SATA hard drive

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I need to replace my primary hard drive and would like to use a SATA HD.



My Mac is a 800 MHz PowerPC G4 tower. What would I have to do to use a SATA HD or is that not a possibility?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    smaxsmax Posts: 361member
    I don't think SATA was even out at that point... I may be wrong though.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    leonardleonard Posts: 528member
    My guess is you need a SATA Controller PCI card with an internal connector. Put it in the PCI slot, hook up the SATA HD and you should be good to go.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    smaxsmax Posts: 361member
    Here's a better question: would it be worth the tiny tiny performance boost by buying an SATA hard drive AND an $80 controller card?
  • Reply 5 of 10
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by smax View Post


    Here's a better question: would it be worth the tiny tiny performance boost by buying an SATA hard drive AND an $80 controller card?



    Good point! However, drives larger than 137GB require a Mac-compatible ATA/133 card anyway. I guess to keep the cost down, I'll have to go to something smaller than the large drive I was contemplating. Thanks
  • Reply 6 of 10
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    You guys have brought me back down to earth. I'll aim for a smaller, slower drive.

    Any suggestions?



    The only experience I've had with installing an internal hard drive is with a WD 40G (secondary) which lasted under 2 years and quit. I can't even see it in the Finder or DiskUtility.



    Actually, I can't see my primary when I try to re-install my OS which is why I'm thinking of replacing it. Now, I'm wondering whether or not a new primary will show, so I can install the OS.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    My computer shows: ATA -

    All of the HD's that I have been looking at indicate they are Ultra ATA-100

    Can I use those?
  • Reply 8 of 10
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    It's possible that you can use the larger drives. Some of the later Quicksilvers were quietly and unofficially upgraded. My single-processor 867 was one of the last ones made and it can have drives larger than 137GB. It has a 320 in it now that's working just great. Unfortunately, I know of no way to know for sure short of sticking a big drive in and seeing if it works properly. Perhaps someone else does.



    In my case I bought a 160 knowing that I wouldn't lose too much space if it didn't work. (You can use 137 GB of a bigger drive with an older Mac.) After that went well I didn't worry when it came time to buy the 320.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Guartho View Post


    It's possible that you can use the larger drives. Some of the later Quicksilvers were quietly and unofficially upgraded. My single-processor 867 was one of the last ones made and it can have drives larger than 137GB. It has a 320 in it now that's working just great. Unfortunately, I know of no way to know for sure short of sticking a big drive in and seeing if it works properly. Perhaps someone else does.



    In my case I bought a 160 knowing that I wouldn't lose too much space if it didn't work. (You can use 137 GB of a bigger drive with an older Mac.) After that went well I didn't worry when it came time to buy the 320.



    Thanks Guartho. You've already answered my next question: Will a larger HD work at all even if I'd lose some of the space?



    What's the difference between an ATA and an Ultra ATA-100. Will an Ultra ATA-100 work on an ATA computer?
  • Reply 10 of 10
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    I have no idea what the difference is or if there is one. But I can tell you that that 320 GB drive is an Ultra ATA-100 drive.



    I don't know if it runs on mine due to the silent upgrade of my IDE/ATA controller or if it would have worked anyway and been limited to 137 GB.
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