 |
 |
Hard Drive Compatibility issues
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Oceania
Status:
Offline
|
|
I am interested in buying a 7200rpm 160 gig Seagate Barracuda to install into an external box, but need to know whether it will actually work hooked up to my G3 b/w 350 mghtz rev 2.
I have 384 meg ram and looking at boosting that to. I am using Jaguar at the moment.
Also is there any significant difference between IDE and SATA dives ?
The SATA drive comes with a PCI Card but am wondering if this may only be for windows machines ?
My Mac has the standard Firewire and usb 1.1, but am going to be hooking it up with the fastest G4's and G5's in other locations should I also be looking at buying an external box that has both the earlier and or latest firewire/usb as well and so should I therefore buying an appropriate PCI Card for my machine ?
I'll be buying it at one of my local computer fairs or outlets.
Perhaps there is a site or two someone can recommend ?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Regular
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Japan
Status:
Offline
|
|
There is a slight difference between ATA and SATA drives, given that each is connected to a fast interface board. However, in a firewire case the limiting factor will be the fit„rewire interface, not the HD itself. A combination of a good FW case and modern drive does provide for a fast data transfer rate, even at FW 400 it is fast enough for working with video (Pros will want the margin offered by FW800!) But USB 1.1 is ten (10) times slower than USB 2! So do not even think of using that for large tranfers. There have been some reports of "wake from sleep" issues with USB and FW800 PCI cards, check out XLR8yourmac.com and barefeats.com for the details. Standard FW works fine on my older G4 (AGP) and a new iBook G4, and it is certainly fast enough for almost any task.
Cheers 
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Teaneck, NJ
Status:
Offline
|
|
Just my advice: Don't get caught up with the speeds on the box. Firewire 400 is faster than USB 2.0 (480mbps). I only mention this because as mentioned above firewire/usb will be the limiting speed factor. If you don't need to connect to any PC's (not all have firewire) you can save a few bucks and get a firewire only case.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Oceania
Status:
Offline
|
|
So are you saying that I ought not worry about whether I get a SATA drive or ATA drive ? I just worry about whether if SATA is a windows only type ?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Status:
Offline
|
|
SATA is a different interface from ATA (technically PATA). Almost all Firewire enclosures use standard ATA to connect to the hard drive. If you get a SATA drive and a Firewire case, it will almost certainly not work.
SATA is not a Windows-only format. SATA is just another standard. Just as ATA is different from SCSI, SATA is different from ATA. They're not compatible with each other. In order to use a SATA hard drive, you need a SATA controller.
I'd say just buy a plain Firewire case for $30-$40 and get a plain hard drive (ATA/100 or ATA/133 most likely) to put inside it. Don't bother with SATA right now - it's still pretty new and you pay a premium to use it.
EDIT: By the way, the SATA PCI card will probably not work in your Mac. There are only a few Mac-compatible SATA cards, and they all cost quite a bit. The cheapest is around $60, I believe.
|
"That's Mama Luigi to you, Mario!" *wheeze*
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Oceania
Status:
Offline
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
|
|
Forum Rules
|
|
|
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top
