3 ms·

> The Mac Pro features eight Thunderbolt ports and six PCI slots for modular expansion. The base model config Mac Pro starts at $6999. I'm guessing you can't u

by jmkni 3y ago

> The Mac Pro features eight Thunderbolt ports and six PCI slots for modular expansion. The base model config Mac Pro starts at $6999. I'm guessing you can't use those PCI slots to add more ram or an external graphics card (maybe I'm wrong?!) If not, what are they for?

ls612 3y ago
I’d assume you can add any expansion card with drivers for Apple Silicon macos. Now that this config exists I guess some companies will make the necessary drivers for their products.
jamesfmilne 3y ago
100GbE networking cards, SDI video cards, audio interface cards.
- thrashh 3y ago
  Firewire cards Lol
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
brucethemoose2 3y ago
CXL ram expansion cards actually are a thing! It is no free lunch though, it will very very slow even if they offer it.
- dvas 3y ago
  I think CXL devices in general will become more and more common given that other players on the hardware side are now supporting CXL 1.1 / 2.0 protocols (Sapphire Rapids / 4th Gen EPYC[2]) and it's a way to scale memory past the limitations of a single machine and the number of memory slots / DIMM slots. For now it's PCIe 5.0, but given that PCIe 6.0[2] will come around with PAM4 signalling, FEC and FLIT mode on CXL 3.0 spec it may be not be as bad or slow with this future configuration. [1] https://www.amd.com/en/press-releases/2022-11-10-offering-unmatched-performance-leadership-energy-efficiency-and-next https://www.amd.com/en/press-releases/2022-11-10-offering-un... [2] https://www.rambus.com/blogs/pcie-6/ https://www.rambus.com/blogs/pcie-6/
- derefr 3y ago
  Given that macOS has memory compression, it already has two "classes" of memory pages in a storage-hierarchy relationship, with active promotion/eviction. Just mount the CXL "external memory" to a different part of the address space, and default to writing compressed/cold pages there.

3 ms·

> The Mac Pro features eight Thunderbolt ports and six PCI slots for modular expansion. The base model config Mac Pro starts at $6999. I'm guessing you can't u

by jmkni 3y ago

ls612 3y ago
I’d assume you can add any expansion card with drivers for Apple Silicon macos. Now that this config exists I guess some companies will make the necessary drivers for their products.
jamesfmilne 3y ago
100GbE networking cards, SDI video cards, audio interface cards.
- thrashh 3y ago
  Firewire cards Lol
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
brucethemoose2 3y ago
CXL ram expansion cards actually are a thing! It is no free lunch though, it will very very slow even if they offer it.
- dvas 3y ago
  I think CXL devices in general will become more and more common given that other players on the hardware side are now supporting CXL 1.1 / 2.0 protocols (Sapphire Rapids / 4th Gen EPYC[2]) and it's a way to scale memory past the limitations of a single machine and the number of memory slots / DIMM slots. For now it's PCIe 5.0, but given that PCIe 6.0[2] will come around with PAM4 signalling, FEC and FLIT mode on CXL 3.0 spec it may be not be as bad or slow with this future configuration. [1] https://www.amd.com/en/press-releases/2022-11-10-offering-unmatched-performance-leadership-energy-efficiency-and-next https://www.amd.com/en/press-releases/2022-11-10-offering-un... [2] https://www.rambus.com/blogs/pcie-6/ https://www.rambus.com/blogs/pcie-6/
- derefr 3y ago
  Given that macOS has memory compression, it already has two "classes" of memory pages in a storage-hierarchy relationship, with active promotion/eviction. Just mount the CXL "external memory" to a different part of the address space, and default to writing compressed/cold pages there.