Is it possible to install an SSD boot drive on a 2010 Mac Pro Intel?

There are several options at > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/mac-pro/2009-2012

Also check out the Install Video mid way down the page.

Hi,

yes, you can, though you need to get 2.5inch SSD for 3.5inch mounter like following.

https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Mount-Drive-2009-2012-Apple/dp/B009P4NEKA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=17E89XCB9HPGE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.va3bqKldHnHcULlKTQrn7wNnRfKYQI2VPOBrgnBBkrwIq_lXmvapQj6Uqv7yjaK2Wfa9cgE0OVCDORyr4nIeWyYiyVOG1M5E2A9_bwQiLT68D_pqAe_VVgTLb8uvNgvo0PSp-uTMbTL10MFOW6ithfny9zSB6fUFrywkW0NhISYafNVzwlJObYpAhwIsvRslt66Ip7t10cEAzBdJrDc4KBsKBs6Sft25hMZUn_sal3Y.p9kVJmzB4uLYmm4fqZHVU9MlhFHikYN5G3L2_qDvqxs&dib_tag=se&keywords=2.5inch+ssd+for+3.5inch+monitor+for+mac+pro&qid=1729093345&s=computers-intl-ship&sprefix=2.5inch+ssd+for+3.5inch+mounter+for+mac+pro%2Ccomputers-intl-ship%2C303&sr=1-2

Mac Pro intel with Westmere processor(s) must be a 2010 or later model, unless upgraded to a Mac Pro 5.1. In either case, it can run MacOS 10.11 El Capitan without further modification, and likely up to 10.13 High Sierra. If you install a Metal-capable graphics card, it can even run 10.14 Mojave.

If Drive SPEED is what you seek, there are Solid State Drives SATA SSD drives you could install in a Mac Pro 5,1 silver tower drive bay for comparable amounts of money that can attain nominal 550 M Bytes/sec speeds, about 10 times faster than the fastest Rotating Magnetic drives. OWC/MacSales sells the special sled required for the 2.5-in form factor.

Next higher is a simple x4 PCIe card (under US$30 for the empty card) that could provide nominal 1500 M Bytes/sec in your Mac Pro 5,1 in a PCIe2 x4 slot. Installation is slightly more complex, because you must apply a heat transfer pad to the SSD stick and bolt on a heatsink (included in the kits).

Somewhat more complex and far more expensive are PCIe card with x8 or x16 capability. The Mac Pro does not support ‘bifurcation’ (i.e., writing to each x4 of an x8 slot separately) so a complex full-width drive controller chip on the card is required. This makes x8 cards far more expensive than x4 cards, and x16 cards more expensive still. But possibly twice as fast or more.

<< Will I be able to use an SSD drive as a boot drive if I install it on a PCIe card instead of having it in the first drive bay of the Mac Pro? >>

There is NO magic place for a boot drive in a Mac. Not bay #1. NONE.

Your Mac (of any design) boots from the last-specified Startup drive reflected in Startup Disk Control panel. It will happily boot and run perfectly well from an external drive, as long as you tell it to do so.

if you are serious about booting from an internal PCIE slot card, you must first install MacOS 10.13 High Sierra, which includes a firmware update that allows PCIE-card booting. The firmware is stored permanently on the mainboard, so you need not continue to run that version, but you must install that version to get that firmware update to allow PCIE card bootablilty.

Marjan_ wrote:

Thanks for suggesting the OWC stuff.

You're welcome.

I’m in Europe, so I might just try this:

OWC has Retailers and Distributors in Europe.

see > https://www.owc.com/partners/where-to-buy/

Pack of 2 Metal SSD HDD 2.5'' to 3.5'' Mounting Kit Hard Disk Drive Holder Dock

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175485414212?

No you need the one that fits your year model Mac Pro.

<< pack of 2 metal SSD mounting kit. >>

The price is right, but as den.thed quietly tried to tell you, those kinds of kits DO NOT work in a Mac Pro.

They push the smaller drive to the CENTER of the slot, and what is required is left-justified, as installed (the connector must be at the left edge of the carrier). Also, those commodity sleds are not intended to slide into the roof-mounted retainers in a Mac Pro, so they would just fall out. They are also missing the recessed, rubber-mounted drive screws that engage the drive from below. Non-recessed screws from below will hang up on the 'roof' of the slot.

The Blue OWC drive sled really is a good solution. Works and trouble-free. I have several in use.

if you get stuck, a 3/4-in thick block of wood resting on the top of the fan will support the drive with NO sled in slot #1, ONLY. You can also use Double-stick tape and ONE screw on a traditional sled, but getting it securely into the slot is quite challenging.

Hi,

Serial ATA drive has all the same connector, whatever which is 3.5inch or 2.5inch.

You are considering to get mounter works on your Mac Pro 2010 with 2.5inch SSD as macOS bootable drive.