HighPoint Launches Dual-Width NVMe Gen 4 AIC Series for Apple Mac Pro M2 Ultra

HighPoint Technologies, Inc. announces a PCle Gen4 NVMe AIC product line designed for Apple, Inc.‘s latest-gen of Mac Pro workstations.

The Mac Pro is powered by Apple’s own M2 Ultra silicon and 24-Core CPU, which is reported to perform nearly 2x faster than its predecessor. The platforms GPU capability is arguably more impressive; up to 76 cores and 192GB of memory. This computing and graphical power is backed by 7 full-length PCle expansion slots, 4 of which can support dual-width PCle devices. Built for professional media post production and content creation applications, the platform can handle up to 22 concurrent streams of 8K ProRes video.

HighpPoint Dual-Width El.S and M.2 NVMe AICs are a performance storage solution for Apple’s new powerhouse. Designed for high-stress media, industrial and Al applications, SSD7749 series NVMe RAID AIC HBAs, are capable of delivering up to 28GB/s of sustained transfer throughput via a single PCle Gen4 x16 slot, and double-this with a Cross-Sync configuration.

Double Mac Pro’s storage performance and capacity with Highpoint’s double-width NVMe architecture
The firm’s dual-width NVMe hardware architecture is capable of delivering maximum bandwidth for each available PCle Gen4 slot! SSD7749 series NVMe AICs leverage Broadcom’s 48-lane PCle Gen4 PEX88048 switch chipset, with proven SerDes and SRIS technology, to optimize signal integrity, reduce latency and maximize transfer throughput.

This combination enables our dual-width NVMe AIC to optimize the x16 lanes of bandwidth provided by the Mac Pro’s PCle Gen4 expansion slots, and allocate a dedicated x4 lanes to each downstream device port The end result is 28GB/s of real-world transfer performance; the maximum possible for a single-card application.

Double and tripple NVMe storage performance:
SSD7749 series dual-width NVMe Al Cs double the performance capabilities of conventional PCle Gen3 NVMe solutions, from 14 to 28GB/s per PCle slot.

In addition, SSD7749 series NVMe RAID Al Cs feature the company‘s Cross-Sync performance technology. M2 Mac Pros can accommodate a pair of SSD7749 Al Cs via the 2 dual-width (double-height) Gen4 x16 slots. This enables customers to leverage up to 32 lanes and double transfer throughput to 55GB/s.

Double capacity with enterprise class reliability:
SSD7749 series Al Cs were designed to accommodate high-capacity DC class El.Sand 22110 M.2 NVMe media, which offer enterprise reliability, with endurance ratings between 1 and 3 DWPD; on par with U.2/U.3 SSDs. DC class El.S media is also for applications that must operate for extended periods of time, and are capable of delivering high levels of sustained, long-duration RW 1/0 performance, especially when compared to their ‘client’ class counterparts.

Precision engineered double-width NVMe cooling solution

As NVMe technology continues to proliferate across vertical markets, the demand for a faster, denser storage solution that utilizes compact form-factor M.2 SSDs and the new Enterprise and DC form Factor El.S, is on the rise. However, such solutions require a much more robust and efficient cooling system. High-density PCle Gen4 NVMe media generates a considerable volume of waste heat under load; successfully managing this heat is the key to unlocking the full performance potential of NVMe storage.

In response to this growing demand, the firm‘s product development team have engineered a new double-width cooling solution for SSD7749 series NVMe AICs. Designed to improve cooling performance over existing single-width solutions, this system mitigates the threat of thermal throttling and ensures high-density PCle Gen4 El.Sand M.2 22110 media consistently deliver maximum throughput for extended 1/0 sessions.

Each AIC is fully enclosed by an anodized aluminum casing designed to optimize airflow. The dual-width architecture’s unique socket design enables NVMe media to be arranged vertically, similar to how memory is installed into a conventional motherboard. This ensures both sides of the SSD are exposed to the cool air ingested by a pair of powerful, low-decibel cooling fans integrated directly into the casing’s ‘door’ mechanism, which swings up and away from the AIC to expose the SSD loading bay. The cool air is condensed and circulated throughout the casing, which then rapidly ejects waste heat via the ventilated PCle bracket.

Dual-width NVMe AIC product line:

SSD7749 Series: 8-Channel PC/e Gen4 x16 NVMe RAID AIC HBAs
The SSD7749 series represents the epitome of NVMe RAID storage technology. Armed with High Point’s advanced NVMe RAID stack, SSD7749 series Al Cs are capable of supporting RAID-0, 1, 10 arrays and individual drives, including mixed configurations of single-disks and arrays. SSD7749 series AlC’s include a suite of NVMe storage and RAID management and monitoring tools for macOS, designed to streamline upgrade and maintenance workflows.
WebGUI and CLI: The WebGUI is a graphical user interface designed to work with all modern Web browsers. It is equipped with Wizard-like quick configuration menus as well as a suite of tools for expert administrators. The HighPoint CLI (Command Line Interface) is for seasoned administrators and platforms that do not utilize graphical OSs.
SHI (Storage Health Inspector): It provides wealth of information about NVMe SSDs, and enables administrators to instantly asses the temperature, TBW /DWPD rating, and operational status of each hosted drive, and configure temperature thresholds to correspond with the target SSD’s official specs.

Pricing and availability:
The company’s series of Dual-Wide NVMe Al Cs are set to launch in late June 2023, and will be available direct from the firm E-Store and certified global resale and distribution partners.