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Jupeman · Aug 19, 2003, 06:38 AM

In anticipation of my new 2Ghz G5, I'm thinking about buying a second 250GB internal drive. Where do I get one? When I surf around I don't find anything that jumps out and says "serial ATA 250GB". Any suggestions? Perhaps I don't understand what I'm looking for. Those more knowledgeable in this area, please educate me.

Eriamjh · Aug 19, 2003, 06:40 AM

Try http://www.pricewatch.com and search for S-ATA, etc.

Jupeman · Aug 19, 2003, 11:06 AM

The largest S-ATA drive that Pricewatch shows is 120GB. Where are the 250GB drives?

Anyone else looking for one or did everyone spec 2 internal drives with their G5s...

stuffedmonkey · Aug 19, 2003, 11:13 AM

I was interested in seeing if anyone was going to get one of those 36 gig 10,000 rpm Western Digital SATA Raptor drives, and use that as a bootup drive..... I heard those things are monsters.

saru boy · Aug 19, 2003, 11:33 AM

Originally posted by Jupeman:
The largest S-ATA drive that Pricewatch shows is 120GB. Where are the 250GB drives?

Anyone else looking for one or did everyone spec 2 internal drives with their G5s...

Check out newegg .

The WD 250GB SATA is currently $308 and the Maxtor 250GB SATA is $339.

In comparison, a WD 2500JB 250GB 8MB cache ATA100 drive is $250. There are a number of IDE to SATA adapters out there that run around $20. I guess this might work if you're looking to save a few bucks.

Anyone know how the performance of an IDE-SATA setup is vs a native SATA drive?

Jupeman · Aug 19, 2003, 11:40 AM

Thanks for that link.

saru boy · Aug 19, 2003, 11:50 AM

The Apple store charges you $525 to upgrade from a 160GB SATA drive to 2x250GB SATA drives (and $650 to upgrade from an 80GB SATA to 2x250GB). It seems more cost effective to order the stock config and then buy 2 of WD 250GB SATA drives for around $620 and then sell the built in drive on eBay. Or if you want ot avoid the hassle of selling stuff, just upgrade the stock drive to 250GB and buy the second 250GB drive elsewhere.

Conscript · Aug 19, 2003, 01:18 PM

I'm too lazy to search for that pdf spec sheet...anyone know what brand 250gb SATA drive apple is using? I know WD and Maxtor are the only ones available for resale right now, but IBM and seagate make them too and will be selling to the masses soon too. I may be anal, but I like to use the same brand hard drive, even if it's not in a raid config. (I'm going with the 250 option and buying another from newegg)

saru boy · Aug 19, 2003, 05:04 PM

I thought it was always the luck of the draw what brand of hard drive you get. If you really want the same brand as what comes in the machine, if I were you, I'd wait until you actually get the G5 before ordering a another HD. Plus, who knows, the prices may drop a few bucks.

vmpaul · Aug 21, 2003, 04:08 PM

Perfect timing for this thread.

My G3 is dying and it looks like I might have to get a new G5 (hold down the tears).

Can I NOT use the IDE-ATA drives I have in my G3? I have a WD 120 with all my mp3's on it.

Is there no adapter for these drives? Is my only option to make a external out of them?

saru boy · Aug 21, 2003, 06:34 PM

Originally posted by vmpaul:
Is there no adapter for these drives? Is my only option to make a external out of them?

There are a number of IDE-SATA adapters out there. They cost about $20. Check out this one at newegg

vmpaul · Aug 21, 2003, 07:18 PM

Originally posted by saru boy:
There are a number of IDE-SATA adapters out there. They cost about $20. Check out this one at newegg

Thanks. The link was dead but I did a search and found some.

Do you have any experience with these? Do they affect performance?

Also wondering if it's possible to use with the limited space in the G5? I guess no-one knows that yet.

Thanks.

jamaica · Aug 21, 2003, 07:23 PM

Apple Knowledge Base warning about ATA adapters used with the G5.....

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86416

vmpaul · Aug 21, 2003, 11:18 PM

Originally posted by jamaica:
Apple Knowledge Base warning about ATA adapters used with the G5.....

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86416

Another victory for the Hive Mind.

Thanks. I know that I wouldn't have seen that on my own until it was too late.

Makes my purchase decision more complex now.

Eug · Aug 21, 2003, 11:56 PM

Why don't you just go to your local computer store? They can order a serial ATA for you. They're now in the channel, so it's not a big deal to get one.

Personally, I'd probably just get the 160 though and order a second 160, unless you need HUGE amounts of space. The 250 is very expensive. If you really need 500 GB, and the local stores won't help you, you could just get dual 250s straight from Apple. Their prices actually are aren't bad.

eg.

