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Best SSD to get for my PowerMac G5?

PowerMac G4 MDD

PowerMac G4 MDD

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 13, 2014
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I am sure these threads have popped up a lot recently, but I need some new input on this. I don't think I will do this right away, but I may consider buying two SSDs soon (one for my 2009 MacBook Pro and possibly one for my PMG5).

1. What is the best one to get? I don't want to spend real money, and I thought a nice Kingston 120GB SSD for $59-ish dollars sounded good... what do you guys think?

2. Trim... I hear that older Macs/older MacOS versions don't do well with what is known as "Trim". Can someone explain that to me? I am running Leopard on this G5. (the 2009 MBP has Snow Leopard). Do I have to worry about things on the PowerMac G5 apparently "getting slower" over time?

3. Can any SSD work? I am assuming the SATA connections in my G5 are the same as those in a laptop? (considering people buy 2.5" SSDs for their desktops and put in a 3.5" mounting bracket)

4. Is this worth-it in the G5? I can tell it will be for my MacBook, as the mechanical HD messes with its sleep process, etc. But, for the G5, is it a noticeable speed increase? To give you an idea, I have an original 2003 dual 2.0Ghz G5 with 8GB of DDR1 memory. Will I really see a noticeable different that is worth the $60-odd?


Thanks in advance for your offers. You don't have to answer in my list format, but please address all -- if not -- most of my questions!
 
You can't use any modern SSD in a G5. Leopard cannot use TRIM. Nearly any SSD that is SATA I or SATA II will work. Most SSD's are 2.5" drives and should be used with a 3.5" holder. SSDs do greatly perk up PowerPC machines.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
I am sure these threads have popped up a lot recently, but I need some new input on this. I don't think I will do this right away, but I may consider buying two SSDs soon (one for my 2009 MacBook Pro and possibly one for my PMG5).

1. What is the best one to get? I don't want to spend real money, and I thought a nice Kingston 120GB SSD for $59-ish dollars sounded good... what do you guys think?

2. Trim... I hear that older Macs/older MacOS versions don't do well with what is known as "Trim". Can someone explain that to me? I am running Leopard on this G5. (the 2009 MBP has Snow Leopard). Do I have to worry about things on the PowerMac G5 apparently "getting slower" over time?

3. Can any SSD work? I am assuming the SATA connections in my G5 are the same as those in a laptop? (considering people buy 2.5" SSDs for their desktops and put in a 3.5" mounting bracket)

4. Is this worth-it in the G5? I can tell it will be for my MacBook, as the mechanical HD messes with its sleep process, etc. But, for the G5, is it a noticeable speed increase? To give you an idea, I have an original 2003 dual 2.0Ghz G5 with 8GB of DDR1 memory. Will I really see a noticeable different that is worth the $60-odd?


Thanks in advance for your offers. You don't have to answer in my list format, but please address all -- if not -- most of my questions!
Click to expand...

Some SSDs ship as a kit for desktops with the bracket. You are going to be limited to SATA II SSDs as SATA III will most likely not even be recognized with the G5s chipset. Since Leopard does not support TRIM (and cannot be added through any hacks), you are going to be limited to the garbage collection processes built into the SSDs firmware.
 
Altemose said:
Some SSDs ship as a kit for desktops with the bracket. You are going to be limited to SATA II SSDs as SATA III will most likely not even be recognized with the G5s chipset. Since Leopard does not support TRIM (and cannot be added through any hacks), you are going to be limited to the garbage collection processes built into the SSDs firmware.
Click to expand...

Are there specifically-known SSDs that are good for PowerMac G5s? (or any SATA II computers) I guess I will just search for SATA II SSD... As for TRIM, what if I were to use the SSD as my boot drive but my HDD as a storage drive? Would that not matter since many system files are still added to the system disk?
 
Intell said:
You can't use any modern SSD in a G5. Leopard cannot use TRIM. Nearly any SSD that is SATA I or SATA II will work. Most SSD's are 2.5" drives and should be used with a 3.5" holder. SSDs do greatly perk up PowerPC machines.
Click to expand...

