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iMac G5 vs Power Mac G5.

It would certainly fly compared to the stock drive. Mine was so slow. I think a modern fast (compatible) HDD gets pretty close to maxing out the SATA I standard though so while it would be an improvement I'm not sure it would be worth the money considering the age?

I'll say that it doesn't feel like the hard drive is the limiting factor of speed on my G5 once I upgraded it - at least once it's powered on. I'm running a 1TB, 7200RPM Hitachi Deskstar.
 
I just checked some benchmarks on WD Black desktop drives, and it seems as though they max at around ~130mb/sec in sequential write and significantly slower in sequential read(i.e. a few MB/s).

I'll admit that I've never run an SSD in a G5(mine all have conventional platter drives), but even low end SSDs are running ~500mb/s in both read and write speeds(the last time I benched the cheap Kingston 256mb in my white Macbook, it was running well over 400mb/s).

Most folks who use my Mac Pro 1,1 think it's a new computer thanks to the SSD(and probably some of the other upgrades)-although admittedly it's SATA II and not SATA I. Granted, that's not a G5, but I still think there's merit in that comparison.
 
bunnspecial said:
I just checked some benchmarks on WD Black desktop drives, and it seems as though they max at around ~130mb/sec in sequential write and significantly slower in sequential read(i.e. a few MB/s).

I'll admit that I've never run an SSD in a G5(mine all have conventional platter drives), but even low end SSDs are running ~500mb/s in both read and write speeds(the last time I benched the cheap Kingston 256mb in my white Macbook, it was running well over 400mb/s).

Most folks who use my Mac Pro 1,1 think it's a new computer thanks to the SSD(and probably some of the other upgrades)-although admittedly it's SATA II and not SATA I. Granted, that's not a G5, but I still think there's merit in that comparison.
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I appreciate the disk tests. I would think that the ssd would also help with ram paging out being faster? Plus I know they run cooler and quieter. My MacBook Pro 2012 feels just as fast as a 2015 model because of it.
I also like that the video card is decent at 128mb Ati Radeon x600 pro
 
The max possible throughput of SATA I is 1.5Gbps or ~ 150MB/s (I'm assuming, like drive space, they're using base 10 instead of 8). So those WD Black desktop drives were writing about as fast as that standard can handle in real world usage.

So certainly in a SATA II (or especially III) setup an SSD makes tons and tons of sense. It also makes sense in portable applications due to mechanical durability and high power efficiency. In a SATA I based iMac G5, I think saving the cash and sticking in a fast, large mechanical drive makes much more sense.
 
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GoldfishRT said:
The max possible throughput of SATA I is 1.5Gbps or ~ 150MB/s (I'm assuming, like drive space, they're using base 10 instead of 8).
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You assume incorrectly. Damn drive manufacturers have a lot to answer of. The base 10 vs base 2 thing got out of hand when they were trying to make their drives look bigger than they were about 15 years ago. It's binary, therefore it's base 2. End of!

A modern 7200rpm drive will usually max out at 120-130MB/sec with a sequential transfer.

I shoved a 500GB WD Enterprise drive in my G5 (roughly equivalent to a Black) and it's a whole lot more responsive than the original 160Gb Seagate. I keep meaning to try a Intel 40GB SSD in it that I've got lying around. Read speeds will get capped by the SATA I bus, write speeds were in the 80Mb/sec area being a low capacity drive. Then again it's cost me all of £15 about 2 years ago!
 
GoldfishRT said:
The max possible throughput of SATA I is 1.5Gbps or ~ 150MB/s (I'm assuming, like drive space, they're using base 10 instead of 8). So those WD Black desktop drives were writing about as fast as that standard can handle in real world usage.

So certainly in a SATA II (or especially III) setup an SSD makes tons and tons of sense. It also makes sense in portable applications due to mechanical durability and high power efficiency. In a SATA I based iMac G5, I think saving the cash and sticking in a fast, large mechanical drive makes much more sense.
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Even though the WD Black would nearly saturate a SATA I bus during writing, the difference in read speed would theoretically make a difference in how responsive the computers are. With that said, I can't speak to the real world as I've never done it.

I do have SSDs in a handful of late model Powerbooks, and they do make a big difference in those. A good SSD will nearly saturate the ATA/100 bus in both read and write, plus is more durable and is easier to find in large capacities than laptop IDE drives.
 
@appleish19: good fun to read this tread!
Somewhere in the middle of it I was about to post my comment: " if collecting macs is in your mind, you'll surely end up with both iMac and PowerMac G5..."
Then I saw your "current status" - things already happened.;)
Wellcome to the crazy ones.
You will certainly end up with some other nice stuff like the Cube G4, iMacG4 and a Clamshell, as I did.
"Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien ... " :)
 
bobesch said:
Somewhere in the middle of it I was about to post my comment: " if collecting macs is in your mind, you'll surely end up with both iMac and PowerMac G5..."
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Funny enough, I've crossed over into full-blown collecting and a iMac G5 is one of the few G-series Macs I don't have-and furthermore don't really have any overwhelming desire to acquire.

