11-22-2011, 09:56 AM

I'm puttering around having fun with my very old iMac G3. I maxed out the memory at 1gb for hardly any $$$. That made a huge difference in speed.
Still, it's not quite what I'd like, although it's close. I can upgrade the 40gb 5400rpm hard drive to a 80gb 7200 rpm hard drive, again for hardly any $$.

Do folks here think I'd see an additional speed bump advantage by going from5400 rpm to 7200 rpm? Is so, I'm eager to give it a shot.

Thanks!
Tom

11-23-2011, 12:07 AM

I went from a stock 80gb 5400rpm drive on my G4 to a 160gb 7200rpm and did notice a wee bit of a difference, but I wouldn't say that you will be surprised about the new speed. If you really want some speed, look nowhere else but here: OWC Mercury Extreme Pro Legacy...for a pretty $$$ though.

11-23-2011, 03:40 PM

Depends really on the precise model of the iMac which you did not supply. Very early models came with 8GB maximum and need special updates to use over and above this. Generally, if it is a slot loader 350MHz or faster, then the faster drive will work. Make sure you are familiar with 'cracking' the iMac as replacing the drive is not the easiest job in the world. Whilst not disagreeing with iggibar about the effectiveness of an SSD in the iMac, just not worth the expense. For the cost of the drive you could purchase maybe a G5.