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OWC vs MCE Optibays

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Pngwyn

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 20, 2008
173
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Any recommendations on which one to get?

I was about to pull the trigger on the MCE Optibay since it includes a free USB dvd case for my superdrive.

I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about defective MCE Optibays out of the box, broken superdrive enclosures, and lack of customer service/response from MCE so I'm starting to lean towards OWC, but their ship date on their bays are 2 weeks... also the OWC optibay looks a little more flimsy (though I can't really tell just by looking at it).

I was considering a cheapie eBay/Amazon Optibay, but I am not sure I trust putting one of those into an expensive new laptop :\

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
My cheapo ebay "optibay" has worked flawlessly now for a couple of weeks housing a 5400 rpm 500GB hard drive (probably should have swapped the hard drive and SSD around, but I was being lazy). Everything fits in so tightly that nothing moves. Worst case is that the drive holder is sitting on the bottom cover (but I can't see why that would matter). And with the money I saved, I bought a slim Blu-Ray drive rather than just a slim DVD drive.
 
I am using the MCE Optibay and have had absolutely no issues with both the install or usage after. The superdrive enclosure they give you is cheap and has no front cover (I can post pictures of it if wanted). They give you a cable that takes up 2 USB slots, but I only use one of the slots on my 2009 13" Macbook Pro.

Overall I don't think it should cost you $99 (what I payed for it), but I was not disappointed. You could probably get an enclosure and an optibay off ebay for much cheaper.
 
ViviUO said:
The MCE and OWC versions are just over priced "cheapie" ebay opitbays.
Click to expand...

The OWC doesn't look anything like eBay optibays hehe, and usually with eBay I like to think you get what you pay for...though these things aren't really worth $100 to begin with, I'm starting to consider an eBay cheapie.

So all the parts are included, nothing fits loose or is cheap feeling in an expensive MBP?


EDIT:

Also have you guys installed your superdrives into external enclosures? I was looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexSta...NXZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301969986&sr=8-1 but I don't know if it'll work with my mac, any input would be great :)
 
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Pngwyn said:
The OWC doesn't look anything like eBay optibays hehe, and usually with eBay I like to think you get what you pay for...though these things aren't really worth $100 to begin with, I'm starting to consider an eBay cheapie.

So all the parts are included, nothing fits loose or is cheap feeling in an expensive MBP?


EDIT:

Also have you guys installed your superdrives into external enclosures? I was looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexSta...NXZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301969986&sr=8-1 but I don't know if it'll work with my mac, any input would be great :)
Click to expand...

That enclosure won't fit a superdrive, only hard drives.
 
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I have bought both an MCE Optibay and a OWC DataDoubler. I recommend the datadoubler.

The "enclosure" the optibay comes with for your external drive is extraordinarily cheap and flimsy. I would say it is worth maybe $5.

The DataDoubler is not something you can find on ebay or amazon. It is machined or forged aluminum, and it is very high quality. Far better than the MCE (which I'm sure is sourced from asia) and the ebay stuff.

Remember, Apple mounts their drives with three screws in places different than PCs do, and the ebay stuff is usually targeted at PC laptops and may not have these screw positions, so check carefully before buying one off of ebay.

Highly recommend the data doubler. Disliked the MCE experience to the point where I won't do business with that company at all for anything in the future. I get the distinct impression that the MCE I remember from the 1990s has been replaced or bought out by a sleazy Los Angeles operation using the name.

I would like to find an external enclosure that looks something like the superdrive Apple ships for the air.
 
So since replacing the superdrive voids your warranty can you simply put the superdrive back in if you need to bring it to Apple or does removing it break any seals that Apple will see?
 
i brought the enclosure for my superdrive a few months back on ebay for $15.. and it does look a bit naff... but i have not used it since installing win7!
i rarely have any use for optical drives any more..

i have the newmodeus caddy and think its actually really good, in retrospect, i wish i went for the ebay one at half the cost! since shipping to the uk, the new modeus caddy was almost doubled in price!

I think i will order one of ebay as a spare... it does take 10-20 days to deliver.from HK/China by seller smk312 - but for free international delivery -bargain
 
The ones on ebay look kinda flimsy, like stamped thin sheetmetal...

I went with the OWC one, and it's a really nice piece of hardware. Is it worth the $50 premium over the knockoffs? Who knows? But I'm happy I went this route.

(I just upgraded the RAM, and am installing a few apps (& Win7) on the SSD before installing the HDD and migrating all the data.)
 
OWC review + thoughts

I purchased a SSD OWC drive with the datadoubler and an external DVD drive case. The datadoubler is very high quality and was surprisingly light for being that solid.

