[X4U] SATA drives

[Jim Robertson]

I have a first generation dual 1.8 GHz G5 tower (the one with 8 DIMM slots).
I expect sometime in 2007 to replace it with a Mac Pro. I'm already running
out of hard drive space (I have two SATA drives in the dual G5.

I'm totally confused by the SATA nomenclature. I'm not certain if currently
available SATA drives are compatible with my dual G5, and whether they'll be
transferrable to my Mac Pro next year. Besides the drive that shipped with
my computer, it now contains a Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200 Gbyte, 1.5
gb/sec drive. Amazon lists 7200.9 and 7200.10 drives that have 3.0 gb/sec
transfer rates, as well as an "Ultra-SATA 3.0 gb/sec drive. Some of the
drives are said to have "22 position" SATA connectors. I don't know what
that means.

Are there any of these drives that I cannot physically put into my Dual G5?
Will I have to reformat the drive to put it into my Mac Pro once I get it?

Thanks so much,

Jim Robertson
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