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thehustleman

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 3, 2013
1,123
1
I'm ordering my 27" iMac tomorrow and just need to know what the best external DVD drive would be for it.

I've heard that the superdrive is not so super and to avoid it, so what can I get to replace it for the same or preferably less money?
 

davidra

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2011
413
4
I got this drive. It is NOT a BluRay player or burner, as I don't need one.

http://www.amazon.com/LG-GE24NU30-S...&qid=1361451345&sr=1-9&keywords=LG+DVD+burner

I am not interested in a portable drive that can burn at an 8X maximum, which all them are restricted to. This was the fastest drive I found as I sometimes have to burn a lot of discs. So far it has been a very serviceable drive and will burn a DVD+R at 24X. The only issue with it is that depending on the burning program you use, you sometimes have to eject the disc through the Mac instead of the with the button, but that's true of most drives. It's very solid. By the way, having a USB 3 drive probably adds nothing to speed; the burning and reading are limited by the speed of the drive, which is lower than USB 3 speeds, as I understand it.
 

n-i-k-k-o

macrumors member
Jan 15, 2007
41
0
Calne, Wiltshire, UK
I'm looking to purchase one of these shortly as well. I have a quick question please.

Is there any point in buying a drive that offers USB3 support? They seem to price at a premium but since they read/write relatively slowly (compared to, say, a SSD drive) is USB3 really necessary?

Thx

Nikko
 

thehustleman

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 3, 2013
1,123
1
I have been doing similar research and, based on comments here, I have selected a combined usb3 hub, dvd burner / blu-ray drive, external hdd, card reader - http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/MSMXBD2.0TB7.

I am just about to squeeze the trigger and buy my first iMac, and this will be a great accessory.

that is great, but much more than I'm willing to spend, but I do like the concept.


I think I'm going to end up going with the LG, but not until I actually need a DVD burner because as of now, I just need a reader and I found out that my old xbox 360 HD DVD drive actually works with my new imac, so yeah....
 

boogieman

macrumors regular
Nov 10, 2004
187
7
If you want full Dolby and Blu Ray support I recommend the Asus..I've been using it for a month or so now, fast, quiet and reliable...it also has 3 D support so is pretty future proof...I regard the SuperDrive as over priced and underspeced.



http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_39xtqqkbzj_b


I bought this drive and having nothing but coasters being burnt. Toast is absolutely useless. iTunes burns audio disc. What would someone recommend for burning my movies. I have a hd camera that I pull the hd streams off and did burn em with toast. With my new iMac i7 this isn't happening.
 
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