Two thoughts: the drive only attaches to one side of the datadoubler so it isn't quite as secure as I would prefer, and the datadoubler does not have any rubber padding or washers to pad the hard drive (making it slightly more noisy in the computer). I don't know about the other options. It came with the required screw drivers and installed in a snap. It is running at the 6G Sata III speed in my Early 2011 macbook pro purchased in September.

The external enclosure for the cd drive is super cheap. It only mounts from one side and is all plastic. It works, and for how often I use it, it's fine. It comes with a USB cord with a second USB split for power if you need it. As long as I plug it directly into the computer, the one cable works fine. However, I would have expected this quality from a $5 product not a $44 one.

A note, that once you take out your DVD drive out, DVD Player no longer likes to work with the default settings. I have read that you can HexEdit the settings to get it to work with external drives, I'm still playing with it. See http://myhpmini.com/forum/how-make-dvd-player-work-external-dvd-drive-t1434.html.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
So since replacing the superdrive voids your warranty can you simply put the superdrive back in if you need to bring it to Apple or does removing it break any seals that Apple will see?
Click to expand...

I'd also like to know this one..
 
Bought both the MCE Optibay and the Maxupgrades.com kit (apparently the same metal mount as the OWC kit) to move the stock 750G drive to the superdrive bay.

I ended up using the MCE Optibay to mount the hard drive (because it secured the drive on more than one side) but the external Superdrive case that came with the Maxupgrades kit.

The Maxupgrades enclosure looks like the Macbook Air superdrive enclosure and consumes one port. The MCE external enclosure is definitely "for emergency use only" - no front bezel, consumes two usb ports.
 
Maschil said:
would this work with

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15065281493...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_1431wt_1270

a samsung 470 64gb ssd.... or the crosiar 64gb.... i have a 2011 feb macbook pro... thanks!
Click to expand...

hey just today, i bought one of these ebay caddys, i didn't really research it i just did the cheapest one and clicked buy. stupid idea because the one in the link and the one i got is made for all pc laptops. they still suport the macbooks but only have one mount for the whole caddy instead of three on the one designed for a macbooks.

Try this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Opti-2nd-ha...e_Internal&hash=item4aafe7d322#ht_4941wt_1059

if you read the discription, he notes that there is two extra mounts. i hope this is helpful.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
So since replacing the superdrive voids your warranty can you simply put the superdrive back in if you need to bring it to Apple or does removing it break any seals that Apple will see?
Click to expand...
There is only a seal over the battery. You can remove all the screws and as long as you don't loose any screws or mess something up during the installation. Only some forensic might be able to figure out that you had an optibay installed.
 
dionysious said:
hey just today, i bought one of these ebay caddys, i didn't really research it i just did the cheapest one and clicked buy. stupid idea because the one in the link and the one i got is made for all pc laptops. they still suport the macbooks but only have one mount for the whole caddy instead of three on the one designed for a macbooks.

Try this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Opti-2nd-ha...e_Internal&hash=item4aafe7d322#ht_4941wt_1059

if you read the discription, he notes that there is two extra mounts. i hope this is helpful.
Click to expand...

aha i se...thanks alot... now i need to gather enough guts to get a ssd
 
Pngwyn said:
Any recommendations on which one to get?

I was about to pull the trigger on the MCE Optibay since it includes a free USB dvd case for my superdrive.

I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about defective MCE Optibays out of the box, broken superdrive enclosures, and lack of customer service/response from MCE so I'm starting to lean towards OWC, but their ship date on their bays are 2 weeks... also the OWC optibay looks a little more flimsy (though I can't really tell just by looking at it).

I was considering a cheapie eBay/Amazon Optibay, but I am not sure I trust putting one of those into an expensive new laptop :\

Any advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

dunno, the owc one has very professional quality videos, a fairly useful tool kit, and pretty competitive prices when actually ordering it w/ the hard drive... i wouldn't say that it looks flimsy, but it does seem like only two screws mount the hdd to the caddy and only on one side.. which i'd wager is entirely enough, but if it bothers you then don't get it..

i got the data doubler w/ 1tb 5400rpm drive for my media... to use in conjunction w/ my SSD on my late '11 15"... i've watched the videos a couple times and know exactly what to do, so i'll be ready for it when it arrives tomorrow. i don't want an enclosure for my optical bay, i want it safely stored away in a box somewhere i know i won't lose it, in case i need to return things to default for an applecare repair.

also, it's just a friggin' caddy, lol, how in the world would you expect a cheapo ebay one to ruin your laptop... listen to your gut, you're thinking too much heh.
 
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