At this point, the only "G" series PPC Macs I'm missing are the Kanga(original Powerbook G3, aka Powerbook 3500), the Mini G4, the Xserve G4, and the iMac G5. Of those, the Kanga and the Xserve are the only ones I have any pressing desire to acquire.
 
bunnspecial said:
Funny enough, I've crossed over into full-blown collecting and a iMac G5 is one of the few G-series Macs I don't have-and furthermore don't really have any overwhelming desire to acquire.

At this point, the only "G" series PPC Macs I'm missing are the Kanga(original Powerbook G3, aka Powerbook 3500), the Mini G4, the Xserve G4, and the iMac G5. Of those, the Kanga and the Xserve are the only ones I have any pressing desire to acquire.
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Mini G4s are no joke $25 on eBay, and the iMac G5s run quite cheap also.
 
bobesch said:
@appleish19: good fun to read this tread!
Somewhere in the middle of it I was about to post my comment: " if collecting macs is in your mind, you'll surely end up with both iMac and PowerMac G5..."
Then I saw your "current status" - things already happened.;)
Wellcome to the crazy ones.
You will certainly end up with some other nice stuff like the Cube G4, iMacG4 and a Clamshell, as I did.
"Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien ... " :)
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Yep I'm looking for a 1.25 GHz iMac G4 and cube for sure :cool: just have to wait for after Christmas. :D I love these old powermac computers. Even though I have a great MacBook Pro I find I use the iMac and quad often.
 
SSDs really wake up old G4 systems like powerbooks and minis. I've been using the little msata cards with adapters to IDE.
 
bobesch said:
Fully agree - and it a great feeling listening to the silence ...
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The only time I ever heard hard disk grinding was from being in Windows. Even under Virtual PC, all you heard was GRIND GRIND GRIND GRIND GRIND. It's rare that I really heard hard disk grinding under the Mac OS.
 
MysticCow said:
The only time I ever heard hard disk grinding was from being in Windows. Even under Virtual PC, all you heard was GRIND GRIND GRIND GRIND GRIND. It's rare that I really heard hard disk grinding under the Mac OS.
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Maybe I was writing from the wrong point of view: with an iMacG5 or PM-G5 the noise of the mechanical harddrive doesn't matter that much. But sitting in front of an iBookG4 or PowerBookG4 the harddisk is right below your wrist and you can directly feel and hear the difference.
 
bobesch said:
Maybe I was writing from the wrong point of view: with an iMacG5 or PM-G5 the noise of the mechanical harddrive doesn't matter that much. But sitting in front of an iBookG4 or PowerBookG4 the harddisk is right below your wrist and you can directly feel and hear the difference.
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I have a nice 7200 rpm drive that came in a 15" DLSD, and found the vibration of it(right under the trackpad) to be uncomfortable. The drive is now in a 15" TiBook, which-for whatever reason-seems to handle the vibration better than the AlBook did.

With that said, probably my most annoying one is my Clamshell iBook where the hard drive makes a terrible racket. I really need to get around to putting an SSD in that computer-with no fan in it, it would be silent.
 
bunnspecial said:
I have a nice 7200 rpm drive that came in a 15" DLSD, and found the vibration of it(right under the trackpad) to be uncomfortable. The drive is now in a 15" TiBook, which-for whatever reason-seems to handle the vibration better than the AlBook did.

With that said, probably my most annoying one is my Clamshell iBook where the hard drive makes a terrible racket. I really need to get around to putting an SSD in that computer-with no fan in it, it would be silent.
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With an SSD in your Clamshell there will be no other sound than that silent "klick-klick-klick" of its pleasant keyboard... feels great!
 
MysticCow said:
The only time I ever heard hard disk grinding was from being in Windows. Even under Virtual PC, all you heard was GRIND GRIND GRIND GRIND GRIND. It's rare that I really heard hard disk grinding under the Mac OS.
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My Mac Mini G4's HDD made a lot of grinding noises... Of course, it was destroying the disk in the process since the HDD was dying, LOL.
 
Gamer9430 said:
My Mac Mini G4's HDD made a lot of grinding noises... Of course, it was destroying the disk in the process since the HDD was dying, LOL.
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That happened with my G3 iMac toward the end of the drive's life. It made a sound like CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA. Now I know--it's the sound of a hard disk's death.
 
MysticCow said:
That happened with my G3 iMac toward the end of the drive's life. It made a sound like CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA. Now I know--it's the sound of a hard disk's death.
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Oh no, this drive was literally grinding itself to death
 
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