Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 9:35 pm Post subject: serial ata on laptop for apple?
Hi!
I'm new to apple's... I don't even have one yet, but thinking of getting one really soon. Only one problem. I want a laptop but my company wants to get a desktop. Reason why? More connections. Why do I want a laptop? Because I want mobility.
The whole thing is that I will have to be able to plug in a spare hd, mount it, and be able to browse the contents of it. I know some mac's use ide (I think), most use SCSI, and the newer ones use serial ata. With a apple laptop, do they have a port on the side for these? Are there usb or firewire devices that will let me plug an external drive in to use to the laptop?
Thanks for your help since I know nothing about mac's...are they even called mac's anymore?
Joined: 26 May 2004 Posts: 0 Location: Los Angeles
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 3:54 am Post subject:
If the spare HD has no enclosure... then you will need one to be able to use the HD via firewire or USB.
you could buy the enclosures you need almost anywhere...
an interesting alternative to full enclosures is the firewire DriveDock from Wiebetech that seems to be for IDE drives ... but check here for other drivedock products- one is listed as ATA-6 compatible.
by the way if you're interested in the current state of the Macintosh ....Listen Here -Your Mac Life or visit www.yourmaclife.com
Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 0 Location: Virginia Beach
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:14 pm Post subject:
While SCSI was the Mac's primary connection for external drives for years, SCSI has been eliminated as a standard port from all Macs and has been replaced by USB and FireWire (IEEE 1394). If you have a Mac with a SCSI connector on the back, it's at least 6-7 years old.
Internal drive connections for desktop systems are moving from IDE to SATA. The eMac still uses Ultra ATA, but the G5 and the new iMac are both using SATA. PowerBooks are still using IDE (Ultra ATA-100).
The Wiebetech FireWire drive adapters are excellent for occasionally connecting a bare drive for data retrieval. For long term connections, I would get a drive enclosure, which can be purchased for less than $100 from most vendors. Check out OtherWorld Computing (http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Page.cfm?Parent=1087&Title=&Template=1) for their current list of enclosures. Personal opinion, I wouldn't spend the money right now on a FW800 enclosure for a single drive. Drive speeds are still slower than standard FW400, and the additional cost isn't worth it. Also, I would make sure to get an enclosure with the Oxford911 chipset, so you can boot from the external drive. And for desktop IDE drives, make sure it says ATA-6 so you can use drives larger than 128GB.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum