Reddit mentions of Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 PCIe 4-Port (Mac and Windows Compatible)

Are all your PCIE slots full?

Do you NEED the USB cables in the front?

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Its the most simple to just plug in a USB 3.0 card and have the USB slots on the back.

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I have 2 of these cards in my 2012

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRGCV2G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I added an extra SSD to my spare DVD drive using this method

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https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/faq/mac-pro-how-to-install-second-optical-drive-bluray.html

Looks like if you trade in your tray and move up to 32GB of RAM you'll be spending about $1000-$2000 to go to a 12 core box. If you get on eBay you can probably do better. Whole 12c systems probably go for under $2000 at this point.

Perhaps the more important thing to look at is the compatibility table. This is the oldest MacPro supported by MacOS today. No one knows when, but at some point Apple is going to stop making updates for the towers. When they do Avid and Adobe will be close behind.

5 years after release Apple start to consider hardware vintage, and the 2010 MacPro has crossed that threshold. The good news is the 2012 MacPro largely shares the architecture of the 2010 and was on sale through much of 2013, but the end of support is worth considering at this point. I think you'll see support through 2018 since they're basically the same as the 2012 towers that were sold through most of 2013. After 2018 you're probably out of luck.

Keep software support in mind as you consider spending money on an aging system. Sometimes the math doesn't check out.

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In your shoes I'd go for an SSD boot, a USB3 PCI card, 24-32GB of RAM and a GTX970 to be a good investment for Adobe use. Also start saving up for a bigger upgrade.

I have this card in my desktop, which I built from server hardware. The system can boot off of it, it's got pretty damn good performance under both Windows and macOS, and draws only bus power. The price is a little steep – but it just works.

My research has gotten me pointed at this:

http://www.amazon.com/Ports-Inateck-PCI-E-Expansion-Version/dp/B00I027GPC

It appears quite affordable, 4 port, no extra power, should work without drivers on mac side and fine under bootcamp... seems like a solid option. Anyone have any opinions on this or any other cards?


Alternatively http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRGCV2G/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00I027GPC&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0G5YNS92XRZZA2KJ0YE3#Ask seems functional for people, but there's less feedback and twice the cost so...

Generally you don't want more than two sensors per controller, else you'll exceed the bandwidth the controller can carry. You want a maximum of two on a 3.0 controller, and a maximum of one on a 2.0 controller. If you're running three sensors on one controller, that is your issue, most likely. Pop that USB card in and plug two of the sensors into that instead, tell us how that works. If your native controller is 3.0, don't worry about putting your third on 2.0, use the laptop's native 3.0 controller for it.

The older PC may not have had USB 3.0 at all, and if your newer machines are trying to run three sensors through one controller, they'll both share the bandwidth problem.

If you can afford it, this one (or one like it) is optimal: https://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Allegro-4-Port-Windows-Compatible/dp/B00GRGCV2G/

That has a separate controller for each individual port. You can plug a sensor into all four without a hitch. Some have posted that sensors work better with a dedicated controller, even if a controller can still handle two 'well enough'. I don't know how true that is.

OK, thanks for the explanation, it appears there are Thunderbolt 3 versions

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONNET-TECHNOLOGIES-USB3-4PM-Allegro-4-Port/dp/B00GRGCV2G/