# Using an SSD in G5 Quad



## mjmonjure (Jul 13, 2012)

I am looking to replace the hard drive in a newly acquired Power Mac G5 Quad.  Aside from price/quality, is there anything special for the Maintosh that I should take into consideration?  Windows 7 has built in trim support and has had it for a while, not sure how Leopard handles this or whether I have to depend on the OEM's garbage disposal utility.

In other words, I am wondering if I need to buy an SSD from some place like OWC and pay the Mac premium for something that is exactly the same as used in PC's.  My thought is that the G5 Quad probably has the SATA 2 spec given the 2005 manufacturing date.  So any SATA 3 or 2 should work.  All comments welcome.

Thanks,


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## DeltaMac (Jul 14, 2012)

OWC sells some of the best quality (fastest) SSDs available at any price. I don't expect you would find something like a "Mac premium" there. Although OWC has well-known great support for Macs, there's little that they sell that can't also be used on a Windows.
Also, there's little about a Mac that requires you to purchase a hard drive/optical drive/memory with the "Mac premium", including SSDs. If you feel that OWC is too expensive, then don't buy your SSD from them. Maybe you need to compare prices first, before you make up your mind.
Your PowerMac g5 Quad has SATA(1) - 1.5 Gb/s bus. You won't get full speed out of an SSD, but it will still be much faster than a spinning hard drive.


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## mjmonjure (Jul 14, 2012)

My question was more around whether a Mac SSD was in any way proprietary forcing me to have to buy it at a Mac Premium.  Didn't mean to suggest that OWC was gauging Mac users, in fact I just bought memory from them and received outstanding customer service.  Good to know about the SATA 1.  It seems like apple is always 2 steps behind on HW technology.  The processors are always at least a generation behind.  At least they innovate and get to market first on some things, like Thunderbolt.


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## mjmonjure (Jul 14, 2012)

What about a PCIe controller for the SSD?  I have found on another forum a G5 Jive SATA II card and I think that will work giving me at least SATA II.


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## DeltaMac (Jul 14, 2012)

Interesting - you're choosing to work with a Mac that is already several generations behind current.
There are some current Macs that do have what you can call proprietary SSDs, such as those in the MacBook Air.
But, you can see that your PowerMac G5 has normal SATA connections, and will take SATA SSD, (probably) without regard to specs on an individual SSD. OWC also sells hardware brackets, so the usual 2.5-inch SSD can be secured in that 3.5-inch slot.

Try not to generalize too much. Macs are what they are... 
Keep in mind that folks using Windows PCs need something to brag about, in spite of using an inferior OS. 
And, you fell for it, too!

Yes, all you need is a PCI-E SATA controller card. If you want to be certain about compatibility, etc, you already know that OWC will give you good answers about that.


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## mjmonjure (Jul 14, 2012)

I am choosing to use a Mac several generations old because it allows me to get back into the Mac world without breaking the bank.  I am not a newcomer to Macintosh.  I was a certified Apple technician in the early 90's, so it's been a while since I cracked a case.  I have always contended that since the 1st version of Windows and its GUI design was stolen by Gates and Co. and I viewed Windows as an inferior OS.  But like many millions of others, began using it because of the price point and plethera of applications available.  Now, because of the attention from the iPod and iPhone and more recently the iPad, the general public is flocking to Apple stores and it would seem that the tide is shifting as people are beginning to look and because Apple's prices are beginning to become more competitive.  But they are not there yet.  So, please don't criticise my selection in hardware as I am trying to get back into the Mac world.  I'm not loaded like many of the people that can afford to plop down $5K for a system.  I will call OWC about the Sata controller.


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## DeltaMac (Jul 14, 2012)

Keep in mind that an SATA SSD should work OK, using the existing connections.
You may not need an additional controller.

I also am not new to the Mac scene, working as an Apple tech in various shops since summer of 1992. I remember that my first training was about the "new" System 7.1 release. 
If you are a hobbyist at all, a hackintosh is an interesting project, and allows you to get pretty current, both with technology, and the world of OS X - and for a cost that might be easier to justify.


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## MisterMe (Jul 14, 2012)

mjmonjure said:


> ...  I have always contended that since the 1st version of Windows and its GUI design was stolen by Gates and Co. and I viewed Windows as an inferior OS.  ...


Not to put too fine a point on it, but the first version of Windows was not stolen. Far from it. The first version of Windows was based on code that Microsoft licensed from Apple. Steve Jobs gave Microsoft a license to the Macintosh because he wanted *Microsoft BASIC* on the Macintosh.

The dispute arose when Microsoft used Apple technology in Windows 2.0. Apple contended that the license applied only to Windows 1.x. Microsoft contended that its license applied to all subsequent versions of Windows. The court agreed with Microsoft.


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## mjmonjure (Jul 14, 2012)

Wow, I did not know this.  And to think, all these years I thought the law suits were for outright thievery of the design.  Not sure I would have agreed with the judge's decision, but I guess it boils down to if Apple meant only that version of Windows, they should have worded the licensing contract that way.


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## MisterMe (Jul 14, 2012)

mjmonjure said:


> Wow, I did not know this.  And to think, all these years I thought the law suits were for outright thievery of the design.  ...


There are many ways to steal outright. Only the poor and uneducated do it by breaking and entering or at the point of a gun.


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