How to use SATA on Mac G4?

Hi-

Easy.
Just install a SATA PCI controller like this:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Firmtek/FTST1S2/

The linked card is the cheapest, most reliable card that also supports boot to connected drives.

Remember, like memory and graphics cards, PCI cards MUST be Mac compatible (stated by manufacturer) or all bets are off.

The SATA drives also use a different power cable, you need an adapter to go from the standard PATA molex power plug to the SATA power plug like this.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Micro%20Accessories/SATAPA/

or you could get a Y-splitter version if you plan to add another drive later.

Hi, I just installed, with the help of the gents posting prior (thanks guys) a similar SATA install. Make sure your SATA cables are long enough, I had to go with 24 inch lengths.

On a related note, will using a pci card and SATA drive actually be that noticeable in an old G4? I'm setting up a dual 1.0 Quicksilver for playing around with audio and video stuff (older software, not super current) and I can feel the speed of the one internal drive being a major bottleneck when loading patches and whatnot.

I wouldn't want to dump much more into it, but I can get SATA internals pretty cheap, and if there is a real-world speed improvement, maybe I'll go for it.

Anyone have any tests?

Hi-

It is actually noticeable.
Though the PCI bus becomes the bottleneck, the drives data transfer is twice that of ATA.
What happens, is the overhead that limits the ATA to around 45 MB/s is pretty well cancelled out, and actual data rates of 60-65 MB/s are achieved.
These figures are from actual use and tests in my Quicksilver.

I haven't posted a table of results for the Quicksilver yet, but here is a comparison of the various interfaces and test results for a 100 MHz bus G4 Sawtooth:
http://www.jcsenterprises.com/JapamacsPage/Hard_DriveBenchmarks.html

Edit

What happens, is the overhead that limits the ATA to around 45 MB/s is pretty well cancelled out, and actual data rates of 60-65 MB/s are achieved.

Should say:
What happens, is the overhead that limits the ATA to around 45 MB/s is pretty well cancelled out, and actual data rates of 60-65 MB/s *+and higher+* are achieved.