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windowsforeyes
2005-07-16, 11:31
I read on another post that a good external DVD burner can be purchased for around $50 - which one would you recommend? I'm getting a 12" iBook & would like a DVD burner as well. Thanks!
Wyatt
2005-07-16, 12:25
I read on another post that a good external DVD burner can be purchased for around $50 - which one would you recommend? I'm getting a 12" iBook & would like a DVD burner as well. Thanks!
Internal burners can be bought for $50, but external drives are much more expensive. The cheapest way to go is to buy an internal drive with an external enclosure. You're still looking at spending $90 or more, I would think.
flail
2005-07-16, 13:31
nah, $50 is doable, watch the weekend tech ads for a $9.99 burner (I've seen dual format for this price), then head over to pricewatch and cruise the 3.5 inch case deals.

I know you can pick one up for between $30 and $40 probably cheaper if you look.
Luca
2005-07-16, 13:35
That's 5.25" cases. 3.5" cases are for hard drives only. Optical drives need 5.25".
flail
2005-07-16, 13:38
That's 5.25" cases. 3.5" cases are for hard drives only. Optical drives need 5.25".

AAhhh, I'm freaking out. Yeah, you want 5.25". Sorry. :o

Here's an example (http://www.coolerexpress.com/by3exen.html)
$25 for USB 2 and $36 for firewire.
Wyatt
2005-07-16, 14:15
nah, $50 is doable, watch the weekend tech ads for a $9.99 burner (I've seen dual format for this price), then head over to pricewatch and cruise the 3.5 inch case deals.

I know you can pick one up for between $30 and $40 probably cheaper if you look.
Wow... not that I'm in the market for a new burner, but out of curiosity, where was that 9.99 burner? That's crazy cheap!
flail
2005-07-16, 17:56
Office Max, Best Buy, Office Depot or Circuit City, I've actually seen them a lot. They usually have rebates though, which are a pain in the ass.
windowsforeyes
2005-07-16, 18:05
is there a particular brand that i should look for, or do they all work about the same?
flail
2005-07-16, 18:46
You know, to get a name brand you're going to pay more obviously, and yes, it probably would be more reliable. Honestly, I would trust a $10 drive at one of those places, but thats just me.

Oh, what I really would get would be one of those new LightScribe burners--those are most definitely teh sweet.
hyperb0le
2005-07-17, 12:43
Oh, what I really would get would be one of those new LightScribe burners--those are most definitely teh sweet.

Yep. I know this is out of the OP's price range, but the LaCie d2 DVD+/-RW burner (http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10548) is really sweet. Full iLife (including iDVD) integration + lightscribe (although I haven't been able to find any lightscribe-compatible dvd-r discs - only CD-R :/)
newmacuser
2005-07-19, 15:30
I have a NEC 3520 in an external case for my desktop pc. I plugged it into my iBook via the usb, and OS X recognized it right away. All the DVD programs on the mac also seemed to like it. Itunes even showed I could burn from it. The NEC is a great buy at Newegg, even though it doen't list it as mac compatable, it SEEMS to be ok. Have yet to try to burn though.
709
2005-07-19, 15:43
FWIW, for the next few hours you can pick up a DVR-109 (dual-layer) at Newgg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827129161&CMP=BAC-dealmac&ATT=DVR-109BK) for under $50 bucks shipped. Get an enclosure like one of those mentioned above (or this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817146607) one) and you're set. I just ordered 2. :)