Do Kingspec IDE/ATA SSDs work in PPC Macs?

[hartleymartin]

I've just purchased a MacMini G4 and would like to know if the Kingspec IDE/ATA SSDs are compatible. I have run into issues with my G5 in that Seagate drives won't work properly so I don't want to spend money on something that is not known to work. The OWC drives are rather pricey, and I would like to install one at least 120GB as the G4 will be primarily for playing old OS9 games under classic environment.

 

[beanboy89]

I'm using a KingSpec IDE SSD in my PowerBook G4. I installed it in May, and it's been working fine ever since.

 

[bunnspecial]

Kingspecs work fine, but I'm stubbornly sticking to my opinion that an mSATA drive in an ATA adapter is an all around better and less expensive solution.

 

[MacCubed]

I concur with @bunnspecial on this one. The KingSpec SSDs are very overpriced for what you can get. There are a bunch of mSATA to IDE adapters out there, but try and get one with the Marvell chipset.

 

[hartleymartin]

I didn't know about mSATA to IDE/ATA adaptors. I'm looking into those now. Is there any particular model that I should look at getting? (or any model that I should avoid?) I would probably want to go with Samsung or Sandisk as I have found these both to be excellent quality, though Kingston drives are not bad either.

 

[MacCubed]

I didn't know about mSATA to IDE/ATA adaptors. I'm looking into those now. Is there any particular model that I should look at getting? (or any model that I should avoid?) I would probably want to go with Samsung or Sandisk as I have found these both to be excellent quality, though Kingston drives are not bad either.

Are you talking about adaptors or the actual SSD? I have a SanDisk mSATA in my TiBook right now, it's amazing!

 

[bunnspecial]

For a while I was buying adapters for PowerBooks that had the same form factor as a 2.5" laptop drive. They were generic branded and I'm not up to pulling one apart to see what the chipset is but I know that I could get sustained 92mb/s continuous read/write. There will always be some overhead loss to the adapter, so I consider that pretty darn good on the ATA/100 bus in the Powerbooks I was using(the last one I did was in my 17" DLSD).

At the moment, I'm fighting with getting one in my first generation MacBook Air. These computers use an iPod hard drive which, needless to say, is quite slow. KingSpec and OWC make ready to go SSDs, but they are expensive(more so than the ATA drives). I managed to find a 256gb Samsung for $65, and am trying to find an adapter that works.

 

[MikeatOSX]

I've just purchased a MacMini G4 and would like to know if the Kingspec IDE/ATA SSDs are compatible.

Here you can find some testing infos:
https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/27523-powerbook-1400c-and-msata-ssd/

 

[weckart]

These have the Marvel chipset:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017VQT5YW

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/lycom-st-173-7-covert-msata-ssd-as-high-speed-7mm-25-ide-ssd-drive

http://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/1391543/GBIC-1x-mSATA-socket-1x-IDE-plug-44-pin-renkforce

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delock-Adapter-IDE-44pin-mSATA-2-5-7-mm-Bauhohe-/131288656087

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-mSATA-2-5inch-IDE-Drive/dp/B00TOBJVEM


The same basic unit is sold under a variety of names. I believe Aleratec was the brand formerly used in the US. Addonics is another name I have seen.

Cheaper adapters use the JMicron chipset. The newer JM20330 is fine, the older JM20320 is very buggy and to be avoided.

 

[MacCubed]

Correct, I have an Aleratec adaptor in mine, but they have since ceased production.

 

[ziggy29]

I concur with @bunnspecial on this one. The KingSpec SSDs are very overpriced for what you can get. There are a bunch of mSATA to IDE adapters out there, but try and get one with the Marvell chipset.

I completely agree with this. This is now my standard chosen solution for these old Macs -- an mSATA storage device paired with an mSATA to IDE adaptor using the Marvell chipset. I have one in my ancient 7600 (with Sonnet Tempo HD PCI card), one in my G4/550 Pismo, one in my 1 GHz TiBook. The ones with the Marvell chipset tend to cost a little more -- like $20 instead of $10 -- but they are very reliable and give great performance with these old machines. This SSD solution has never yet disappointed me.

 

[bunnspecial]

Unfortunately, I'm about to bit the bullet and buy a Kingspec for my MacBook Air since I can't find an adapter that fits the connector correctly.

That also leaves me with a really nice Samsung 256gb mSATA(that cost me $65-less than a 128gb Kingspec ZIF ssd) to put somewhere. I've ordered a SATA adapter and it's going to end up in my unibody 2010 Macbook.

