200cm
Level 1 (12 points)
Mac OS X

Q: What gain from installing an SSD drive in a PowerBook G4?

Hello,

 

I wonder if installing an SSD-drive into my PowerBook G4 17" would make sense, either replacing the original 80GB drive or putting it into a replacement carrier instead of the SuperDrive, which can be done.

 

I have read somewhere though that because of the PB G4 PATA connection an SSD drive would be so substantially slowed that it made not much sense to install one.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

Thanks for all opinions!

Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 16 Gig

Posted on Apr 9, 2016 3:38 AM

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200cm

Q: What gain from installing an SSD drive in a PowerBook G4?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,Helpful

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Apr 15, 2016 12:06 AM in response to 200cm
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 12:06 AM in response to 200cm

    It probably won't affect overall performance very much.  You may notice startup time is faster.  It does make the PowerBook more quiet, and it produces less heat, so its fans may come on less often (making it even more quiet).

     

    I replaced the hard drive in my even older PowerBook ("Pismo") with solid state storage.  First, I used a physically tiny SDXC card (32GB) on an adapter, and that worked surprisingly well.  I had previously used that same SDXC card (Sony branded) with my 2011 Mac mini (in its high-speed SD card slot), as an alternate startup disk for testing purposes.  The adapter I used is like this one

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Shop-Secure-Digital-Adapter/dp/B00BANFDWG

     

    I used it that way for about a year or so.  Then, I replaced it with a 128GB mSATA card on a different adapter

     

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009BA8V4M

     

    The mSATA card (plus adapter) is noticeably faster, when doing things that require concentrated disk access, like when starting up.  That makes sense, because an mSATA card (unlike an SD card) is designed to be a computer drive (not media storage).  The total cost was about $55, probably even less expensive now.  I bought the mSATA card (Samsung branded) on eBay.  It was used and the seller had larger number, so I figured they were "pulls" from laptops that were recycled or upgraded to higher storage.  128GB is the maximum for my old PowerBook, so it was a good deal (about $40 at that time).

     

    I posted more info in another similar topic (including a product review for the mSATA adapter), a few months ago...

     

    Re: Solid state hard drives

  • by K Shaffer,Helpful

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 15, 2016 12:06 AM in response to 200cm
    Level 6 (14,199 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 15, 2016 12:06 AM in response to 200cm

    The suggested items and methods are worth a serious consideration; also

    consider an OWC Mercury Legacy Pro SSD since these work in ATA/PATA:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_Legacy_Pro

     

    I've a few older PPC models that could fair well, with otherwise maxed out RAM

    limited by rotational hard drive read-write speeds; they could see improvement.

     

    Good luck & happy computing!

  • by 200cm,

    200cm 200cm Apr 15, 2016 12:23 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 12:23 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    Thanks to both Keinichi and K Shaffer,

     

    I think it's worth a try in any case. 17 inch is a fine monitor size and if not running any high-demand apps it shpuld be useful for some still!

     

    All the best to you,

     

    Olaf

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 15, 2016 2:29 AM in response to 200cm
    Level 6 (14,199 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 15, 2016 2:29 AM in response to 200cm

    Glad you are keeping a nice older model up and running!

    I like the 17-inch display in a portable Mac...

  • by 200cm,

    200cm 200cm Jul 6, 2016 10:37 AM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 6, 2016 10:37 AM in response to K Shaffer

    I got it from someone replacing it with a 2016 model. I never had a portable Mac and I just admire the sheer perfection of the design, the rugged metal look of it. Even if it doesn't add up to much anymore computer-wise it's still an admirable piece of technology to me, a died-in-the-wool Apple fan, like you, I guess…

     

    And it's still running!