Richard Gerome wrote: > Ok I got some pretty good input here and I think I will scratch the WD > because of all those some had that went bad... A few questions: What reason > would it be for using a SATA drive with the SATA PCI card??? The other > question: What is the best HD to use for the money (what manufacturer?) and > would a 7200rpm at 120g PATA be good for speeding this computer up like it > did in my 466 Clamshell or would the SATA be faster then that??? I am still > sort of confused here between SATA and PATA and the SATA PCI card does this > card go with the SATA HD even after everyones input??? Or does this have > something to do with adding more HD's??? I don't think she will ever have a > reason to add more drives if I buy a 500g HD and partition it or for that > matter I think the 120g would still be plenty big enough and not Partitioning > it..."
1) The advice you were given re the SATA card seems pretty good. To use a SATA drive in your G4 you must have an add-on PCI/PCI-X SATA controller card, or a SATA to PATA converter to allow your SATA drive to work off the onboard PATA controller. Additionally, you will see a real world performance increase (about 150%-200%) in read/write/ transfer speeds using SATA vs PATA. There are two more SATA PCI cards for sale at OWC that are both cheaper than the Sonnet Tempo that you were given a link to. One is the Firmtek Seritek 1S2 at $67.99, and the other is an Acard 6293M. The Sonnet Tempo, at $73.99, is an OEM rebranded version of the Firmtek Seritek 1S2 available at OWC for $63.99. The Acard 6293M is a combo SATA/PATA card with two SATA ports (one external, one internal, supports one drive each), and an internal PATA 133MHz port that supports two PATA Hard drives. The Acard 6293M also claims ATAPI compatibility on both the SATA and PATA ports, which usually means they support optical drives, but check with the manufacturer for confirmation. <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet%20Technology/TSATA/> Sonnet Tempo at $73.99 <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Firmtek/FTST1S2/> Firmtek Seritek 1S2 at $63.99 <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/ACARD/AEC6293M/> Acard 6293M at $67.99 For a comparison of PATA and SATA interfaces take a look at Barefeat's performance comparison of an Acard 6880M (<http://tinyurl.com/ 32tf3e>), an Acard 6885M (<http://tinyurl.com/28zk3t2>), both very expensive PATA 4 channel hardware RAID cards, a Firmtek Seritek 1S2 SATA card and a FW800 connected drive. You want to look at the bottom three bars in each graph, as the top four/three bars in each graph are RAID setups. Bear in mind that Barefeats did NOT run a software RAID (built-in to OS X), using two SATA drives on the Firmtek Seritek 1S2, but only a single SATA drive setup. <http://www.barefeats.com/hard30.html> The Sonnet Tempo should score nearly identically with the Firmtek Seritek 1S2. The Acard 6293M has the advantage of being both SATA and PATA, and should score about the same as the Sonnet and Firmtek Seritek cards. New PATA drives are becoming scarce as SATA is the new performance standard. While SATA I (1.5Gbps) is slower than current SATA II/III (3Gbps/6Gbps), all SATA II (3Gbps) and SATA III (6Gbps) are backward compatible with SATA I interfaces. You can now buy reasonably cheap PATA to SATA convertors (they work both ways) that are very compact, and allow you to convert your PATA interface drives to SATA interface, and vice versa, and still close the access door on your system. While converted PATA drives are often slightly slower than their "native" SATA counterparts, the margin is slim. These older PCI/PCI-X controller cards are becoming extinct. Buy a new one now, if you can, or join the LEM-Swap list to purchase one used on the cheap. 2) The best hard drive for the money, all other things being equal, is the one with the best warranty and the lowest price per gigabyte. You will have to compare and make that decision. Look for a drive that will suit future needs; i.e., decide what is adequate capacity now, then double or triple that. Most drive manufacturers put out quality drives these days. Try to find a SALE on a manufacturer/model/capacity drive you like, and be careful it is NOT a "recertified/refurbished" drive. Also, be aware that of the difference between "retail packaged" and so-called "OEM" hard drives (bare drives purchased at resellers); i.e., the drives are identical, including warranty periods extending to 2-5 years, except that "retail" packaged drives come with cable(s), installation manuals and diagnostic software, while so-called "OEM" drives are bare (no cables, no manuals, no diagnostic software). Also, bear in mind that true OEM drives are drives that come installed in a private label/branded computer, like Apple, HP, IBM etc.. True OEM drives must be returned to the computer manufacturer, not the drive manufacturer, for warranty service. Most computer manufacturers limit the drive warranty period to one year, the same warranty period as the system it came in. Retail and "OEM" drives purchased at resellers carry the drive manufacturer's full warranty, which is usually multiple years. You can always download the manufacturer's diagnostic software for free. Drive data cables are cheap when purchased locally, but when purchased online bear additional shipping costs. An often overlooked source for discounted product are manufacturer's "upgrade" and/or "customer loyalty" programs which offer heavily discounted prices when you turn in your old hard drive (same manufacturer) to purchase a new drive of increased capacity/speed. Sometimes you are not even required to return the old drive (just use the serial number), and, usually, you can even turn in a non-working older drive of the same manufacturer. The biggest consideration, all other things being equal, is the drive's warranty period. Of course, used drives, aka "pulls", come with NO warranty whatsoever. 3) Re your other post concerning a monitor connected to your existing graphics card. Exactly what Powermac G4 computer do you have? Exactly which graphics card type (PCI or AGP) and manufacturer/model do you have? Most Apple OEM ATI and OEM nVidia graphics cards support standard VGA/SVGA CRT monitors from 14" up to 21"-23", although for the larger monitors some compromise in available color depth may be expected, and LCD displays via VGA/SVGA and/or DVI connectors/ adapters, up to at least 19"-20". When I get your info on the system and video card you have, I can make specific recommendations. If you have a "Yikes" model G4, you are limited to PCI/PCI-X video cards. If you have an AGP slot (Sawtooth (AGP 2x), and above), you have many choices available for graphics cards. You can even run some high-end AGP 8x cards in your Powermac G4 AGP 4x slot (Gig-E, DA, QS and MDD) by modding the #3 qnd #11 pins of the video card's edge-card connector. You can compare video card compatibility, resolution capability and color depth at resolution at Apple's support site, or at the ATI and nVidia support websites. For older video cards, be sure to look for the manufacturer's discontinued and/or "legacy" product pages. Older graphics cards for Mac are cheaper, but getting scarcer/harder to find. Your best bet is to join the LEM-Swap list to purchase a video card. Otherwise, it's eBay. Beware of PC video cards "flashed" with Mac ROMs, and avoid buying one. I hope this advice helped. I look forward to receiving your system and graphics card model info. Ross Holland Menlo Park, CA 94025 -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