Many don't specify whether SATA II or III. Do you know of any specific (and cheap) SSDs that people normally put in PPC Macs that have SATA II? (I will still continue to look) As for TRIM, are there any work-arounds such as only using the SSD as a boot drive and storing data on a separate HDD?

If this TRIM thing is such an issue, why do so many people go with SSDs in their PPC Macs? I know it adds a big speed boost, but is it worth having that slow-down later on? I can understand if one is not aware of TRIM compatibility issues, but I would have expected way more word of this to have spread about. I am guessing if an SSD is an IDE one and is knowingly created for older computers that cannot support TRIM, they just manufacture them accordingly? I can see why a SATA SSD wouldn't be created with some PowerMac G5 or Pentium 4 Windows PC in mind...
 
HarCees said:
Yes he can. Please be a little more modest when you're answering a question you do not know the answer to.

I have a samsung evo 250gb, sata 3. I've heard of other having modern ones as well.

Generally, stay away from sandforce and older Sata-3 disks.
Click to expand...

I have been looking around for SATA II SSDs... sadly they are not as common. The zero TRIM support in Leopard is another factor here.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
I have been looking around for SATA II SSDs... sadly they are not as common. The zero TRIM support in Leopard is another factor here.
Click to expand...


Defenetly. But I see no reason in spending money for a SATA-2 SSD, that you will never want to put in a new system, when there is cheaper SATA-3 SSD's out there. Regarding Trim, SATA-1 is already superslow to begin with, so I don't think you will notice any speed decrease at all. I haven't.
 
HarCees said:
Defenetly. But I see no reason in spending money for a SATA-2 SSD, that you will never want to put in a new system, when there is cheaper SATA-3 SSD's out there. Regarding Trim, SATA-1 is already superslow to begin with, so I don't think you will notice any speed decrease at all. I haven't.
Click to expand...


I think the issue of TRIM has to do more with each persons usage of the drive.
 
HarCees said:
Yes he can. Please be a little more modest when you're answering a question you do not know the answer to.

I have a samsung evo 250gb, sata 3. I've heard of other having modern ones as well.

Generally, stay away from sandforce and older Sata-3 disks.
Click to expand...

I can personally assure you, no Samsung SSD has worked in a G5 since the 830 series, let alone even be recognized in a G5. It's still undeniable that G5's are extremely picky about SATA III drives and it's best to avoid them completely.
 
Intell said:
You can't use any modern SSD in a G5. Leopard cannot use TRIM. Nearly any SSD that is SATA I or SATA II will work. Most SSD's are 2.5" drives and should be used with a 3.5" holder. SSDs do greatly perk up PowerPC machines.
Click to expand...

I've had a Corsair Force 120gb SATA III SSD in a G5 Xserve, it just defaulted to a slower speed.
 
All sata3 drives are compatible with all sata 1 and 2 chipsets. Sata 1 runs has a link speed of 150 mbps and since most physical drives are around 60 mpbs you will still see a performance boost.
 
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rmackner said:
All sata3 drives are compatible with all sata 1 and 2 chipsets. Sata 1 runs has a link speed of 150 mbps and since most physical drives are around 60 mpbs you will still see a performance boost.
Click to expand...

However, the chipsets in the PowerMac G5, iMac G5, and Xserve all have issues with SATA III drives.
 
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Intell said:
Do note I previously stated that G5's are extremely picky about which SATA III drives they'll recognize or use, most notably SSDs.
Click to expand...

So, the verdict is that I either get a SATA II drive for it, or I just forget about wasting my money on this... I should just get a SATA III drive for my 2009 MacBook Pro, especially since it supports TRIM. (beginning with OSX SL). Are these earlier unibody MacBook Pros picky?

Hmm... it WOULD be cool to have an SSD in my G5 though, seeing as the performance it has by itself is pretty good. It would be nice to have something to give my 8GB of RAM company.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
So, the verdict is that I either get a SATA II drive for it, or I just forget about wasting my money on this... I should just get a SATA III drive for my 2009 MacBook Pro, especially since it supports TRIM. (beginning with OSX SL). Are these earlier unibody MacBook Pros picky?
Click to expand...

Yes but see my post above. I have a 240GB Crucial M500 in my Santa Rosa MBP. That has a SATA I controller. Mavericks installed just fine on that.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
So, the verdict is that I either get a SATA II drive for it, or I just forget about wasting my money on this... I should just get a SATA III drive for my 2009 MacBook Pro, especially since it supports TRIM. (beginning with OSX SL). Are these earlier unibody MacBook Pros picky?



Hmm... it WOULD be cool to have an SSD in my G5 though, seeing as the performance it has by itself is pretty good. It would be nice to have something to give my 8GB of RAM company.
Click to expand...


A SATA II drive is a good mix of performance and value for a G5.
 
PowerMac G4 MDD said:
Yeah, but I am worried about the zero TRIM support.
Click to expand...

It's nothing to worry about. I have 3 SSDs that have been running for 2-4 years and have never had TRIM support. None are noticeably slower now than when they were new. It's helpful to leave unallocated space on the drive to give the garbage collection system some room to work with.
 
556fmjoe said:
It's nothing to worry about. I have 3 SSDs that have been running for 2-4 years and have never had TRIM support. None are noticeably slower now than when they were new. It's helpful to leave unallocated space on the drive to give the garbage collection system some room to work with.
Click to expand...

Hmm, thanks for that tip. I guess if I have to leave some extra space, I will just wait until a larger SATA II SSD is cheaper. SATA II SSDs are already harder to find than SATA III. (I also would want to get a larger one if I have to allocate some space). As for my MacBook Pro, it luckily supports TRIM. I found a Kingston SATA III SSD (120GB) for about $60... that sounds good.
 
Intell said:
There's nothing you can do about that. The best solution is to get a drive that has garbage collection.
Click to expand...

Yeah, as per above, the Corsair Force 3 has in built garbage collection, it should be pretty cheap now also. It works with a G5 but would not work with my 2011 MacBook Pro.

All said and done, the early 2011 MacBook Pros do have one of the fussiest SATA3 controllers going around in current machines though.


http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Serie...id=1414638293&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+force+3

Although anything with the SF2200 chipset will be pretty much the same, that includes OCZ Vertex 3 drives as well
 
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This is a great question and gets debated a lot.

SSDs do work great in G5.

Here is my info that I recommend you checking out that gives you a sense of the ins and outs of what TRIM does:
http://g5center.net/index.php?post=overprovisioning

My Hardware page has more info too:
http://www.g5center.net/hardware.html

I do use a super cheap Corsair 60GB drive that I got for like $40 from MicroCenter. I am looking to upgrade it, because it's not very fast at all. I get a ton of info from the guys at SomethingAwful who tend to be pretty darn knowledgeable about the best SSDs, and they recommend the Intel 520/530 series for older machines without TRIM support (even XP machines for instance). They have aggressive Sandforce processors which try to clean up and optimize the drives in the background. OWC drives also seem like a good solid pick, even if they are a tad bit more expensive.

The best SSDs have consistent performance. The lower end ones may have an initial blast of good performance, but then they taper off because of a lack of built in memory or poor design. My Crucial falls in that latter category. Samsung EVOs are good, although there was a massive bug that meant older data began to suffer serious performance bugs. The fix was just released. They are also not Sandforce based.

Intel drives tend to not be the highest performers, but they are built for enterprise applications so they are pretty consistent and reasonable in price.

Sandisk Extremes are also solid, and if you can find the Mushkin Deluxe drives, those are solid too.

The new Crucial MX series are probably some of the best priced drives out there, but they don't always have the most consistent performance. For a G5, it's probably good enough though, since you will quickly saturate that SATA I port.

Isn't it nice though that G5s even have SATA ports?
 
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The two drives I listed above have Sandforce chips with garbage cleanup algorithms. I ran a Force 3 in my Xserve and the difference was night and day, although I've since retired that machine.

Intel chipsets provide good all round performance, are solid and reliable, although they're not always either the cheapest or the fastest.

I would not spend a lot of money for an SSD for a G5, it just so happened that drive wouldn't work in my MacBook so I put it in my G5.

They seem cheap by todays standards if I'm looking at the Amazon prices.
 
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