Combo VS. Super Drive?

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  • Reply 21 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mattjohndrow

    i would get the SD if i were you



    I would not anymore Well, i am a proud owner of that dreammachine (pb 12" 1GHz/ Superdrive). But if i had to decide one more time, i'd rather choose combo. Why? Superdrive sucks more power. Plain and simple.



    Now, that is my very point of view: The rare cases i actually used dvd burning cap. is/was not worth the investment. I'd rather buy an additional firewire gadget. Especially it is much faster than any internal drive.



    I just read this:



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    ..., but at this point I don't think it's worth the $200 he'd spend on it, especially if he has to choose between a Superdrive and extra RAM. If you have to choose between those two, you should absolutely go with the RAM.



    and i have to say: absolutely.



    my 2c

    take a combo and ad one external IF and WHEN your need becomes true
  • Reply 22 of 35
    Audio files can get HUGE. I would definately love the room on DVD-R's for massive audio files.

    Plus backing up on DVD's is the bee's knees.
  • Reply 23 of 35
    As a general rule, always buy the top-of-the-line machine that you can afford. It will be useful to you that much longer.

    You may not NEED a superdrive right now... but who knows what you'll want a year from now ? IF the money is not that big of a deal to you, go ahead and get the SD.

    $200 bucks now might might add a year to the "useful life" of the machine.... seems like a decent investment.
  • Reply 24 of 35
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    Backing up on DVD is God send.



    Super drive's CD-burning is slower than the "pure" CD writer, though
  • Reply 25 of 35
    Oh, and by the way, in case you're thinking about a laptop. For audio work, you WILL need an external hard drive. No question. The laptop drives just aren't fast enough. You can't even BTO the 5400 RPM drive on the 12", if that's what you're looking at.



    That may figure into the backing up decision.
  • Reply 26 of 35
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Okay, since so many people seem to swear by DVD backups, what's the reason you would not rather get a 250Gb Firewire hard disk?

    Especially since it's so easy to script OS X to backup all your stuff on the Firewire drive once a week, never having to lift a finger for this to happen.
  • Reply 27 of 35
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    There are various advantages and disadvantages to getting a Firewire hard drive. First, the benefits over a DVD burner:



    1. Everything is kept in one place, so it's easy to access. No need for labeling, storing the discs, or hunting around for the right one.

    2. The hard drive is faster to read and write the data. A DVD-R will have to spin up and then seek around to access the data, and to write, you have to get out a whole new disc and burn it, which can take a while. Fine for backups, not good for overflow storage.

    3. The hard drive can store files as large as the hard drive's capacity. If you want to bring a 9 or 10 GB file around, you can. With the DVDs, you have to make sure any files you want to burn are under 4.4 GB.

    4. The hard drive can serve as an alternate boot device. You can connect it and boot from it, and it will make performance much better because you'll be running from a 7200 RPM drive instead of the internal 4200 RPM drive, which can REALLY hamper performance.



    Then the disadvantages:

    1. A DVD burner will allow unlimited storage. If you need to store more data, just buy more DVD-Rs. The hard drive is limited to the hard drive's size. Although you could take the actual hard drive out of the case and replace it, it would be nearly as cost effective to just buy a new drive.

    2. A DVD burner lets you carry individual DVDs around, each carrying 4.4 GB. The DVDs are small and very portable, so unless you want to carry a huge amount of data at once, they are more portable. Plus, if you're on the go, all you need in order to back up, transfer, or share 4.4 GB of files is your computer and a single blank disc. No need to carry around a big external hard drive (even if it can hold all your data at once).



    Basically, if you want to only do backups, a superdrive might be the better option. If you want to actually work with the external drive and keep data there for easy retrievel, get a hard drive. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages and choose whichever might fit your needs better. Also, although you can theoretically upgrade to an internal Superdrive later, it is very expensive. On the other hand, you can always buy an external hard drive.
  • Reply 28 of 35
    Technology is changing, it's just a matter of time before DVD's become the norm, even for music.



    Artists can put more stuff on a DVD for the same price as a CD, add a video for instance.



    Soon CD players will also play DVD's and the emergence of iPods will also require car stereos to have a input jack on front.



    So if your considering buying a Mac for the next several years and or wish to resell it. Get the superdrive, your not going to notice the slightly slower speed, but your going to miss burning a DVD.



    Especially when you amass a large music collection. I have 5,000 songs on just 5 DVD's. It would take hundreds of c.d.'s to do the same.





    If your tight on cash and plan to keep the Mac for only a short time, then consider a used Mac and forgo the superdrive.
  • Reply 29 of 35
    Yes get an external drive, preferably this one.
  • Reply 30 of 35
    I joined the SuperDrive bandwagon few weeks ago. It was the greatest thing on my Mac now. I have a total of 320GB storage (2x120GB +80GB). I was running out of space lately. Hard drive is cheap nowadays, but I rather spend the cash on a SuperDrive and media.



    My setup:

    DP PowerMac G4 1.25 (FW800)

    1280MB of RAM

    Mac OS X 10.3.2

    AirPort Extreme

    Televio TV PCI card

    stock Combo drive from Philips (<-- this combo sucks)

    Pioneer DVR-106D (got it for $125)
  • Reply 31 of 35
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    does iDVD work with after market burners?

    i heard that it works only with super drive from the factory and no add-ins or externals is that true?
  • Reply 32 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    does iDVD work with after market burners?

    i heard that it works only with super drive from the factory and no add-ins or externals is that true?




    Internal only.



    I've seen "hacks" that try to get iDVD working on externals, but I have no idea how reliable they are.
  • Reply 33 of 35
    You can get a Lacie 8x firewire superdrive for $249 and it comes with Toast Titanium.
  • Reply 34 of 35
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    I think if you get one of the models that Apple uses in their desktops, you'll be able to use it just like an internal superdrive. I don't think iDVD can tell the difference between an Apple-supplied Pioneer DVR-106 and a NewEgg-supplied Pioneer DVR-106. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.



    All this talk has actually made me somewhat interested in a Superdrive. Come to think of it, I do keep a lot of stuff, much of which I don't look at that often. I have ripped many of my Babylon 5 episodes to AVI files. Normally I just watch the DVDs, but sometimes it helps to have the actual standalone files on hand - at about 450 MB an episode, that's nine or ten episodes I can store on a single DVD, meaning I can put an entire season on three DVDs. Maybe buying one will reduce my desire to keep buying more hard drive space - I have 2x80 GB and even that seems to be running out. Upgrading my hard drives to keep up will cost quite a lot and involve a lot of hassle, so I might just think about dropping the cash for a DVD±RW drive once my next paycheck rolls around. Or maybe I'll wait a few months to get one - by then I can probably get an 8x or 16x that is Mac-compatible.
  • Reply 35 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gon

    Okay, since so many people seem to swear by DVD backups, what's the reason you would not rather get a 250Gb Firewire hard disk?

    Especially since it's so easy to script OS X to backup all your stuff on the Firewire drive once a week, never having to lift a finger for this to happen.




    Hard drives can and do fail. I think a good back up strategy includes both hard drive and CD/DVD copies.
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