6Gb SATA PCIe 2.5-Inch SSD Cards From Sonnet

Sonnet Technologies Inc. announced an upgrade to its Tempo SSD and Tempo SSD Pro 6Gb/sec SATA PCIe 2.5-inch SSD cards to support booting in Mac Pro computers (early 2008 and newer).

With the update, users can boot from a Mac Pro even in a RAID-0 configuration with two SSDs. Booting is also supported for Windows 7 and 8 computers as well as Server 2008 and 2012 (although not from a RAID drive).

With the Tempo SSD and SSD Pro, users can purchase one or two SSDs separately and then mount them on PCIe cards. Unlike other PCIe SSD cards, they utilize available 2.5-inch SATA SSDs (sold separately), giving users flexibility in selecting the SSD capacity and performance that best suit their needs and budget, as well as the option to upgrade as required.

With the ability to boot from attached SSDs, Mac Pro users can now extract the best performance from their systems with faster operation.

Delivering performance that cannot be matched by spinning-disk drives, SSDs have become important components in systems requiring fast data transfer speeds and large numbers of I/O operations. Instead of relying on proprietary SSD modules, Sonnet chose to support standard 2.5-inch SATA SSDs to allow users access to the most common SSD form factor, which is generally available at better prices than proprietary SSD modules. The Tempo 6Gb SATA cards offer twice the bandwidth of the Mac Pro’s native 3Gb SATA bus.

The Tempo SSD card uses a 6Gb SATA controller and a PCIe 2.0 interface. It features a modular design that supports one SSD with the card at half-length, or two SSDs with an included bracket that extends the card to full length. It supports sustained read speeds of up to 500MB/sec from a single SSD or up to 660MB/sec from two SSDs configured as a RAID-0 set.

The Tempo SSD Pro card can mount two SSDs in a full-length PCIe slot, such as those in the Mac Pro. The Tempo SSD Pro features a higher-performance 6Gb SATA SSD controller that supports sustained read speeds of up to 960MB/sec from two SSDs configured as a Mac Pro-bootable RAID-0 set.

The cards install into a Mac or Windows computer’s PCIe slot, or into a Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards such as Sonnet’s Echo Express line, or the xMac mini Server PCIe 2.0 expansion system/1U rackmount enclosure. With SSDs attached, both cards are narrow enough to occupy the space of only a single-width card.

"Our Tempo SSD and Tempo SSD Pro cards have enabled users to install ultra-fast SSDs in their computers or Thunderbolt-to-PCIe expansion chassis to take advantage of SSDs without cables, adapters, or cases, while providing them complete price/performance flexibility in their choice of high-performance SSDs," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet. "Upgrading these cards to support booting from attached SSDs in the Mac Pro enhances their usefulness and flexibility."

Sonnet has posted software on its website that enables users to update their cards to gain the new capability.

Compatible with OS X 10.6.8+ (including Mountain Lion), Microsoft Windows 8, 7, and Vista, and Server 2012 and 2008;, the Tempo SSD (part number TSATA6-SSD-E2) is available now at a suggested retail price of $149.95, and the Tempo SSD Pro (part number TSATA6-SSDPR-E2) is available now at a suggested retail price of $299.95.