Why the G5 Kludge Didn’t Happen…

My initial plan with this machine had been to hook it up using a KVM switch with my G4 PowerMac, run them off the same keyboard and mouse, and to use the G4’s old hard disks to expand storage capacity in the G5. Well, I do have the computers hooked together using a KVM switch, but the G4 still has all its hard disks. The G5 has a total of 410GB of storage space, less than half of what I had hoped to load in it. Still, its current configuration is simpler, more elegant, and works for me. Now, if I can only get my money back on all the knick-knacks my original expansion plan had called for…

The G5’s internal expansion hinged around a hard disk expansion kit called “Swift Data 200” by transintl.com. I had planned on taking at least three if not all four of the 160 GB hard disks, mounting Parallel to Serial ATA converters on them, and then using them along with a Firmtek 4 port SATA PCI-X card and the Swift Data kit to mount them internally in the G5. Without getting into all the gory detail (something I will do when I review the Swift Data kit shortly), I will share that I realized I was going to have to do more jury rigging than I had planned on doing. That introduced too much complexity and even the specter of damage to my G5. I opted out of that set-up to maintain the machine’s simplicity and elegance, something you can’t appreciate until you see it.

If I can get my money back on the Swift Data kit, the Firmtek SATA PCI card, and the Parallel to Serial converters (the last two bought from other companies), I will not only have maintained the G5’s elegance but have saved myself some money. I will be looking at other external disk expansion options as time goes on and the need arises. For now, the 250GB Maxtor SATA hard drive I added will be enough. It’s still got plenty of room left even after loading the media from three video projects.