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moox12 · Sep 4, 2003, 03:51 AM

Yesterday I played with the new G5 1.6 at an Apple store. I was planning to replace my imac (rev A). But did not placed a order.

My impression---

I noticed that the G5 1.6 (1G memory) harddrive makes a lot of noise when accessed by starting up a application. To my knowledge this was only with old and slow drives. But the new Apples has 7500 speed drives.

And for a very expensive machine they could make a bit more effort in the way the CD drive opens, not even a very cheap PC makes that kind of noise). I must say they designed the inside of the G5 very nicely.

moox12 · Sep 4, 2003, 06:19 AM

So my main question is: are those standard hard drives slow, medium or fast? (above says 7500 must be 7200, sorry)

Because in my iMac I replaced the standard for another faster disk and the overall speed increase was very noticeable. So any light on this subject would be nice, thanks.

AssassyN · Sep 4, 2003, 07:09 AM

The G5's use a newer form of hard drive: the SATA drive. It's a Serial Hard Drive that's faster than typical ATA hard drives. They tend to be more expensive, yet work faster than regular ATA drives.

Not quite sure why it was noisy...were you able to try another machine to make sure it wasn't just on one?

moox12 · Sep 4, 2003, 08:13 AM

Thank you.

There was only one machine. And I forgot to ask about it when I was there ( I had so many other question mostly regarding the wide screens) Tomorrow I will go to another store.

tony21 · Sep 4, 2003, 09:31 AM

I have a 1.6 G5 with 20' , the hard drive does make some noise... But its sure fast

bri-guy · Sep 4, 2003, 10:03 AM

The hard drive is a little noisy, but maybe the relative silence of the G5 makes it seem noisy.

moox12 · Sep 4, 2003, 10:27 AM

The drive didn�t make any noise when it was idle. Only when you launch an app you could hear it search. Like those old powerbooks and old PC�s

zigzag · Sep 4, 2003, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by moox12:
The drive didn�t make any noise when it was idle. Only when you launch an app you could hear it search. Like those old powerbooks and old PC�s

I just tried the same thing on one of my new Firewire drives and it's normal, especially if it had spun down before you tried it. You might have noticed it more on the G5 because you were paying closer attention than you normally would. Working at home, we tend not to notice such noises after a while. It's possible that the drive was defective, but seems unlikely.

I agree with you about the CD door - I was surprised that they didn't use more damping.

moox12 · Sep 4, 2003, 12:39 PM

I work with other Mac�s and PC�s they do not make that sound. Again, only old drives do. Maybe it�s a cheap one. I go see another shop tomorrow an pay more attention to it. That cd drive door is just unbelievable, for that amount of money. For the same price you by a Packer bell 2.7 loaded with everything.

Buying a Mac is just an emotional thing.

Despite my complains I still gona buy one. I one of those believers that are dressed up in white and sing hallelujah�

zigzag · Sep 4, 2003, 12:53 PM

Originally posted by moox12:
Buying a Mac is just an emotional thing.

Despite my complains I still gona buy one. I one of those believers that are dressed up in white and sing hallelujah�

Yes, it makes life more rewarding.