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iBean · Apr 1, 2004, 06:57 PM

I desperately need to get a new HD for my G3 iMac. I currently have the internal 30GB HD almost filled (less than 1GB free).

My first doubt: is it at all possible to buy a 5400rpm HD? (I read somewhere I shouldn't put a 7200rpm HD on a G3 iMac, so....). Or is it better to go FireWire?

In case of a FireWire HD, which do you guys recommend? I'm looking for a chep-yet-reliable solution.
LaCie FA Porsche look nice to me...

Any suggestions?

Luca Rescigno · Apr 1, 2004, 07:14 PM

Some people say not to put a 7200 RPM hard drive in an old iMac, but others have done it and report no problems at all. I don't think you need to be worried about that.

I think a firewire hard drive might be a better idea for you. First of all, the G3 iMac (as with all iMacs) is very difficult to open and modify, so a firewire drive saves the hassle. Also, a firewire drive will allow you to use both hard drives at once, so you can transfer stuff back and forth between them. One option to keep in mind is replacing the internal hard drive, and then putting the old internal hard drive in an external hard drive case. You can buy an empty hard drive case, just go to NewEgg.com and look under the category "External Enclosure" for a 5.25"/3.5" Firewire (aka 1394) case.

Another advantage to getting an external drive is that once you sell the Mac (which I expect you will do fairly soon, given its age), you can still keep the external hard drive around. That's useful for backing up your data to transfer between machines, and it also means you don't lose the money you spent once you sell the upgraded iMac. A larger internal hard drive won't add much to the resale value of it, but it'll still be very useful later on.

Zoom · Apr 1, 2004, 10:19 PM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
Some people say not to put a 7200 RPM hard drive in an old iMac, but others have done it and report no problems at all. I don't think you need to be worried about that.

I think a firewire hard drive might be a better idea for you. First of all, the G3 iMac (as with all iMacs) is very difficult to open and modify, so a firewire drive saves the hassle. Also, a firewire drive will allow you to use both hard drives at once, so you can transfer stuff back and forth between them. One option to keep in mind is replacing the internal hard drive, and then putting the old internal hard drive in an external hard drive case. You can buy an empty hard drive case, just go to NewEgg.com and look under the category "External Enclosure" for a 5.25"/3.5" Firewire (aka 1394) case.

Another advantage to getting an external drive is that once you sell the Mac (which I expect you will do fairly soon, given its age), you can still keep the external hard drive around. That's useful for backing up your data to transfer between machines, and it also means you don't lose the money you spent once you sell the upgraded iMac. A larger internal hard drive won't add much to the resale value of it, but it'll still be very useful later on.

Exactly, I agree 100%. Go external FW. It's portable and you can reuse it when you upgrade.

However, I would not swap the drives (put the old drive in the FW case, new drive in the iMac). Just get a big-ass external FW drive and move your data onto that. Then it's portable and ready to go when you upgrade.

You can also clone your iMac HD onto the new one using Carbon Copy Cloner, and then maybe it would make sense to put the FW drive into your new Mac. Maybe.

You can either build this drive yourself by marrying a drive to a case, or buy them all together - either could be cheaper depending on sales. Check out dealmac for the best deals.

Zoom · Apr 1, 2004, 10:26 PM

Originally posted by iBean:
In case of a FireWire HD, which do you guys recommend? I'm looking for a chep-yet-reliable solution.
LaCie FA Porsche look nice to me...

BTW, I would skip this unless you REALLY need that much space. You planning to rip a bunch of DVDs or author some feature-length movies? If not, I doubt you need anything this big. Remember, your next Mac will probably come with 80-100GB. If you've lived on 30GB this long, you could easily get by with 100-160GB external drive, and they're in the 'sweet spot' right now as far as pricing goes. You can get a 120GB Western Digital & and FW case for $140. See the storage archive for other deals.

Casper Crane · Apr 1, 2004, 11:53 PM

I just picked up my first firewire hard drive.

i went to CompUSA looking to buy either a Lacie d2 160 or Porsche 160, but they only had Porshe 250, and I don't have the cash for that. Plus I read on here that the thing looks like metal but is really just plastic. that posing sort of bothered me.

i didn't even need 160 really, it just has fallen into my price range (about $170).

they had a sale though, so i didn't have to go home empty handed.

the AcomData 120GB FW / USB 2 drive has a $60 rebate this week at CompUSA, so the end cost is only $120.

i was afraid of buying this brand when i hadn't researched it, but i figured i'd return it if it was bad. well, it's not bad. it's great. it's quiet, reliable, fast enough for me, and my wife won't lose her stickies again.

get one quick. the sale ends this weekend i think.

