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zackkmac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
879
129
Denver
Hi everyone.

I have three PowerPC Macs. One is a 20" iMac G5 2.0GHz with 2GB RAM. I also have a 1.42GHz eMac with 2GB RAM, and a 400MHz iMac G3 with 1GB RAM.

I love them and the 20" iMac is the kitchen computer, so it gets used almost daily. It currently has a 320GB hard drive in it. The eMac is a guest suite computer and has an 80GB hard drive. The iMac G3 is a kid's computer but not used very often..I think it has a 60GB or 80GB hard drive.

Obviously the 20" would gain the most benefit since it is used the most. I am thinking of getting a 128GB SSD since nobody really stores anything on it anyways.

What do you guys think? Would it be worth adding a small SSD to the other two? What kind of differences would I see in all 3 machines? I know adding an SSD has greatly improved my Intel Macs a lot but not sure about what it would do for PowerPC.

Your help is greatly appreciated. :)
 

AtmChm

macrumors regular
Jul 6, 2010
138
0
WI
I don't know what the iMac G5 has for an HD interface, but if it is SATA, then yes, you will see a noticeable improvement. You'll have to be careful to get an SSD that works at SATA I speeds, since that's likely what your G5 is running. I have put SSD's in G5 PowerMacs, and it improves the performance significantly (~20% increase in benchmark scores for overall performance). You'll notice the increased speed on boot up, application launch, and web page loading.

However, your other Macs are IDE/PATA, and are limited in the data transfer speeds, so the improvement won't be as noticeable. I've put an SSD in a Cube, and there is some improvement over a 7200 RPM IDE drive, but not a lot. Performance improvement alone would not be worth the cost, IMHO. However, in the Cube (or a PowerBook, for example) you will get a lower noise level (zero noise for an ssd), and lower power consumption, so that may be worth the upgrade.

So, for improved performance alone, I think it is only worth putting an SSD in a Mac that can use SATA. Beyond that, it is personal choice.
 

zackkmac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
879
129
Denver
Sounds good. Thanks for the information. I will probably just upgrade the iMac G5 for now. It has a SATA II hard drive in it now, so my best bet will be to get a SATA II SSD. I've found a Crucial v4 and a 2.5 to 3.5 adapter for $85. Hopefully I would get that back out of it when I resell it sometime later. I think I only paid $150-$200 for the computer anyways.
 

rjcalifornia

macrumors 6502a
Oct 4, 2012
668
7
El Salvador
Hi everyone.

I have three PowerPC Macs. One is a 20" iMac G5 2.0GHz with 2GB RAM. I also have a 1.42GHz eMac with 2GB RAM, and a 400MHz iMac G3 with 1GB RAM.

I love them and the 20" iMac is the kitchen computer, so it gets used almost daily. It currently has a 320GB hard drive in it. The eMac is a guest suite computer and has an 80GB hard drive. The iMac G3 is a kid's computer but not used very often..I think it has a 60GB or 80GB hard drive.

Obviously the 20" would gain the most benefit since it is used the most. I am thinking of getting a 128GB SSD since nobody really stores anything on it anyways.

What do you guys think? Would it be worth adding a small SSD to the other two? What kind of differences would I see in all 3 machines? I know adding an SSD has greatly improved my Intel Macs a lot but not sure about what it would do for PowerPC.

Your help is greatly appreciated. :)



Yes, a 100 times yes!!

Not only for speed, but for better security. Normal HDD are prone to fail, SSD will last longer
 

PowerPCMacMan

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2012
800
0
PowerPC land
SSD's are really good in PPC macs.

I thought SSD was only good for multiple reads and not multiple writes? After so many times of multiple writing to the drive, it eventually dies, no?

Anyway, I just added an SSD to my PowerBook G4 1.67 DLSD and this thing flies, I mean.. flies.. Not bad for a PATA SSD. My next experiment is to buy an early Christmas gift, an SSD for my G5 Quad - That should be something.


Yes, a 100 times yes!!

Not only for speed, but for better security. Normal HDD are prone to fail, SSD will last longer
 

cocacolakid

macrumors 65816
Dec 18, 2010
1,108
20
Chicago
I thought SSD was only good for multiple reads and not multiple writes? After so many times of multiple writing to the drive, it eventually dies, no?

Anyway, I just added an SSD to my PowerBook G4 1.67 DLSD and this thing flies, I mean.. flies.. Not bad for a PATA SSD. My next experiment is to buy an early Christmas gift, an SSD for my G5 Quad - That should be something.

SSD's will wear out faster than a traditional drive. The plus is the speed and no noise/very low heat. There is no traditional mechanical failure because there are no moving parts, but the memory will eventually 'wear out' for lack of a better term. Most SSD's are projected to be in the 7 year lifespan with normal, everyday use and projected read/write. However, most of us upgrade our computers (or need more storage space and upgrade the hard drive) long before 7 year intervals.
 

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
Yes, a 100 times yes!!

Not only for speed, but for better security. Normal HDD are prone to fail, SSD will last longer

Not entirely true. SSDs slow down, and if they fail, everything is gone forever. Though, I guess you could call that a form of security! ;)
 

jbarley

macrumors 601
Jul 1, 2006
4,023
1,893
Vancouver Island
I thought SSD was only good for multiple reads and not multiple writes? After so many times of multiple writing to the drive, it eventually dies, no?
What you thought is true, it will eventually die, not all at once, and unless you are very-very young probably not in your lifetime.
 
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