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DarwinOSX

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 3, 2009
1,660
194
I know a lot of people use these instead of the much more expensive Apple drive so here's a good price on one.

http://bit.ly/gHITG7

Samsung Slim 8x Dual Layer External USB DVD Burner
newegg.com offers the Samsung Slim 8x Dual Layer External USB 2.0 DVD Burner in Black, model no. SE-S084F, for $36.99. Coupon code "Sam7off" cuts it to $29.99. With free shipping, that's the lowest total price we could find by $9. This USB-powered DVD drive burns DVD+/-R at 8x, DVD-RW media at 6x, DVD+RW media at 8x, DVD-RAM media at 5x, CD-R media at 24x, and CD-RW media at 16x. Offer ends February 18.
 
Wow thanks so much! I was going to buy this exact same one off amazon yesterday for about $50.00 with tax included. Im glad I waited. It has a lot of very good reviews. Thanks again..:)
 
I ordered the LiteOn one. Same price after coupon code, and it seems to have better reviews.
 
I ordered the LiteOn one. Same price after coupon code, and it seems to have better reviews.

Here is the link to this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106337

I don't know if you have poor reading comprehension skills or what, but all the reviews I read said that this drive is flaky with anything but the supplied USB cable, which is less than 1 foot long.

I'd rather use the Samsung even though it takes both USB ports when burning than use something that has problems based on a cable.
 
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Bought yesterday

I took the plunge yesterday and bought it from Amazon for about $45.

I would've waited, but I ordered my Macbook 13'' Ultimate and wanted them to arrive together which is by tomorrow.
 
2 USBs ports needed?

Here's a review I just read for it:

Strength:
- portability
- no additional power adapters required (powered via USB)
- light weight for traveling

Weakness:
- no DOS drivers included on CD or website
- requires two USB ports (next to each other) when burning

Can anyone confirm this? If so, it's a no go for me.
 
Too bad about needing 2 USB ports -- that could have been sweet for the MBA crowd.
 
People on the Amazon reviews say you don't need two ports. Even though I posted this price I bought the Apple drive at $75 from B&H just to avoid any issues.

Here's a review I just read for it:

Strength:
- portability
- no additional power adapters required (powered via USB)
- light weight for traveling

Weakness:
- no DOS drivers included on CD or website
- requires two USB ports (next to each other) when burning

Can anyone confirm this? If so, it's a no go for me.
 
the lite-on looks sweet but im worried since it uses 2 usb ports that it wont reach both usb ports on my 11 inch air. there is only 1 usb on either side so it would have span all the way across to the other side.
 
the lite-on looks sweet but im worried since it uses 2 usb ports that it wont reach both usb ports on my 11 inch air. there is only 1 usb on either side so it would have span all the way across to the other side.

The reason I pulled the trigger on that drive was actually one review from a 2010 MBA user. He said that while the drive comes with a Y-shaped USB cable with a connector for a 2nd USB port, the MBA can power the drive with one USB port just fine. I think whether a drive requires one or two USB ports depends on the computer. I guess the MBA's USB port provides enough power for most DVD drives, since DVD drives probably don't really differ that much in terms of power requirements.
 
I have a very similar drive to this, also a Samsung, also came with a Y cable. I only need to plug it into one USB port on the MBA, and it works just fine, burns too. The MBA supplies enough power.

Cheap, and reliable. I haven't had any problems. I also use it on my Dell XT tablet (which doesn't have an internal optical drive either).
 
I got my Lite On drive today (very fast shipping). The drive works fine with only one USB port on the 11" Air. I've successfully ripped a DVD using Mactheripper already (in about half the time it was taking on my old uMBP's superdrive). I wrote about it a little bit more (not really much to say about a DVD drive though..) in my blog as well (in the sig).
 
can anyone confirm that the samsung slim drive is fully function using only one usb port?
 
www.newegg.com has a president's day email flyer with a 15% promo code for the next 72 hours...
EMCKHJB224

I also have the LG slim DVDRW and even with its "dual cables included I only need one to make the unit work with any laptop or netbook I've ever used it with...

I had gotten it from newegg for $43 shipped so I don't know why the price is where its at now and it also works fine under OSX.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136179
 
Coolie. This is a great money saver. I don’t need a drive that much, but there have a been a couple of occasions already when I could have used one.
 
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