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Combodrive or Superdrive?

M

mlw1235

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 16, 2004
270
0
Milwaukee, WI
I'm going to be a college student in less than a month!

And I need to buy a computer. I've decided that a MacBook is the perfect choice for me. The only thing left to decide is the combo vs. superdrive.

I would love to be able to burn DVD's, but honestly I don't know how much I would use it.

Anyone else have this quandry? or any advice to give me?


EDIT: Wow. Wrong section of the forum. Mods, please feel free to move this.
 
mlw1235 said:
I'm going to be a college student in less than a month!

And I need to buy a computer. I've decided that a MacBook is the perfect choice for me. The only thing left to decide is the combo vs. superdrive.

I would love to be able to burn DVD's, but honestly I don't know how much I would use it.

Anyone else have this quandry? or any advice to give me?
Click to expand...
Superdrive. No doubt. If you don't get it, you'll regret it. Plus you get the 2.0 chip instead of the 1.83.
 
Counterfit said:
4.3GB (unless it's dual layer, then double that) >>>>> 700MB
Click to expand...
Just so you don't confuse the original poster, the MacBook doesn't do dual layer burning. Neither does the 15.4" MacBook Pro for that matter.

The 17" is the only model that will burn dual layer discs. But all SuperDrives will read dual layer, of course.
 
mlw1235 said:
Anyone else have this quandry? or any advice to give me?
Click to expand...
You just have to ask yourself if a SuperDrive and an extra 170 MHz is worth 200$ to you.

To me it was since I see a notebook as a long term investment. I get more work done with it.
 
Superdrive.

I opted out of a Superdrive when I bought my PowerBook and I am regretting it now. I don't do anything with digital video but I still want it to make backups, particularly of my iPhoto library. The 700Mb limit on CDs is TINY with todays storage capacities and prices.
 
i agree, superdrive is good to have..i decided at the last minute to change the ibook i wanted to the next model, which had a superdrive, and love it...comes in handy for those home movies that you want to duplicate
 
Superdrive. Especially if you are creative. When I got my first mac, I thought to myself that I don't have a DVD burner and have never needed one. Since I got my mac, using apps like iMovie and iPhoto I've made DVD's for friends and it's always a pain taking the image and moving it to my computer that does have a DVD burner.
 
Superdrive. I regretted for not upgrading my iBook's Combo to Super and now I'm stuck burning CDs. Just go for it.
 
Go with the SuperDrive. I just started using mine for writing DVD movies with iMovie and iDVD (had already been using it for backing up data) and the whole experience is a blast. Well worth the cash since you'll be getting software with it that really allows you to take advantage of what you bought.
 
i went for superdrive ( i got the black model upgraded) and although i havent burnt any cd's or dvd's yet, its nice to be able to. for instance, i ripped pirates of the caribbean (curse of the black pearl) to my macbook. my step-dad wants to see it, but i dont really want to hand my macbook over to him (i bought this thing myself and am very particular about how it's handled). i'll probably just burn it to dvd for him. super drives are handy.
 
Hmmmm, personally, I'm leaning to the Combo drive myself for my Macbook purchase. I'd rather get a nice 16x Dual Layer Burner from newegg for under $40, then put it in an nice enclosure for another $40. You have a drive that is miles ahead of the 4x single layer "Superdrive". What it boils down to, IMO, is how often are you going to need to burn DVD's while mobile? If it's just a casual burn, you can hook up to the external at home or where ever easily enough and do the burn. I have used a lappy without a DVDRW for a while now, and have no urgent urge for anything other than an external as I don't plan on burning maybe once or twice a month.
 
lcseds said:
Hmmmm, personally, I'm leaning to the Combo drive myself for my Macbook purchase. I'd rather get a nice 16x Dual Layer Burner from newegg for under $40, then put it in an nice enclosure for another $40. You have a drive that is miles ahead of the 4x single layer "Superdrive". What it boils down to, IMO, is how often are you going to need to burn DVD's while mobile? If it's just a casual burn, you can hook up to the external at home or where ever easily enough and do the burn. I have used a lappy without a DVDRW for a while now, and have no urgent urge for anything other than an external as I don't plan on burning maybe once or twice a month.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with you about this. If I'm going to burn a DVD, I would most likely be in the "office" and have a desk. At that point, I could hook up the external DVD burner.

However, if we're talking about Macbooks here, if you want the 2.0ghz chip, you're forced to have the Superdrive.

ft
 
I'd say you should get the superdrive. I opted for the superdrive and have used it pretty regularly for backups, large files ect. You won't be sorry with getting the superdrive. But you might regret getting the combodrive later on.
 
I guess I will be going with the Superdrive.

I don't know how much I will use it, but I will use the extra processing power every time I use the computer. (Even if it is just a little)

And now that I have registered for classes...one of my seminars is about movie making on Macs. Superdrive will be helpful!
 
If it's your only Mac, go for the superdrive. It's always a 'what if', because you never know when you'll find yourself wanting to burn DVDs. I rarely burn them myself, but its always handy to have regardless.
 
i'd vote for the superdrive, but mostly because i like to use my current machines to help fund my next purchases (ie: i like to resell and use the money towards newer technology). while the superdrives (in my opinion) are actually pretty crappy burners, and an external will be a much better choice if you're going to be burning many DVDs, the resale value goes up quite a bit if you have a DVD-burner. Plus the extra Ghz doesn't hurt either, for the same reason.
 
Since timely backups are a requirement these days with the lowered reliability HDs flooding the market ...

Superdrive = easy backup

Combo = extreme PIA

Unless you want to buy an external HD solely for backups, which is the easiest.

---

So, I never burn DVDs is the same as saying they never backup their machines.
 
Sun Baked said:
So, I never burn DVDs is the same as saying they never backup their machines.
Click to expand...
Actually, I backup my machine, but I never burn DVDs on my laptop, so it's not the same. DVD for backups = not dynamic enough for me - I'd waste a lot of DVDs (and money). I have an external instead.
 
Sun Baked said:
Since timely backups are a requirement these days with the lowered reliability HDs flooding the market ...

Superdrive = easy backup

Combo = extreme PIA

Unless you want to buy an external HD solely for backups, which is the easiest.

---

So, I never burn DVDs is the same as saying they never backup their machines.
Click to expand...

Extreme PIA for an external? One wire doesn't hurt much. It's all in how you use the machine. Having to use something else for burning a dual layer is more of a PIA. As as data backups increase in size, the single layer DVD burner will be about as exciting as a CDRW in a year or so. Dual layer media will continue to drop making it the best backup method, except for superdrive owners.
Not a right or wrong choice here, just have to decide whats best individually.
 
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