1) Stimmt es eigentlich, dass man keine „eigenen“ SSDs im „modularen“ MacPro einbauen darf, sondern nur SSDs direkt von Apple eingebaut werden müssen?
2) Bei RAM ist es aber nicht so, oder?
3) Stimmt das? Auf Heise habe ich nen Kommentar gelesen, dass der MacPro gegen Grafikkarten anderer Hersteller, die man im Inneren des MP betreiben möchte, quasi einen Hardwareschutz hat.
Die Grafikkarten-Schnittstellen liefern wohl nicht genug Strom, so dass man z.B. keine NVIDIA-Karten nutzen kann, auch wenn mal diese Treiberscheixxe gelöst sein sollte. (ob’s mit eGPUs laufen könnte, ist ein anderes Thema)
Ich fang mal an, mir selbst zu antworten
Zu Punkt 1)
Ja, es sieht so aus, als ob die SSDs im MacPro eine eigene Form haben und man somit nicht aus allen am Markt vorhandenen SSDs wählen kann.
Es gibt aber wohl diverse Workarounds, die im Artikel beschrieben werden.
The new Mac Pro is a highly modular computer, making it ripe for upgrades and on-site servicing. But, the connector used for the built-in storage suggests replacements may have to be bought from Apple directly.
appleinsider.com
"
Upgrading Apple's drives
As Apple has established that the Mac Pro is a highly modular system, and that the included drives are also removable, it stands to reason that Apple will offer the opportunity to replace or even upgrade the drives after purchasing. This does leave open some questions, such as whether Apple will be the source of the replacements, will it offer drives separately for upgrades, or if aftermarket options will also be available.
Considering how Apple is using the
T2 chip to secure these drives, it is likely to be in Apple's interests to provide upgrade options for these modules, or at the very least replacement drives for servicing, in order to maintain control over security.
Other upgrade avenues
These two storage modules are not the only route to upgrade the storage capacity of the Mac Pro. There are a few other methods that could be available to use, which may be more cost-effective than paying upfront for higher-capacity drives, as well as to expand the storage at a later time.
The main option is through SATA, using the two ports located high up on the main compartment. There aren't any extra drive bay slots or holders within the Mac Pro, so consumers will have to use aftermarket options, like those offered
by Promise.
Those looking for high-speed storage may not want to use SATA due to the relatively low performance, but they are helpful as a last-ditch effort to add more capacity when all other avenues are exhausted.
A secondary method is to take advantage of the ample PCIe slots the Mac Pro offers, and to use it for storage. There are PCIe card adapters that can hold SSDs as well as NVMe, with the latter able to offer high-speed data transfers, along with cards with built-in storage.
A third option is to use MPX Modules, the hardware format that Apple introduced alongside the Mac Pro. While it has a main focus on high-powered GPUs, it is still effectively an enhanced PCIe system.
In the case of Promise, its
Pegasus R4i is an MPX RAID module that contains four 7200 RPM drives, transferring data over PCIe while being powered by the MPX bay power header.
There is also the possibility of using external storage, taking advantage of the Thunderbolt 3 connections to access an external drive enclosure, albeit it is one that is likely to be used for projects confined to portable storage moved between workstations. Internal storage is usually desired more before turning towards external versions."
