Mac Pros (and cons)
in [UK Mac]
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From: James Dore on 19 Jan 2010 06:46 On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:11:33 -0000, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: > Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: > >> On 2010-01-19, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: >> > >> > I've got to swap out the 2TB drive from the 4-core to the 8-core. Do >> you >> > just pull on the drive bay? >> >> Pretty much, yes. The carriers screw into the drives but you could >> (probably) just swap them from the new machine. > > Thanks - they're both 2008 2.8GHz Pros so the tray should slot into the > one arriving today. I tried pulling the drive out but wanted to > double-check there's nothing except the main unlatching lever for the > side door. > > Stuart Yes, there is only the main door latch that locks them (and the optical drives) in place. AIUI, the disk carriers for the new models (with 5500 series Xeons) are different, having more finger room between the drive and the bracket handle and are therefore deeper. All previous versions (5400 series Xeons and back) use identical brackets. The screws on all brackets are made of cheese, however. Swap them for some decent steel screws at the earliest opportunity, unless you want to use a pair of mole grips to undo them at a later date. Now, the question is, where can I find disk carriers that will put a 2.5" drive in a Mac Pro? SSD's are getting cheaper nowadays, but the only 3.5 inch form factor I've seen are for 1TB SSD, and are galactically expensive. Cheers, -- James Dore New College IT Officer james.dore(a)new / it-support(a)new
From: Elliott Roper on 19 Jan 2010 08:04 In article <op.u6r2zfokjrtqts(a)chiyonofuji.new.ox.ac.uk>, James Dore <james.dore(a)new.ox.ac.uk> wrote: > On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:11:33 -0000, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: > > > Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: > > > >> On 2010-01-19, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: > >> > > >> > I've got to swap out the 2TB drive from the 4-core to the 8-core. Do > >> you > >> > just pull on the drive bay? > >> > >> Pretty much, yes. The carriers screw into the drives but you could > >> (probably) just swap them from the new machine. > > > > Thanks - they're both 2008 2.8GHz Pros so the tray should slot into the > > one arriving today. I tried pulling the drive out but wanted to > > double-check there's nothing except the main unlatching lever for the > > side door. > > > > Stuart > > Yes, there is only the main door latch that locks them (and the optical > drives) in place. AIUI, the disk carriers for the new models (with 5500 > series Xeons) are different, having more finger room between the drive and > the bracket handle and are therefore deeper. All previous versions (5400 > series Xeons and back) use identical brackets. > > The screws on all brackets are made of cheese, however. Swap them for some > decent steel screws at the earliest opportunity, unless you want to use a > pair of mole grips to undo them at a later date. > > Now, the question is, where can I find disk carriers that will put a 2.5" > drive in a Mac Pro? SSD's are getting cheaper nowadays, but the only 3.5 > inch form factor I've seen are for 1TB SSD, and are galactically expensive. Have you seen the carrier for putting a 2.5" SSD in the optical bay? If not, I'll see if I can find the URL again -- To de-mung my e-mail address:- fsnospam$elliott$$ PGP Fingerprint: 1A96 3CF7 637F 896B C810 E199 7E5C A9E4 8E59 E248
From: SM on 19 Jan 2010 08:05 James Dore <james.dore(a)new.ox.ac.uk> wrote: > >> Pretty much, yes. The carriers screw into the drives but you could > >> (probably) just swap them from the new machine. > > > > Thanks - they're both 2008 2.8GHz Pros so the tray should slot into the > > one arriving today. I tried pulling the drive out but wanted to > > double-check there's nothing except the main unlatching lever for the > > side door. > > > > Stuart > > Yes, there is only the main door latch that locks them (and the optical > drives) in place. AIUI, the disk carriers for the new models (with 5500 > series Xeons) are different, having more finger room between the drive and > the bracket handle and are therefore deeper. All previous versions (5400 > series Xeons and back) use identical brackets. > > The screws on all brackets are made of cheese, however. Swap them for some > decent steel screws at the earliest opportunity, unless you want to use a > pair of mole grips to undo them at a later date. OK I'll remember that - the 8-core arrived with an empty bay so I've slotted in the 2TB. I used Migration Assistant to copy over approx 750GB to it last night in the 4-core over FireWire. It took a while but all seems good. > Now, the question is, where can I find disk carriers that will put a 2.5" > drive in a Mac Pro? SSD's are getting cheaper nowadays, but the only 3.5 > inch form factor I've seen are for 1TB SSD, and are galactically expensive. Interesting. My next thoughts are about replacing the Radeon HD 2600 XT although it does seem nice and quiet. Stuart -- cut that out to reply
