INSIGHTS
According to one bitrate calculator, an uncompressed RGBA 4096x3112 non-interlaced 12 bit video requires 1840MB/s storage to avoid dropping frames when capturing or during playback. Using that as the target, the eight Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSDs in a RAID 0 set easily exceeds that requirement.
Notice the speed gain when we split the four drive array into two data channels. With that setup, we were able to approach the 1840MB/s READ target speed. However, with at least six 6G SSDs, we exceeded 1840MB/s on both READ and WRITE. However, if you are only dealing RGB 4:4:4 (4096x3112), 24fps, non-interlaced, 10 bits, your target speed drops to 1200MB/s and the four 6Gb/s SSDs in a RAID 0 set will exceed that requirement.
My point is that "extreme" video creators dealing with ultra high definition video may want to consider a 6Gb/s SSD RAID storage solution for working storage.
HARDWARE DETAILS
RAID Host Adapter
You might recall in our last round of testing we used the 8 lane RocketRAID 2721. This time, we borrowed a RocketRAID 2744 6Gb/s SAS RAID adapter (PCIe x16 with four external mini-SAS ports supporting up to 16 external SAS or SATA drives). This adapter was installed in the number 2 PCIe slot (x16) of the Mac Pro. It then was connected to the external enclosure housing the SandForce based 6Gb/s SSDs.
In our next round of testing, we will use the ATTO ExpressSAS R680 to see what speeds it attains.
Enclosures
We installed the eight Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSDs in the Stardom/Raidon ST8-U5. The best way to install an SSD in the ST8-U5 is to convert it to 3.5 inch form factor using a special adapter with correct mounting holes. We used the NewerTech AdaptaDrive. The black plastic Icy Dock also works in the ST8-U5. (The silver metal Icy Dock does not fit.)
We measured the same speeds using two FirmTek SeriTek/2eEN4 enclosures. In that case, we mounted the SSDs using the silver metal Icy Dock.
OTHER HARDWARE OPTIONS
If you want 6Gb/s SSDs mounted internally to the Mac Pro, they must be connected to the third party 6Gb/s host adapter with internal ports to attain full speed potential. We were impressed with the ATTO R644 which supports up to 4 internal drives and 4 external drives. It can be used to boot OS X.
The mounting of internal 6Gb/s SSDs is a bit tricky. Placing the SSD inside an Icy Dock or AdaptaDrive makes it easy to attach to any drive bay sled, but you'll need a custom sled that bypasses the data connector on the Mac Pro's backplane. We have successfully used two options. MaxUpgrades offers a "Backplane Attachment" kit which enables the SSD to pull power off the Mac Pro's motherboard while facing the data port down at a 90 degree angle to enable connection with the host adapter.
Another custom sled comes with the Trans International "Pro Cable - 1 Kit" which turns the SSD 180 degrees so the data and power connectors face outward. Again, the idea is to bypass the built-in data connection and connect to the 6Gg/s PCIe host adapter. This kit also provides power cables.
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