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Post your PowerPC SSD Drive model!

prvt.donut

prvt.donut

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2008
525
26
Well, it is nearly the end of 2012 and 2013 will be the year that the SSD drive takes over as the normal choice for personal computer data storage. There is a vast array of models and options available, and models that should work, sometimes don't as I discovered with my Powermac G5 and a Corsair Force GT.

I thought it is about time we made a list of the SSD drives that will work well in our respective PowerPC Macs (and those that don't). Please try to keep a similar format as shown below:

Computer Model:

SSD Model name:

Part number:

Working?

Benchmark results:

----------

I'll go first!!!!!!:rolleyes:

Computer Model: Late 2005 Powermac G5 dual core 2.0GHz

SSD Model name: Corsair Force GT 240GB

Part number: CSSD-F240GBGT-BK

Working? As a second drive in bottom slot. Will install OS, but won't boot. :( In the top slot, it doesn't show up as a drive to install the OS on.

Benchmark results: N/A:mad::mad:
 
Last edited:
What's the point of having an SSD in a PATA PPC?

I have a powerbook G4 1.67, PATA inside, yes, it will make a difference but I don't see the point of spending that money for just a little gain in speed.

Edit, but if there are any SATA PPC macs then yes I can understand.
 
justperry said:
What's the point of having a SSD in a PATA PPC?

I have a powerbook G4 1.67, PATA inside, yes, it will make a difference but I don't see the point of spending that money for just a little gain in speed.
Click to expand...

Not all PPC use PATA. Besides, it's the random read/write speeds that make them fabulous for OS drives. :D
 
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I use OWC Mercury SSD's as boot drives in both my PPC computers, an upgraded G4 Cube and My go-to system, a G5 quad.
Both have worked well for some time now.
 
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I use an OWC Legacy SSD for a Titanium PB G4 (1GHz, last model to boot Mac OS 9).

Use it for Mac OS 9 mainly, with Mac OS X 10.5 as an emergency OS (that is terribly slow, I think I'd rather run Mac OS X 10.2 just for nostalgia...).

Mac OS 9 on an SSD, on a 1GHz laptop, is pretty great. No problems and runs for weeks straight without reboots in a clamshell mode (screen shut and external display and keyboard/mouse) so I'm quite happy.

Just have to make sure to get a 120GB or smaller drive as I'm pretty certain Mac OS 9 can't boot on bigger drives (and some Macs pre-2001 are not 128GB+ native without third party software).

Makes me kind of wonder what a Firewire 400 enclosure with an SSD would bench, and if it'd be faster than my NAS for the PowerBook.
 
Powerbook G4 1,5 Ghz 12"

SuperTalent Duradrive ET2 128 GB PATA 2,5"

Works great. Boot-time and Applaunching feels halved. Lagfree UI, no spin-up lags, 10-15% longer battery-life. But best of all: SILENCE. PB is running cooler, fan spin-up is very rare. Best upgrade for a old PB in my opinion.

Code: 
	Disk Test	90.73	
		Sequential	136.10	
			Uncached Write	136.50	83.81 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	142.61	80.69 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	109.15	31.94 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	169.78	85.33 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	68.04	
			Uncached Write	28.95	3.06 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	47.73	15.28 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	1651.99	11.71 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	371.64	68.96 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
justperry said:
What's the point of having an SSD in a PATA PPC?
Click to expand...

yamu said:
Works great. Boot-time and Applaunching feels halved. Lagfree UI, no spin-up lags, 10-15% longer battery-life. But best of all: SILENCE. PB is running cooler, fan spin-up is very rare. Best upgrade for a old PB in my opinion.
Click to expand...

prvt.donut said:
Besides, it's the random read/write speeds that make them fabulous for OS drives.
Click to expand...

IMHO, the answers say it all.
Admittedly, an SSD is not as snappy if you do not have a SATA III interface to plug it into, but max throughput is not the only advantage of an SSD.

Nevertheless, there are some problems with some PATA SSD's especially the no-name products coming out of the PRC. Again, going for a brand name product solves this.

Personally i think a SSD is the best upgrade for a PPC G4 laptop used mainly for internet/mail/office apps. A friend of mine commented that his 12" PBG4 (with SSD) felt all-round snappier than a 1st generation 13" MBP (sans SSD).

RGDS,
 
PowerMac G5 2x2 GHz

OWC 3G 240 GB SSD in an ACARD SATA/IDE sled

Xbench disk test: 240

Cube with upgraded processor

OWC 3G 120 GB SSD

Xbench disk test: 170

The improvement over a 7200 RPM drive in the Cube is less noticeable than in the G5, obviously since the G5 is using SATA and the Cube is SATA/IDE interface.
 
How about this SATA2 model?

CORSAIR FORCE SERIES F240 240GB 2.5" SATA INTERNAL SSD CSSD-F240GB2
 
justperry said:
What's the point of having an SSD in a PATA PPC?

