[mattyd]

Looks like the hard drive in my iMac G5 is dead, and since I'm off warranty I'm going to replace it myself.

Does anyone have a recommendation of one brand over another, or are they all basically the same? Any vendors? MacMall seems to have decent prices.

Also, will any SATA drive fit in a 20" iMac or does it need to be a certain size? I looked around but didn't see anything about that So I'm assuming they're a standard size.

Thanks all.

[mduell]

Most SATA drives should work; if the iMacs have the same bug the PowerMacs do, avoid the high-capacity Seagate drives with SSC or use a PC to disable SSC on them.
I recommend buying from Newegg (great return policy, quick shipping, usually within a couple bucks of the lowest price around).
250GB is the current optimum point for capacity and price; I like this Hitachi.

[Longshanks]

Last month I replaced my original Seagate 160GB hard drive on my rev. A G5 iMac with a Seagate 300GB drive from new egg. I bought the Seagate because it's quiet. It was simple to replace (although you will need a torx screwdriver for the heat sensor) and it has worked flawlessly. It also runs at the same temperature as the original if not a little cooler, about 138 degrees F.

This is the model I bought. Seagate HD 300G|ST 7K 8M SATA ST3300831

I also purchased a Coolmax Firewire SATA enclosure to turn the old drive into an external drive. This allowed me to use the Migration Assistant to transfer all of my users and files to the new drive without hassle. It was about $50 USD.