Can 2006 MacPro take larger disks? at DVinfo.net

Michael Liebergot · March 15th, 2011, 10:05 AM

I think I know the answer to this question, but I have a 2006 2.66 Intel Quad Core MacPro and have the storage maxed out with 750GB drives. Originally it was stated when I purchased the MacPro that the largest disk it could take was 750GB.

Is this due to the fact that the largest disk made at that time was 750GB?

If this is so, then I should be able to install 2TB drives in the MacPro, correct?
This would be great as I am moving to AVCHD shooting (Sony NX5U) and will be transferring AVCHD footage to an external drive for backup and also to my edit drives as well. But I will also be converting all of the AVCHD footage to ProResLT for editing in FCP.

Shaun Roemich · March 15th, 2011, 10:13 AM

This is far from an authoritative answer but I recently successfully mounted two 1.5TB Hitachi SATA3 drives in a G5 tower (they are operating at SATA1 or 2... I can't remember which buss the G5 supports), which is of course older than your Intel box.

Ryan Postel · March 15th, 2011, 01:21 PM

I have the same MacPro and I have two 1TB and two 2TB disks in there. No problems. I remember reading that too. I assume that was just the largest disks available at the time.

Michael Liebergot · March 15th, 2011, 01:33 PM

Thanks for the confirmation.
That's what I thought as well. I can see the RAM max being an issue, due to the motherboard.
But hard disc capacity seemed like it shouldn't be an issue with a motherboard or processor.

That's most likely the same issue in regards to a 2-drive external RAID enclosure, which also only says 1TB drives. As 1TB drives were the largest available at the time of the enclosures production.

March 15th, 2011, 10:05 AM	#1
Michael Liebergot Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,505	Can 2006 MacPro take larger disks? I think I know the answer to this question, but I have a 2006 2.66 Intel Quad Core MacPro and have the storage maxed out with 750GB drives. Originally it was stated when I purchased the MacPro that the largest disk it could take was 750GB. Is this due to the fact that the largest disk made at that time was 750GB? If this is so, then I should be able to install 2TB drives in the MacPro, correct? This would be great as I am moving to AVCHD shooting (Sony NX5U) and will be transferring AVCHD footage to an external drive for backup and also to my edit drives as well. But I will also be converting all of the AVCHD footage to ProResLT for editing in FCP. __________________ Michael www.lvpvideo.com

March 15th, 2011, 10:13 AM	#2
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	Re: Can 2006 MacPro take larger disks? This is far from an authoritative answer but I recently successfully mounted two 1.5TB Hitachi SATA3 drives in a G5 tower (they are operating at SATA1 or 2... I can't remember which buss the G5 supports), which is of course older than your Intel box. __________________ Shaun C. Roemich Road Dog Media - Vancouver, BC - Videographer - Webcaster www.roaddogmedia.ca Blog: http://roaddogmedia.wordpress.com/

March 15th, 2011, 01:21 PM	#3
Ryan Postel Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 93	Re: Can 2006 MacPro take larger disks? I have the same MacPro and I have two 1TB and two 2TB disks in there. No problems. I remember reading that too. I assume that was just the largest disks available at the time.

March 15th, 2011, 01:33 PM	#4
Michael Liebergot Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,505	Re: Can 2006 MacPro take larger disks? Thanks for the confirmation. That's what I thought as well. I can see the RAM max being an issue, due to the motherboard. But hard disc capacity seemed like it shouldn't be an issue with a motherboard or processor. That's most likely the same issue in regards to a 2-drive external RAID enclosure, which also only says 1TB drives. As 1TB drives were the largest available at the time of the enclosures production. __________________ Michael www.lvpvideo.com