Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

internal HD for old AGP G4 ?

M

mikeshep

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 23, 2008
95
7
Midwest US
Hi, pretty straightforward question. Haven't shopped HDs in awhile but i just need some good advice on a good 80G or bigger, internal HD that'll work well in a G4 "sawtooth" desktop. This is one i've pulled out of storage and it only has the stock 20G (?) HD in it. I'd like to spend well below $100 : ) Any advice 1)the specific HD type required...2) reliable choice and 3) best prices online these days -- very greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Mike:)
 
You need an IDE/EIDE/PATA drive. Its all the same connector, just called different things. You need a desktop, 3.5", sized one. The fastest rpm, speed of the spinning parts, is 7,200 rpm. Try to get that speed. Lastly, because of the age of your Mac, it can only use a drive that is 128Gb or smaller. So try to find a 120Gb one.
 
Intell said:
...Lastly, because of the age of your Mac, it can only use a drive that is 128Gb or smaller. So try to find a 120Gb one.
Click to expand...

Which is the hard part (at least, if you're looking for a bran new drive)... The good news is if you can find one, you'll probably pay way less than $100.
 
Op

I had some vague recollection about the capacity limit thing i.e. 128G... thanks for reminding me. I guess there are plenty of 120G options and that's plenty of space for my needs for this particular box. I just wish they weren't listed under the multiple identifiers ( ie.IDE/EIDE/PATA) - it slows down my search...

Guessing anything from NewEgg, OWC or Tiger Direct in a Seagate or WD model should be fine...

Pricewise, any great bargain-drive sites I might check out?

Thanks again,

Mike
 
Op

hey, appreciate the links! ... 120G should really be more than enough plus i'll probably have a FW external on it...

re: the $17 deal..yeah, that's interesting... i've always been a little skeptical about those 'Recertified' Drives though:confused: (especially with the short warranties they usually have)

Thanks!
 
or you could get a new mac as its a fairly old mac and it getting outdated
Click to expand...

;) Yeah no question there...I have lots of Macs around including this one just collecting dust and needed
to put something in an office to replace a Beige G3!

Just being frugal i guess - but...must admit a(nother) Mac Mini was my first impulse --might do that anyway actually -- especially if i can pick up a cheap dual-core one with maxed RAM.
 
If you're going to keep your old school Mac running, do what RPJones suggests and buy the Sonnet card (the FirmTek one is also good, but for such an old computer the Sonnet is much cheaper--a bit over $60 from Amazon, for example).

You then bypass the fact that just about any PATA drive you're going to buy now, even if "new," is probably old stock that's been sitting on a shelf for years. You also now have the option of getting at least half a TB for under $50 shipped, 1TB for not much more, 2TB for $60 shipped after rebate, or (from Newegg) a 640GB 7200RPM open-box for $35 shipped.

$122 is a lot more than $23, but then 2 terabytes under full warranty and with the option of adding a second modern drive is a whole heck of a lot bigger than 80 recertified gigabytes.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back