AcomData 120GB Firewire/USB 2.0 Drive

Macola · Apr 2, 2004, 12:31 AM

I don't want to alarm you, but I bought an Acomdata about 6 months ago from CompUSA (it was an emergency and I needed one the same day, otherwise I would have stuck with OWC). Last week, the drive started making a horrible grinding noise when I turned it on. It took three attempts to get any tech support from them using their online form, finally got someone who answered his e-mail. I'm sending it back for warranty repair. Of course, YMMV, but my other drives from OWC have been running without a hitch for over 2 years (and their support has been very responsive the few times I've had to contact them).

iBean · Apr 2, 2004, 07:29 AM

Originally posted by Zoom:
BTW, I would skip this unless you REALLY need that much space. You planning to rip a bunch of DVDs or author some feature-length movies? If not, I doubt you need anything this big. Remember, your next Mac will probably come with 80-100GB. If you've lived on 30GB this long, you could easily get by with 100-160GB external drive, and they're in the 'sweet spot' right now as far as pricing goes. You can get a 120GB Western Digital & and FW case for $140. See the storage archive for other deals.

Indeed, the iMac won't be around that much longer - so I gues FireWire is the opton.

Zoom, which LaCie drive are you talking? There's a store in Portugal with the 80GB LaCie FA Porsche for just 180 euros. (the cheapest FireWire HD I've seen so far...)

Zoom · Apr 2, 2004, 09:07 AM

Originally posted by iBean:
Indeed, the iMac won't be around that much longer - so I gues FireWire is the opton.

Zoom, which LaCie drive are you talking? There's a store in Portugal with the 80GB LaCie FA Porsche for just 180 euros. (the cheapest FireWire HD I've seen so far...)

The one you linked to originally. It actually says "up to 250GB", but when I first saw it I just saw "250GB". Anyway, LaCie makes ("assembles", "resells") good stuff, usually, but I wouldn't go for a 250GB drive. That's sorta leading-edge in size, and you usually pay a premium for that - just like RAM sticks. Shoot for the sweet spot.

Casper Crane · Apr 2, 2004, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by Macola:
I don't want to alarm you, but I bought an Acomdata about 6 months ago from CompUSA (it was an emergency and I needed one the same day, otherwise I would have stuck with OWC). Last week, the drive started making a horrible grinding noise when I turned it on. It took three attempts to get any tech support from them using their online form, finally got someone who answered his e-mail. I'm sending it back for warranty repair. Of course, YMMV, but my other drives from OWC have been running without a hitch for over 2 years (and their support has been very responsive the few times I've had to contact them).

well, hopefully i'll be lucky. thanks for the heads up.

Luca Rescigno · Apr 2, 2004, 05:04 PM

Originally posted by iBean:
Zoom, which LaCie drive are you talking? There's a store in Portugal with the 80GB LaCie FA Porsche for just 180 euros. (the cheapest FireWire HD I've seen so far...)

I don't know what prices are like in other places in Portugal, but 180 euros (probably at least US$200) is WAY more than I'd spend for an 80 GB firewire drive. An 80 GB hard drive costs about US$70, and a Firewire case is US$40, so that's a total of $110. Not too shabby. For $180-$200, I'd expect a 200 GB hard drive. Buy the components separately and assemble them yourself, and you'll save a lot of money.

memyselfandimac · Apr 3, 2004, 07:51 PM

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
I don't know what prices are like in other places in Portugal, but 180 euros (probably at least US$200) is WAY more than I'd spend for an 80 GB firewire drive. An 80 GB hard drive costs about US$70, and a Firewire case is US$40, so that's a total of $110. Not too shabby. For $180-$200, I'd expect a 200 GB hard drive. Buy the components separately and assemble them yourself, and you'll save a lot of money.

Agreed, I put me together a nice 160GB using a Datoptics Speedzter5 and a Maxtor 160 8meg cache drive fror around $165. I used the Speedzter5 (5 1/4") enclosure because it was fanless, mostly aluminum housing, gave loads venalation around drive along with heat disipation of the Al and also has a few small vent slots. Ended up with super quite, extremely cool running (reliable) for less than I could buy one premade and had no control over the drive thats in it. Plus if I ever need I can drop a CD/DVD drive in this housing also.
True it's a little bit bigger than most of the 3.5" housings but it is basically the smallest 5.25" out there, it runs so much cooler and has capabilties being swapped over to a CD/DVD if needed more than makes up for that. This housing runs almost twice what some other do but is well worth it. They are also nicely stackable and attractive housings.