Best IDE SDD & other worthwhile tweaks

[paulcross22]

Hi Guys,

New to the forum- I have a 2004 PowerBook G4 17'' which I've owned since 2010. Been a great machine through my A-Levels to do IT coursework & use photoshop for art & design. I've owned other machines but this will always have a special place in my heart

Can anyone recommend a good SSD for this Mac? I want something with a decent amount of space, but not liable to break. Or even a good HDD! Is using a 7200rpm drive worth it?

I know how to do upgrades- I've recently just replaced the display after my Dad's dog stepped on the screen, now it works again.

I'm maxing out the RAM tomorrow to 2GB. Can anyone recommend any tweaks I can perform to make the OS faster? I'm using Leopard currently.

Any questions then let me know.

- Paul

 

[jbarley]

Check out this excellant thread posted by forum member eyoungren, these tips are specific to TenFourFox and do a lot to improve your web experience.https://forums.macrumors.com/members/eyoungren.612797/

 

[r6mile]

As for the SSD, from my research around this forum it seems like getting an mSATA SSD and a mSATA-IDE adapter is the best and most cost-effective solution.

 

[paulcross22]

As for the SSD, from my research around this forum it seems like getting an mSATA SSD and a mSATA-IDE adapter is the best and most cost-effective solution.

What's the speed change like on a PowerBook? I want it to be a little more zippy- can you help manage my expectations with this? - Paul
[doublepost=1461016546][/doublepost]

Check out this excellant thread posted by forum member eyoungren, these tips are specific to TenFourFox and do a lot to improve your web experience.

Thank you!! Will sit down with a coffee tomorrow and give it a read through.

 

[jbarley]

What's the speed change like on a PowerBook? I want it to be a little more zippy- can you help manage my expectations with this? - Paul

I have an OWC IDE Legacy SSD in my 15" PowerBook, and the performance difference-increase is modest but very noticeable, mainly with faster boot times and quicker app opening.

 

[flyrod]

We were just talking about this upgrade for powerbooks:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/hard-drive-for-a-12-pbg4-1-5.1967391/

There have been a few recent threads where people have posted their benchmark results before/after installing a SSD. I have one in my powerbook and I think it would make a noticeable improvement for you. You said "I want it to be a little more zippy" and I'd say a SSD fits that bill nicely. In some cases they're less expensive too. Good luck!

 

[Lastic]

I've installed a 64 GB SSD in my Powerbook G4 12", it was expensive at a 90 EUR cost but the response times
are way better although still limited by the the IDE bus .

Super Talent Technology SSD 64GB 120/130 Dura ET3 MLC IDE STL SSD I FE8064MD2D

Random times are better, so indeed it's a lot snappier, data transfers go a bit faster ( not much compared to a HDD ),
but what bit the bullet for me was that the Powerbook runs quiet , a lot cooler and battery life lasts longer.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Apart from the hard drive replacement, the best speed enhancement is to use the Secrets preference pane:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/27025/secrets

or Onyx:
http://www.titanium.free.fr/onyx.html

With these, you can turn off or reduce the speed of a lot of OS visual elements.

Also ShadowKiller, gives you a speed bump by turning off Window drop shadows:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/6428/shadowkiller-x

And, as ever, you can't beat a clean, fresh OS install to blow away the cobwebs

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Hi Guys,

New to the forum- I have a 2004 PowerBook G4 17'' which I've owned since 2010. Been a great machine through my A-Levels to do IT coursework & use photoshop for art & design. I've owned other machines but this will always have a special place in my heart

Can anyone recommend a good SSD for this Mac? I want something with a decent amount of space, but not liable to break. Or even a good HDD! Is using a 7200rpm drive worth it?

I know how to do upgrades- I've recently just replaced the display after my Dad's dog stepped on the screen, now it works again.

I'm maxing out the RAM tomorrow to 2GB. Can anyone recommend any tweaks I can perform to make the OS faster? I'm using Leopard currently.

Any questions then let me know.

- Paul

If you're moving from a 5600rpm drive you'll definitely enjoy a speed bump and a better overall experience with an SSD. As it's a 17", although the mSATA does run hot, you won't notice it and you'll love the silence which goes with the SSD. Just for reference, I downgraded my 12" to a 7200 drive and there wasn't much difference in performance but the mSATA option will allow much greater capacities and easier availability. As well as the tweaks mentioned above, look at Xslimmer and Monolingual to strip out unnecessary stuff and squeeze out all the potential of your fantastic machine. Enjoy!

 

[paulcross22]

Thanks guys -

Will most likely get a SSD, will probably get a 64GB one and just do a clean install of Mac OSX.

Seriously not ready to give this machine up. Especially since I've just repaired the screen haha.

If push comes to shove, and I do need more space, I'll just take out the disk drive and replace it with another HDD.

This machine is awesome!

 

[Hack5190]

Amazon has a 240 GB mSATA on sale for $69.99 including shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...scsubtag=b0887540068c11e6ab0f0a5a7a5a1e6e0INT

 

[paulcross22]

Hi Everyone- actually ended up ordering a 64gb PATA SSD.

Also now just maxed out the RAM to 2gb. One stick didn't work when I first used it - but after cleaning it with some rubbing alcohol and a cotten bud, it's now working.

When I get the SSD installed and do a fresh install I'll start a new thread on my experiences with this.