I have a powerbook G4 1.67, PATA inside, yes, it will make a difference but I don't see the point of spending that money for just a little gain in speed.

Edit, but if there are any SATA PPC macs then yes I can understand.
Click to expand...

All G5s have SATA.
 
AtmChm said:
PowerMac G5 2x2 GHz

OWC 3G 240 GB SSD in an ACARD SATA/IDE sled

Xbench disk test: 240

Cube with upgraded processor

OWC 3G 120 GB SSD

Xbench disk test: 170

The improvement over a 7200 RPM drive in the Cube is less noticeable than in the G5, obviously since the G5 is using SATA and the Cube is SATA/IDE interface.
Click to expand...

what does numbers mean?
Any chance of mb/s numbers?
What ACARD do you have?
 
64 GB Transcend SSD in PB G4 12" (1,5 Ghz).
This is a machine, which in a short while will become an elderly lady's (my m-i-l) first personal computer.

In this case the promise of higher speed of the SSD (vs. HDD) was not the clinching argument, but in stead the rationale was silence. And boy - until the fans spin up, this machine is dead silent.

I did not go through the trouble of benchmarking, but startup (power button->desktop) is 22 seconds (was 38 s), duplicating a 1 GB file is about 50% faster and it seems (based on a few days of use), that there is no perceived "load lag" (meaning that the machine is slow because the CPU is what it is).

RGDS,
 
While not a true SSD, 16GB Transcend CompactFlash card with EIDE adapter in my G3 iMac. Works very well and it maxes out the ATA/33 bus with easy.
 
I have a Crucial v4 in my iMac G5. Might consider throwing something similar into my G4 and G3 iMacs as well my eMac G4.
 
it was very cool if guys with the ssds could bench it with xbench (you only need to run the disk test) and post here a screenshot.
Here is "mine":

Samsung 830 256Gb


Maybe it is not 100% accurate because the HDD was not all formated for Mac.
It was formated for windows, with one windows partition (ntfs) and then a HFS+ partition.
This was on a Sonnet Tempo PCI 2 Port sata card.
Firmware 5.1.3
 
I just bought a Kingspec 32GB PATA drive on eBay. I've read some rather nasty things about them, but they seem mostly related to the rather horrid first-generation JMicron controller.

Current ones to my knowledge use some controller by Silicon Motion. Details were also hard to come by, but I believe it is a direct PATA controller (vs most PATA drives, which are actually SATA but have a PATA-SATA bridge inside, thereby drawing more power).

I can post some impressions when I receive it and set up the system that I am restoring.
 
skinniezinho said:
it was very cool if guys with the ssds could bench it with xbench (you only need to run the disk test) and post here a screenshot.
Here is "mine":

Samsung 830 256Gb
[url=http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/812/ssdvc.png]Image[/URL]

Maybe it is not 100% accurate because the HDD was not all formated for Mac.
It was formated for windows, with one windows partition (ntfs) and then a HFS+ partition.
This was on a Sonnet Tempo PCI 2 Port sata card.
Firmware 5.1.3
Click to expand...

XBench is useless for most everything, including HDD speed tests. There is a better app, but I can't remember it now.
 
MisterKeeks said:
XBench is useless for most everything, including HDD speed tests. There is a better app, but I can't remember it now.
Click to expand...

XBench's HDD tests are still rather accurate. Of course they should be preformed a few times and averaged, but the process of averaging benchmarks for any benchmarking application should always be done for best results.
 
MisterKeeks said:
XBench is useless for most everything, including HDD speed tests. There is a better app, but I can't remember it now.
Click to expand...

AJA Speed test?
I guess benchmark programs are +- all the same, the results won't vary very much I guess, simply ones give more options than others.
 
tintin220 said:
I just bought a Kingspec 32GB PATA drive on eBay. I've read some rather nasty things about them, but they seem mostly related to the rather horrid first-generation JMicron controller.

Current ones to my knowledge use some controller by Silicon Motion. Details were also hard to come by, but I believe it is a direct PATA controller (vs most PATA drives, which are actually SATA but have a PATA-SATA bridge inside, thereby drawing more power).

I can post some impressions when I receive it and set up the system that I am restoring.
Click to expand...

There was a user with one of those here and results were not bad.
This week I will get a OCZ Vertex 2 120Gb for my PowerMac G4.It already comes with latest firmware (1.37) so I guess I won't have problems.
When I receive it I will bench it.
In my opinion for PATA computers I guess the CF Card way can sometimes be a little better, for example, if you buy a 16Gb 600x CF card for the same price of a 16Gb PATA SSD, at least you know that the memory on the CF has to do 90MB/s (of course it will be limited by the adapter/IDE BUS).


Another option for benchmarking is this:
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20120704113548693

Are there any tips for SSD in 10.4/10.5?
 
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