Replacing CD burner in new MacPro

H

HKC

Logician
Hi I have one of the new(ish) MacPros, it is from the current line. Like a few others I am very tired of the CD/DVD burner and want to replace it with one that doesn't make coasters out of every second 8.5 GB DVD and one that can write CD text for clients who want that.
Which one should I buy, I need solved asap
 
If your Mac Pro is 2009 or later, then the optical bays use SATA, so you can start here.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/superdrive/Apple_Mac_Pro

Or grab just about any SATA DVD-R drive from Newegg, Amazon, etc.

I've always gone with Pioneer DVD burners, and they've worked perfectly on the Mac, but xlr8yourmac.com reports favor LG if you want to try a Blu-ray burner (which will also burn DVD and CD). The difference in price is much better lately, $30 vs $80 or so.

The previous generation Mac Pro (2006-2008) used IDE/ATAPI in the optical bays. So it's crucial to be sure of your model before buying, if you want an easy install. While the older Mac Pro does have 2 extra SATA ports on the motherboard, they can be tricky to access and they don't work if you ever boot into Windows.
 
Thanks
Mine is from the current line which is around 2 years old which again means 2010. I was worrying if the hole in the front where the disc goes in would fit all players, are you sure they do.
Luckily I'm going on holiday this Sunday and 3 weeks on and by that time I should be able to have the burner delivered.
I simply don't understand why Apple's standard drive is such a poor one. The machine costs an arm and a leg. Since I already decided that it's worth that I wouldn't
have minded paying an additional 10 dollars for a better drive.....
 
Hmm I have googled for hours now and very few burners are Mac compatible according to specs. Is this just because the market is small in comparison with Windows so brands simply omit to mention it or are there not that many models.
Also companies like LG have a model called LG GH24LS70 and another one called LG GH24NS70. Does anybody know what the difference is. I live in EU so if anybody over here has an exact model that they are happy with please chip in. Maybe even the place to order it :)
 
The drive in my 2008 Mac Pro (a Pioneer) is working fine. Who knows? They have to source these probably months before production. That said, I don't think I've ever had a slot-loading optical drive last more than a year in any iMac, Powerbook or MBP. Hate those things.

I've never had a problem with any drive fitting the front cut-out of the Mac Pro case. If you watch the video at OWC, it probably covers removing the perpendicular front plate of the drive tray. It's a pretty-easy snap off. They all seem meant to do this.

I'm not aware of any optical drives that claim Mac compatibility, just like hard drives. They all use standard protocols, as far as I know. The most common issues that seem to come up are drives disappearing when the Mac sleeps, or specific things like that. A reboot will fix it. Or, as I said, check the reports on xlr8yourmac.com. This is where the LG Blu-ray drive beats Pioneer's (and others).

To compare drive models, I'll usually hit newegg.com, since they carry most. Numbers usually indicate progression in features/speed/time. Letters often just indicate color, internal/external, or even simply OEM vs retail versions.
 
It may not be exactly what you are looking for, but I use an external LG Drive with my Macs, the model is BE12LU30. It has USB and E-SATA connections and has so far worked fine.

kind regards

Mark
 
Thanks again
There are a few models on ie the LG homepage that claims Mac compatibility which is what confused me. I think I will just go with the LG from xlr8yourmac.com. although I'm not quite sure where to find that shootout but I probably haven't looked closely enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top