SSD in a MacBook G4?

[davewill2010]

Hi Guys,

is it possible to replace the harddrive in a MacBook G4 with an SSD?

[rabidz7]

Originally Posted by davewill2010

Hi Guys,

is it possible to replace the harddrive in a MacBook G4 with an SSD?

There are no "macbook G4's" you are probably talking about an ibook. For an ibook you will need a PATA/IDE ssd or a SATA ssd with a very small SATA to IDE cable to connect to the mobo. A converter may not fit and will offer zero performance difference so a PATA/IDE sad is the best.

[RedCroissant]

Originally Posted by rabidz7

There are no "macbook G4's" you are probably talking about an ibook. For an ibook you will need a PATA/IDE ssd or a SATA ssd with a very small SATA to IDE cable to connect to the mobo. A converter may not fit and will offer zero performance difference so a PATA/IDE sad is the best.

visit www.macsales.com for their SSD options as well as other storage solutions!

[ybz90]

Originally Posted by RedCroissant

visit www.macsales.com for their SSD options as well as other storage solutions!

I wouldn't buy anything from OWC unless they are the only big manufacturer in the market, such as their blade-style SSDs.

It's WAY overpriced for just about everything. Once upon a time, you needed to get Mac-compatible RAM, etc. Nowadays, there is no reason to pay a premium for the same/lesser quality when you can get it cheaper from Amazon or Newegg.

And definitely don't buy a PATA SSD from them. You don't have many choices, but the cheapo Kingspec I got from eBay is working great, and you don't have to pay through the nose for it.

[RedCroissant]

Originally Posted by ybz90

I wouldn't buy anything from OWC unless they are the only big manufacturer in the market, such as their blade-style SSDs.

It's WAY overpriced for just about everything. Once upon a time, you needed to get Mac-compatible RAM, etc. Nowadays, there is no reason to pay a premium for the same/lesser quality when you can get it cheaper from Amazon or Newegg.

And definitely don't buy a PATA SSD from them. You don't have many choices, but the cheapo Kingspec I got from eBay is working great, and you don't have to pay through the nose for it.

I thought the benefit of the OWC SSDs is that the TRIM support was handled by the controller. Is that the same with your SSD or did you enable TRIM in your machine?

[zackkmac]

IIRC, any SSD that uses a Sandforce controller has the integrated TRIM support.

[ybz90]

Originally Posted by RedCroissant

I thought the benefit of the OWC SSDs is that the TRIM support was handled by the controller. Is that the same with your SSD or did you enable TRIM in your machine?

This is also marketing and misinformation. If you looked at their site, where they say that, it isn't something from OWC itself, but an arbitrary blog post from 2010.

TRIM is a just a command. What they mean to say is their Sandforce-based controllers have some sort of garbage collection... but every modern SSD has good garbage collection algorithms, and I personally think Samsung's are far superior without being as aggressive as the Sandforce. In either case, I strongly recommend enabling TRIM regardless of the onboard algorithms or controller.

I've pretty much used every SSD from every manufacturer since the original Vertex and G.Skill Phoenix Pros. There is no advantage to paying extra for OWC-branded 2.5" drives, especially when they are just a commodity seller using off-the-shelf components (likely Samsung NAND and the Sandforce controller). Of course, if you need special form factors, they're your only option.