 

[weckart]

Unfortunately, I'm about to bit the bullet and buy a Kingspec for my MacBook Air since I can't find an adapter that fits the connector correctly.

The 2009 vintage MBA uses a 40 pin ZIF connecter for its HD as far as I can remember. Is the problem that all the relevant adapters are too large to fit into the space inside for the HD?

All the ones I have seen seem to accommodate the mSATA module lengthwise, like this example

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1PC-New-M...able-Adapter-Card-For-PC-Windows/331771697053

 

[bunnspecial]

The 2009 vintage MBA uses a 40 pin ZIF connecter for its HD as far as I can remember. Is the problem that all the relevant adapters are too large to fit into the space inside for the HD?

All the ones I have seen seem to accommodate the mSATA module lengthwise, like this example

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1PC-New-M...able-Adapter-Card-For-PC-Windows/331771697053

The issue I've had is that I can't find an adapter with a ZIF connector that correctly "clamps" the ribbon to hold it in place.

 

[weckart]

Isn't the ribbon just held in place by the tension of the springs/connnectors in the ZIF socket, similar to ribbon connectors within laptops?

 

[tom vilsack]

System PB 17" 1.67GHz 2 gigs ram,100 gig 5400 hd,Leopard (all updates plus quicktime,itunes ect)

Would an ssd help with the following?

-startup times? (I ask because Niall from PowerPC Hub video showed slower)
-web pages loading faster? (I use latest Web Kite with all the add on tweaks...also use Demeter (standard and beta)
-i'm guessing no real help with loading youtube video's?

Did you find the cost worth it?

 

[bunnspecial]

Isn't the ribbon just held in place by the tension of the springs/connnectors in the ZIF socket, similar to ribbon connectors within laptops?

It is, but I can't seem to figure out exactly the right amount of tension or how to hold it correctly in any sort of jerry-rigged system. I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but I've tried two adapters-one was specifically advertised for iPods, so should have worked. Fortunately, they were inexpensive(a few dollars each) and the sellers refunded without requiring return shipping in both cases. The only adapter I consistently found reports of working is $40 or so...or about the price of a 128gb Kingspec

System PB 17" 1.67GHz 2 gigs ram,100 gig 5400 hd,Leopard (all updates plus quicktime,itunes ect)

Would an ssd help with the following?

-startup times? (I ask because Niall from PowerPC Hub video showed slower)
-web pages loading faster? (I use latest Web Kite with all the add on tweaks...also use Demeter (standard and beta)
-i'm guessing no real help with loading youtube video's?

Did you find the cost worth it?

You will definitely notice faster booting and faster program launches. The overall system will feel "perkier."

With that said, I don't know if you'd find that much difference in page load times. The only time I can see it helping is if you're paging out, in which case the SSD will definitely make a difference. My experience, though, is that web browsing on PPC these days is more CPU bound than RAM bound.

Overall, though, I consider it a very worthwhile upgrade. I have both the A1138 and A1139 that I intend to keep(and still use both with some regularity) but if I were to get another PowerBook that was anything beyond an occasional toy I'd not think about putting an SSD in it. One of these days, I'll get around to putting one in my 1ghz TiBook also.

I have a decent number of bootable SATA cards kicking around, and I keep meaning to put one in my Quicksilver along with a regular 2.5" SSD. Not only is this cheaper, but it should be faster than using an ATA-SATA bridge. Running OS 9 on my 1.25ghz MDD with the same set-up would be fun also, and I suspect that OS 9 would boot in a few seconds.

 

[weckart]

It is, but I can't seem to figure out exactly the right amount of tension or how to hold it correctly in any sort of jerry-rigged system. I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but I've tried two adapters-one was specifically advertised for iPods, so should have worked. Fortunately, they were inexpensive(a few dollars each) and the sellers refunded without requiring return shipping in both cases. The only adapter I consistently found reports of working is $40 or so...or about the price of a 128gb Kingspec

Hmm. Don't know what to say without having your MBA to crack open. I did the iPod 5 Video mod with a 1.8" Toshiba HD bumping up from 30GB to 120GB and can't remember having any great problems with getting the ZIF cable in and its staying put. Most of these ZIF sockets work like most keyboard ribbon sockets in that there is a very thin and delicate bar that moves up and allows the cable to go into the socket and when replaced acts as a gentle clamp to stop the cable from moving once in situ. Perhaps that is where they differed from the original drive, which may have had a deeper ZIF socket with tension grips inside instead. From what I can see from iFixit, the brown ZIF adapter cable in the MBA looks firmer and springier than the paper thin cables you get in iPods. I don't know, just throwing thoughts out here.