Local Canadian prices (CAD$1 is about US$0.71):
160 GB = $245
250 GB = $465 ($220 more)
2x250 GB = $930 ($685 more)

Apple 160 --> 250 = $187
Apple 160 --> 2x250 = $787

Thus you pay about a US$73 premium to get 2x250 straight from Apple (complete with installation and shipping, etc.).

Eug · Aug 22, 2003, 12:00 AM

Originally posted by saru boy:
There are a number of IDE-SATA adapters out there. They cost about $20. Check out this one at newegg

Would they even fit in the case?

saru boy · Aug 22, 2003, 02:44 AM

Originally posted by Eug:
Would they even fit in the case?

Who knows? I'll test it out if someone's willing to buy a G5 for me.

BTW, the Apple article states "these adapters are not supported for use on the Power Mac G5 computer". Hmmmm...just like how alot of third party equipment is "not supported" on PowerMacs (eg external firewire DVD burners and what have you).

benb · Aug 22, 2003, 09:55 AM

Outpost.com has a 200GB Maxtor SATA drive for $189 after rebate. Quite a good deal if you ask me. I just picked one up with a controller card for the G4, in anticipation of a G5 next year and to hold movies now.

Product Link

mosch · Aug 22, 2003, 10:56 AM

So you know, my distributor is currently selling 20 packs of 250GB SATA drives for over $6,000, so I doubt you can do the upgrade on your own cheaper than the Apple drive option unless you're willing to wait a few months for the prices to drop.

saru boy · Aug 22, 2003, 11:17 AM

Originally posted by mosch:
So you know, my distributor is currently selling 20 packs of 250GB SATA drives for over $6,000, so I doubt you can do the upgrade on your own cheaper than the Apple drive option unless you're willing to wait a few months for the prices to drop.

How is that? The WD 250GB SATA drive currently sells for $308 at newegg. Apple charges more than this.

wapangy · Aug 22, 2003, 07:15 PM

In the apple document that shows how to replace the drives, it shows it as a maxtor drive...

jclarkv · 08:41 PM

Can anyone think of a reason why we couldn't use two drives for a RAID array on the G5?

Ahhhh. See http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=173383

Eriamjh · Aug 24, 2003, 07:01 AM

Originally posted by saru boy:
BTW, the Apple article states "these adapters are not supported for use on the Power Mac G5 computer". Hmmmm...just like how alot of third party equipment is "not supported" on PowerMacs (eg external firewire DVD burners and what have you).

No suported doesn't mean it "won't work". I betcha they might, but there are no guarantees.

Spliffdaddy · 12:35 PM

In the PC world those IDE/SATA adapters are also listed as 'unsupported' by many manufacturers of SATA controllers. The good news is that in most cases the adapter WILL work just fine. I'm currently using an Abit Serillel adapter on my Western Digital SE hard drive that's plugged into the onboard SATA (Promise Technologies) controller of my Asus motherboard. The adapter adds approximately 2" to the length of the hard drive, however, so you may not be able to use one depending on the situation inside your case.

There's a really good chance that somebody sells an improved version of the SATA adapter that doesn't add length to the hard drive. After all, it's simply a small circuit board with an IDE header. It doesn't have to be one unit...the circuit board could exist away from the hard drive.

I wouldn't suggest being the first person to try it on a G5. Wait for somebody else to invest in an IDE hard drive and SATA adapter - and see what results they get. If it doesn't work, you'll be stuck with an IDE hard drive that will require a PCI interface IDE controller card OR an external Firewire/USB enclosure in order to connect to your G5.

If it does work, then you'll be able to add that IDE hard drive from your old Mac to your G5 - and only have to spend 20 bucks for the adapter.

note that the SATA adapter requires its own power source. Same plug as found on floppy drive or ZIP. Dunno if Macs have this type of powersupply connector, but most SATA adapters include a cable that converts a single large connector (common hard drive/optical drive) to both a large connector and small connector. These plug into the hard drive and SATA adapter. make sure the SATA adapter includes this power cable AND the (all important) SATA cable.

edit: IDE (regular) hard drives use a different power connector than SATA hard drives. The G5 might not provide powersupply connectors for IDE hard drives / optical drives. The G5 might only provide power connectors for SATA devices. You would then need to find a power cable adapter in order to use the SATA adapter on your hard drive. whew. what a mouthfull. confused yet?

edit again:

after reviewing some pictures of the G5's hard drive mounting arrangement I can say with some certainty that there is not enough room for a SATA adapter on the hard drive. Perhaps there's an adapter that is remote-mounted and not in-unit with its IDE header.