Mac mini 2009 compatible internal dvd drive

[bass-freq]

The dvd drive on my 2009 mac mini has been out of commission for a few months now and I've been getting by with the optical drive in my laptop for CD imports and DVD rips. Now my laptop has died and I really want to replace the mini's internal dvd drive.

From searching it looks like there are a few models of drives that folks list as interchangeable but I wanted to see if any people here had experience to tell me whether or not they are actually compatible:

Panansonic UJ-875A
HL GA32N
Sony-NEC OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670S

The drive I have in my machine now is one of the Optiarcs.

Basically I am looking for the cheapest replacement, provided there is not a certain model known for failing more than others. I'm aware that I could go with an external model, but I'm perfectly comfortable taking the machine apart (already did to upgrade the HDD and RAM) and I'm thinking I will probably sell this machine in the next year and figured this would increase the resale value.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

 

[philipma1957]

The dvd drive on my 2009 mac mini has been out of commission for a few months now and I've been getting by with the optical drive in my laptop for CD imports and DVD rips. Now my laptop has died and I really want to replace the mini's internal dvd drive.

From searching it looks like there are a few models of drives that folks list as interchangeable but I wanted to see if any people here had experience to tell me whether or not they are actually compatible:

Panansonic UJ-875A
HL GA32N
Sony-NEC OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670S

The drive I have in my machine now is one of the Optiarcs.

Basically I am looking for the cheapest replacement, provided there is not a certain model known for failing more than others. I'm aware that I could go with an external model, but I'm perfectly comfortable taking the machine apart (already did to upgrade the HDD and RAM) and I'm thinking I will probably sell this machine in the next year and figured this would increase the resale value.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

the sony works but you must have one with correct firmware. www.macsales.com should have one

 

[bass-freq]

I figured the Sony would work since it is the model I currently have, but I can't find that one for less than $60 online, while the others can be found in the neighborhood of $30. Not a big difference I know but I'm just looking to get the cheapest drive that will work.

Oddly enough, OWC says that their drives work with any 2005-2008 mini. I wonder if that's just a typo and they meant to include 2009 ...

 

[philipma1957]

I figured the Sony would work since it is the model I currently have, but I can't find that one for less than $60 online, while the others can be found in the neighborhood of $30. Not a big difference I know but I'm just looking to get the cheapest drive that will work.

Oddly enough, OWC says that their drives work with any 2005-2008 mini. I wonder if that's just a typo and they meant to include 2009 ...

no the 2005 to 2008 are a different jack then the 2009 or 2010

 

[saulinpa]

Starting with the 2009 the optical drives in the mini are SATA. Those before are IDE/ATA. Not compatible with each other.

 

[veloc]

@bass-freq: what are your experiences now with the OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670S (on ebay.co.uk at 25 quid about?). I would need a replacement for a mac mini 2 GHz early 2009. @philipma1957 I can't understand, why the correct firmware should be necessary. It's simple SATA2, which works with Linux, BSD and Windows.