drive! Really excited now.

Going to buy a pair of Crucial M500 240GB mSata and run them in RAID 0. Hopefully I can get sequential read and write over 550MBs. Will share my findings soon!

 

[m4v3r1ck]

CrystalMark x64 Benchmark SOLO X2 vs DUO X2

MP 3.1 non-RAID SSD Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SATA3 SOLO X2 -> via aux connector

MP 5.1 non-RAID SSD Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SATA3 DUO X2 -> onboard J2

The first read value seems strange to me.

 

[leucomax]

Interesting thread!
Have the Sonnet Tempo Pro in my MacPro 3.1 2xQuad - but a lot of troubles in dualbooting Win8 and Mavericks. Even from the SATA II port Windows won´t start.
Linux does fine!

@BDM: How did you become a beta-tester for Velocity DUO X2 - beta?

Wolfgang

AKA

LeucoMax

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Just ask?

Interesting thread!

Thanks you, SATA III PCIe add-on cards in a cMP are HOT items! Some great other threads her on MacRumors about:

- SATA SSD
- mSATA
- USB 3.0

Have the Sonnet Tempo Pro in my MacPro 3.1 2xQuad - but a lot of troubles in dualbooting Win8 and Mavericks. Even from the SATA II port Windows won´t start. Linux does fine!

I had the same boot problems while testing the Temp Pro in slot#2 in RAID0 with OS X ML/Mavericks and Windows 8 SSD in bay #1. The same for OSX and Windows each on one SSD. I returned the Temp Pro and kept the SOLO X2.

@BDM: How did you become a beta-tester for Velocity DUO X2 - beta?

Because I read some solutions here on MR (e.g. GavMac / pastrychef) about mouting 2 SSD's on the SOLO X2, I just send Apricorn an e-mail about their plans to engineer a 2 SSD solution, because the SOLO X2 gives you wired spaghetti in your Mac Pro . My e-mail was 'just-in-time' so to speak and I was sent the DUO X2 (beta) for testing.

It may not be the (super) fastest on the globe, but I like the build quality and stability of the Apricorn products very much, for both the SOLO X2 and now DUO X2. But, always keeping my eyes on the threads about PCIe solutions for cMP, like the 4 mSata solution.

~ Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Re-activated OEM Windows 8 Pro x64 product key

I'll be phoning with M$ (after testing) for a new key for my Windows 8 that I moved from the MP 3.1 to the MP 5.1 as it is now not activated anymore.

M$ just saved my bacon! Just got off the phone with M$ and re-activated my Windows 8 Pro x64 OEM product key. Very friendly and helpful guy on the phone so kudos for him!

 

[Durex]

So I took the plunge and bought the Addonics Quad mSATA PCIe SSD:

http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php

Installed it on my Mac Pro and - it BOOTS BOTH my mSata OSX and Windows 8 boot drive! Really excited now.

Going to buy a pair of Crucial M500 240GB mSata and run them in RAID 0. Hopefully I can get sequential read and write over 550MBs. Will share my findings soon!

Thanks ShawnF for the update! That is really great news about being able to boot OS X and Win 8! I hope it will work out with the two RAID 0 set ups. Please update on your progress when you get a chance. Thanks!

 

[m4v3r1ck]

So I took the plunge and bought the Addonics Quad mSATA PCIe SSD:

http://www.addonics.com/products/ad4mspx2.php

Installed it on my Mac Pro and - it BOOTS BOTH my mSata OSX and Windows 8 boot drive! Really excited now.

Going to buy a pair of Crucial M500 240GB mSata and run them in RAID 0. Hopefully I can get sequential read and write over 550MBs. Will share my findings soon!

Congrats ShawnF! As mentioned here looking forward to your results no matter in what thread.