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ibook customization question

V

version_x

macrumors newbie
Original poster
i'm going to pick up the base model ibook but i wanted to know if its possible to swap out the cdrom for a combo drive?
its not an option you can choose on the apple store site but surely there can't be any reason why i wouldn't be able to do it?
 
i've done - twice.

but the problems you will face are 3-fold:

#1 voiding your warranty. different people will have different perspectives on this. personally i couldn't give a damn. i always break my warranties and in recent memory i can't think of a time where i wish i had not. with all the people advocating AppleCare i doubt i get much support, but i'm a hardware geek so warranty be damned!! (i overclock and mod too 😎 )

#2 getting the drive you want. laptop drives can be tricky to acquire. i bought mine and used to sell them too, from here in tokyo. ebay is your best bet i think. i'll leave you to decide which drive you want. it would be better to choose models that apple uses however, because iTunes and DiscBurner need 'hacks' to use other drives.

#3 taking the iBook apart is, well... a bit of an ordeal. i've done it countless times now. though i have wound up with a few extra screws. 🙄


Google.com is your friend. xlr8yourmac.com is a great resource too.
 
Why not just buy the ibook with teh combo drive pre-installed? I doubt you'll save any money doing it the hard way as described. Or is this a used laptop? In that case I recommend getting the refurbished ones posted on apple's web site.
 
for reference it appears that the current iBook combo drive is either a Sony CD-RW CRX820E or a Toshiba SD-R2212 though it just seems to depend on the current build...

no one seems to be selling the sony but here is the completed page for the toshiba on ebay. let's take the middle price of US$121 (not including shipping) the difference between the low and middle ibooks is us$300 but that includes and extra 100Mhz (not substantial, but undeniably noticeable) and 10gb of Hardrive plus the combo drive. no change in video. no change in memory.

personally i reckon i'd go ahead and mod the hell out it 😀
 
in australia the base model goes for $1850 with education discount, and the next model up with the combo drive is $2450.
to me a 100mhz speed bump, 10gig of harddrive space and a combo drive doesn't warrant an extra $600. especially when i can opt for a 40gig drive for only additional $40.
i didn't expect a cd burner in the base model ibook but i would've thought that apple would have a least put in a dvd drive. bit dissapointing really.
but i'm still happy given this will be my first mac.
 
i love my iBook 😀

good luck getting hold of a cd-rw drive in australia though. that could be tough. 🙁
 
MCE Technologies specializes in Apple related products and has been rated pretty highly by MacAddict magazine for their upgrades.

I think the Combo-drive upgrade is about $250.
 
Originally posted by rt_brained
MCE Technologies specializes in Apple related products and has been rated pretty highly by MacAddict magazine for their upgrades.

I think the Combo-drive upgrade is about $250.
Click to expand...

that's not really much of a saving. $50 is probably worth just to get the 100MHz

besides, Version_X is in Australia. there is a guy, Nick something, calls his company applebits
he's in melbourne, but he might be able to lend a hand.
 
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