[oscarj]

I have a 24" imac with a dying optical drive but want to replace it with an ssd, the issue in question is whether the pata bus will be fast enough to take good advantage...

Anyone know the answer?

[Lachie]

First of all what what iMac is it? G5 or Intel? There were two models introduced in 2006.
Second, what ssd are you thinking of putting in? Speed will differs with age, brand, model etc.

I dont think its worthwhile putting an ssd in. A good HDD will be just as good.

PS
Usually its nice to say "hi" and "im new, please help a brother out" or "i love you guys"
That way it dosn't feel like your using us. Because once you have your answer, your user name will most likely be added to the ever growing list of "lovers and leavers".

EDIT: it appears your imac is the "late 2006 intel" model. Which means your HDD runs on a dedicated SATA Bus, and your Optical drive runs on a UATA (Ultra ATA) bus, opperating at Ultra ATA/100. However the Optical drive speed is actually Ultra ATA/33.

[Arkhum_Eramak]

Given that the iMac G5 uses a slot-loading drive, it will also have a laptop PATA connector, not sure what they're called, but it's that little squat square one. Not sure about adapters. I wouldn't bother, probably a lot of cash and effort for little gain.

[LCGuy]

You could probably put one of these in it, since MacBooks use the same drives as iMacs...