03-03-2017, 02:40 AM
Buzz wrote:
[quote=AllGold]
Also, a PCIe card for an SSD ( https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDACL6G.S/) and USB 3.0 are definitely nice, but not necessary.
After you try it, you'll disagree w/ yourself and insist on PCIe booting, whether it be via an adapter w/ the SSD mounted on it, or a pricier blade configuration. Difficult to explain, but while booting and using whatever's in the drive bays of either of our Mac Pro's is nice; going the PCIe route actually makes me smile every time.
I actually have the card I linked and other than initial testing, haven't used the machine without an SSD in the PCIe card. So I kind of don't know the difference--except I remember the massive butt-kicking boost I got when I first installed an SSD through a regular SATA connection on my previous Mac Pro.
I still maintain that it's definitely nice, but not necessary. For one thing, I only boot the machine once every few weeks. Most of the time I just put it to sleep and wake it.
rz wrote:
I'd say no. It only has the one processor, so it can't be upgraded to an 8 or 12-core processor.
Is that really true with the 2009-2012 machines? The CPU(s) and RAM are on a removable tray so you can just swap in a different tray with faster CPUs. I assumed you could just get a tray with dual CPUs if you want, but I guess if there's a limitation on the motherboard...??