Which "Superdrive" do I buy?

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rokrok
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
so, i am intrigued by ilife, and have just enough other reasons to burn a dvd that i am interested in installing a second, internal superdrive into my MDD g4. i want it to work with idvd.



so which one do i buy? and can any correct drive mechanism work, or does it need to be an apple rom as well?



thanks for anyone who can clarify.



p.s. i have heard that the lower bay in the mdd cannot take a full height optical drive, but i would not be opposed to either switching the current cd-rw down to that bay, or removing the cd-rw into an external firewire drive and replacing it with the superdrive.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    altivec_2.0altivec_2.0 Posts: 995member
    If you have a MMD you can have a DVD-RW drive in it. I've heard apple uses pioneer drives. might want to check them out.
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  • Reply 2 of 5
    bobwbobw Posts: 49member
    You need to get the Pioneer DVR-106 0r A06, both the same drive, which is the same as Apple uses and is compatible with all Apple iApps.

    This drive is for OS X, if you'll be using OS 9, get the 105 model.



    http://www.esbuy.com had it the cheapest.
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  • Reply 3 of 5
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bobw

    You need to get the Pioneer DVR-106 0r A06, both the same drive, which is the same as Apple uses and is compatible with all Apple iApps.

    This drive is for OS X, if you'll be using OS 9, get the 105 model.



    http://www.esbuy.com had it the cheapest.



    thanks! i was wondering about the model numbers (106 vs. A06). muchos graçias on the URL, too.



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  • Reply 4 of 5
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Check out www.xlr8yourmac.com for user reviews on drive mechanisms and a usefull compatability database. You'll be able to get feedback from users who have installed the various SuperDrives available and any problems that they have encountered - together with solutions and workarounds.



    The second bay in the MDD G4 does accomodate full height drive - I know because I used to have one, and I installed a second drive mechanism. The only thing you need to watch is the LENGTH of the drive - but I don't think you should have any problems in this regard.



    My choice would be the DVR-106, which is the latest version of the Pioneer mechanism, and it can be found in the current SuperDrive iMacs and some of the G5s. In theory it should just slot in, as the drivers are already built into Mac OS X. Again go for the 105 if you're still using OS 9.



    I think that the DVR-106 is the OEM mechanism (supplied to hardware manufacturers such as Apple and Dell), whilst the DVR-A06 is the boxed retail version. I'd double check this though.



    The DVR-106 supports both the "-" and "+" media standards in Panther, or just the "-" standards in OS 9.
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  • Reply 5 of 5
    kennethkenneth Posts: 832member
    The MDD (FW800) ships with either of them;

    a) Pioneer/Superdrive/DVR-105PB/cs

    b) Sony/DW-U10A/cs



    The PowerMac G5 ships with either of them;

    a) Pioneer/DVR-106/cs

    b) Sony/DW-U10A/cs



    cs stands for cable select.



    According to Apple, Optical Drive Dimensions



    When adding a second optical drive to a Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors) computer, it must not exceed these dimensions:



    Width: 148 mm

    Height: 42 mm

    Length:198 mm



    BTW, are all OEM SuperDrive come in back?
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