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0ld-knight

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 2, 2009
13
0
Hi everyone.
I have an old g3 imac, 500 mhz, 20 gb hd, and for some time i've been planning to make it totally silent. As you know it doesn't have fans and the only noise you can hear from it is from the hd.

I was thinking to do it by changing its 20 gb hd for a ssd. As prices are still quite high (even for small ones), maybe a 16 or 8 gb would do the job...

An other option i've thought of, is using a cf to ide adapter, and a cf card, because a 8 gb ssd is still about 50 or 60 $. For smaller ones, i think it's better to leave it as it is now, because at least i'd like to have some music and some movies in it!

For example, this cf adapter is just 2.4 $ ( https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.711 ) and then i'd just have to buy a cf and install osx on it. The problem is that i'm not sure if it would work. Because the problem is not only to find a cheap ssd or cf-ide adapter, but one that works on this old (but very nice) machine.

So, in any of these two ways, what i didn't find anywhere is, how many pins has the ide in this machine? is a standard one?
The hd interface is ata (33 i think) but in apple's specifications page doesn't say anything else (http://support.apple.com/kb/SP64), say nº of pins, if it is custom (any of the wires in changed position, for example) or anything.

Well so, at the end, and as resume, my questions are:

- Which of this 2 options do you think is better, and where's a good place to buy it?
- How many pins or which kind of ide adapter do i have to buy if i find a ide ssd or a cf-ide adapter + cf card?
- Do you know anyone who has done something similar or where can i read about it?

So, thats the problem i have. I'd like to try this when i've finished exams, so if you all-knowing macrumors community can shed some light on it, i'll appreciate it a lot. Thanks for your time!

0ld
 
I'm neigh-certain that the HD in those is just a standard 3.5" IDE, meaning yes, the adapter you linked (for example) should work. Similarly, I can't think of a reason any 8GB or 16GB CF card wouldn't work.

I've used 2.5" IDE to 3.5" IDE adapters to quiet systems, but admittedly never a CF card (though if they'd been as cheap two years ago as they are now, I'd have gone that route). It'll be interesting to hear your results with it.

Don't forget, by the way, to either get a CF-IDE adapter with a standard 3.5" HD molex power connector on it, or to get the appropriate adapter (the one you linked has one of the smaller power connectors on the underside, so it would need an additional cable.
 
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