SPARC's, if I understood all this correctly. They were using OpenFirmware too.
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SAS card for G5Quad
- Thread starter Tratkazir_the_1st
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Sadly the printing on the chip is not readable in the picture. But the shape and the whole layout look alot like the 1064. Maybe someone is able to find some better picture or a datasheet for these cards to make things somehow clearer.
Also the fCode seems to be somehow "universal" or at least covering multiple similar items. I. e. in the one i use, there are different chip models mentioned: 1064, 1064E, 1068E and 1078. So it should be worth a try anyway. Particulary as, while the thing is seperated fron the firmware in a different file/image, chances to mess anything up are minimal. The worst thing to happen is, that it just doesn't boot.
And even if it does not, i have some other fCode ROM to test: The one i had from the net, which did not work on my card.
Alltogether, finding of the card to work at all by @Tratkazir_the_1st and finding out how to speed it up by @randomdamage was some very great thing for the collectors/"users" of G5s. It is, after all, the card, we all had wished to have, when these machines have been our daily drivers. And that neither Firmtek nor Sonnet could deliver: True SATA II speeds with boot support for the G5! 😃
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Also another follow-up to this:
After one day, i can confirm the above. Since i migrated to the SAMSUNG 850 evo, i have yet to face another booting error! The Quad boots reliably and relatively fast with the SAS card.
So i have been a bit quick with ordering new cables yesterday. But finally, having at least some quality SATA cables around shouldn't be that much of a mistake.
Worth to note: The card seems to be a bit picky, or at least more picky than the G5's SATA, concerning the SSDs attached to it. So the SAMSUNGs could be one recommendation.
Also if the "slow-booting/switching to onboard"-problem should ever pop up again, there is one very easy fix for this: As the card offers four active ports, having nothing bootable attached to the G5's ports anymore! 😉
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Did you fix the permissions?Short - this not works. Already tested a pair of times. Kext don't loads.
AFAIK - this cards are RAID only, I wish to see someone who can create array from OF shell or some other pre-OS level with PowerMac
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Do PCI-X cards physically fit / work in standard PCI-slots?There is LSI3041X-R, PCI-X version. I suppose you can insert it in G4 without need of such monsters like PCI-Ex-to-PCI converter
At least 1078 is mentioned in the fCode-bios i am using with my card.AFAIK - this cards are RAID only, I wish to see someone who can create array from OF shell or some other pre-OS level with PowerMac
No. But if I remember correctly - it was copied under root privileges with correct permissions & error message wasn't about permissions at all. Need to check, if I'll have some free time on week-end.
Of the card? I was not able to find one single pic of the PCI-X card offering a resolution which made the printing on the chip readable in the whole internet. But i bet it should work / be the same chip like on the 3041E, PCIe.(Better pic found
So it seems to physically fit. But is the part, which is not covered by the standard PCI not needed?
Most PCI-X cards will work, but fall back to 32-bit PCI speeds when installed in a "normal" 32-bit PCI slot.
You get no permissions mentioned in the error message. It just says, the kext can not be used because it was not loaded properly. I don't know if the permissions are automatically correct when the kext is copied with root privileges. But, as the have to be exactly like system (r&w) / wheel (r) /everyone (r), i have my doubts.
The error message mentions "undefined symbols", which suggests to me the kext depends on something in the kernel (or in another kext) which isn't there in Tiger client.
At least, if permissions are not exactly as required, chances of the kext getting loaded are zero. 😉I'll try fix permissions. Really doubt this will help
Sadly the card is not keyed to fit in the 64bit PCI slots of the Power Mac G4's, but should work in the 64bit PCI slots of the G5.There is LSI3041X-R, PCI-X version. I suppose you can insert it in G4 without need of such monsters like PCI-Ex-to-PCI converter
BTW, did I mentioned earlier than LSI 3081E-R works too?
I actually tried this a few days ago. Copied over the KEXT from a universal 10.4.11 Server install, fixed permissions, and rebuilt the KEXT cache but ran into the same error with a non-server 10.4.11 install.
So it's more, like @Amethyst1 stated, some case of unmatched dependencies.
Meanwhile i also tried to attach the BluRay-burner. But, as supposed earlier in the thread, does not work. The drive is just ignored.
try adjusting the link speed back to SATA 1.5Gbs, i dont think an optical drive will support anything higher!
I preferred to attach the drive to one of the (otherwise no longer needed) SATA ports of the G5's mainboard. 😎
So nice sleeved Corsair SATA-cables arrived today!
And, as for me things like that are never finished before everything is nice and clean, now also cable-management is done...
![cablemanagement.jpg]( "cablemanagement.jpg")
...and i almost forgot, how much of a pain in the ass it can be to work in the G5's HD-departement! 😖
And, as for me things like that are never finished before everything is nice and clean, now also cable-management is done...
...and i almost forgot, how much of a pain in the ass it can be to work in the G5's HD-departement! 😖
Best way could be two of these. Main advantage is, you would even get along with the two available power connectors.
The cases i use are SilverStone too.
So, not getting tired of playing around with this, i did some comparing to the HD-tray-SATA-ports of a Mac Pro 5,1.
And - quelle surprise! - the SAS-card nearly 100% matches these up in performance!
Disks have been a SAMSUNG 860 evo, 2 TB, for the Pro and a 850 eve, 500 GB, for the Quad with the SAS-controller. App was (again) the Benchmarker of the Intech's SpeedTools Utility 3. And here are the results:
Mac Pro 5,1, onboard SATA
![Mac Pro 1.png]( "Mac Pro 1.png")
![Mac Pro 2.png]( "Mac Pro 2.png")
![Mac Pro 3.png]( "Mac Pro 3.png")
G5 Quad, LSI SAS 3041E
![Quad 1.jpg]( "Quad 1.jpg")
![Quad 2.jpg]( "Quad 2.jpg")
![Quad 3.jpg]( "Quad 3.jpg")
The not that consistend write-performance, showed by the extended test on the Quad, might result from significantly less free space on the disk. But for the rest, results are nearly 100% identical. So, for less than 20 Euros, the LSI lifts this 18 years old machine up to the mass storage performance level of a 12 years old machine.
Who could ask for more? 😁
And - quelle surprise! - the SAS-card nearly 100% matches these up in performance!
Disks have been a SAMSUNG 860 evo, 2 TB, for the Pro and a 850 eve, 500 GB, for the Quad with the SAS-controller. App was (again) the Benchmarker of the Intech's SpeedTools Utility 3. And here are the results:
Mac Pro 5,1, onboard SATA
G5 Quad, LSI SAS 3041E
The not that consistend write-performance, showed by the extended test on the Quad, might result from significantly less free space on the disk. But for the rest, results are nearly 100% identical. So, for less than 20 Euros, the LSI lifts this 18 years old machine up to the mass storage performance level of a 12 years old machine.
Who could ask for more? 😁