From: James Dore on 19 Jan 2010 09:33 On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:04:43 -0000, Elliott Roper <nospam(a)yrl.co.uk> wrote: > In article <op.u6r2zfokjrtqts(a)chiyonofuji.new.ox.ac.uk>, James Dore > <james.dore(a)new.ox.ac.uk> wrote: > >> On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:11:33 -0000, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: >> >> > Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: >> > >> >> On 2010-01-19, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: >> >> > >> >> > I've got to swap out the 2TB drive from the 4-core to the 8-core. >> Do >> >> you >> >> > just pull on the drive bay? >> >> >> >> Pretty much, yes. The carriers screw into the drives but you could >> >> (probably) just swap them from the new machine. >> > >> > Thanks - they're both 2008 2.8GHz Pros so the tray should slot into >> the >> > one arriving today. I tried pulling the drive out but wanted to >> > double-check there's nothing except the main unlatching lever for the >> > side door. >> > >> > Stuart >> >> Yes, there is only the main door latch that locks them (and the optical >> drives) in place. AIUI, the disk carriers for the new models (with 5500 >> series Xeons) are different, having more finger room between the drive >> and >> the bracket handle and are therefore deeper. All previous versions (5400 >> series Xeons and back) use identical brackets. >> >> The screws on all brackets are made of cheese, however. Swap them for >> some >> decent steel screws at the earliest opportunity, unless you want to use >> a >> pair of mole grips to undo them at a later date. >> >> Now, the question is, where can I find disk carriers that will put a >> 2.5" >> drive in a Mac Pro? SSD's are getting cheaper nowadays, but the only 3.5 >> inch form factor I've seen are for 1TB SSD, and are galactically >> expensive. > > Have you seen the carrier for putting a 2.5" SSD in the optical bay? > If not, I'll see if I can find the URL again > I hadn't, but both my optical bays are used. I've got a BD-RE drive in the lower one. The URL would be useful for interest though, ta! -- James Dore New College IT Officer james.dore(a)new / it-support(a)new
From: James Dore on 19 Jan 2010 09:35
On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:05:19 -0000, SM <info(a)that.sundog.co.uk> wrote: > James Dore <james.dore(a)new.ox.ac.uk> wrote: > >> >> Pretty much, yes. The carriers screw into the drives but you could >> >> (probably) just swap them from the new machine. >> > >> > Thanks - they're both 2008 2.8GHz Pros so the tray should slot into >> the >> > one arriving today. I tried pulling the drive out but wanted to >> > double-check there's nothing except the main unlatching lever for the >> > side door. >> > >> > Stuart >> >> Yes, there is only the main door latch that locks them (and the optical >> drives) in place. AIUI, the disk carriers for the new models (with 5500 >> series Xeons) are different, having more finger room between the drive >> and >> the bracket handle and are therefore deeper. All previous versions (5400 >> series Xeons and back) use identical brackets. >> >> The screws on all brackets are made of cheese, however. Swap them for >> some >> decent steel screws at the earliest opportunity, unless you want to use >> a >> pair of mole grips to undo them at a later date. > > OK I'll remember that - the 8-core arrived with an empty bay so I've > slotted in the 2TB. I used Migration Assistant to copy over approx 750GB > to it last night in the 4-core over FireWire. It took a while but all > seems good. > >> Now, the question is, where can I find disk carriers that will put a >> 2.5" >> drive in a Mac Pro? SSD's are getting cheaper nowadays, but the only 3.5 >> inch form factor I've seen are for 1TB SSD, and are galactically >> expensive. > > Interesting. My next thoughts are about replacing the Radeon HD 2600 XT > although it does seem nice and quiet. I equipped my Geforce 8800 and the Radeon HD4870 with these: http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2855.html No issues on the 8800 in the 18 months or so. Not tested the Radeon yet; I'm repainting the office.... -- James Dore New College IT Officer james.dore(a)new / it-support(a)new |