I have an ATA controller card (two, actually) in my 9500/G4-700 for quite a while now, and yes, the cheap ATA drives are *much* faster than the SCSI drives (using the built-in SCSI) were. Boot up is much faster, file access is much faster. I agree, it was the best investment (besides, possibly, the Sonnet G4/700 processor) that I made for my PM9500 since I intend to continue using it for another couple of years probably.
Besides running four ATA drives right now (each ATA controller card can control 4 ATA/IDE drives, so I could drive up to 8 devices), I also connected to them an IDE CD-RW from a PC, then changed that out for a new DVD-RW (also for a PC), both of which worked fine. And are bootable, too. My version of Toast (5.0 I think) sees the DVD burner as a huge CD burner, apparently, but it works with a few quirks; at the end of each burn it reports a problem of some sort that I don't recall, but each burn verifies and the DVD is readable & useable on my 9500 later. If you're going to keep your old machine for awhile, go with an ATA/IDE controller card,you'll be glad you did! And probably upgrade to a newer version of Toast... ---Alex Black > >> Is it worth thinking about IDE drives for my >> 7300/180 (G3 400 Sonnet with USB/Firewire combo >> card)? Do IDE drives need a new PCI card? Or >> should I be looking at a bootable external >> Firewire drive that can just take over from any >> internal drives and be a good investment for the >> future >> >> I hope theres a solution I am fed up with >> replacing hard drives bought from dodgy dealers >> >> thanks for any thoughts >> >> Michael > > > Get a PCI ATA controller card (make sure it allows booting to drives). I > bought an ACARD for my 9500 G4/400 and it was the best thing I did. I too > had problems with a couple of barracudas and instead of spending big moula > for SCSI drives I switched to IDE and haven't looked back. Of course my > CD-ROM is still SCSI and I use firewire to burn to an external burner, but > now I have 2 x 80GB IDE drives in my 9500 both running at 7200rpm and > they're quiet and (knock on wood) have been trouble free for about a year. > > > > -- > PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... > > Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | > -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | > > Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> > > PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> > --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; > Send list messages to: <mailto:pci-powermacs@mail.maclaunch.com> > To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> > > iPod Accessories for Less > at 1-800-iPOD.COM > Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal > www.1800ipod.com -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:pci-powermacs@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
