[Thade]

Hi all. I have an iMac DV 512 RAM & OSX 10.1.5. I'm a long time PC user & the iMac (2years old) was my 1st mac. I'm getting a powermac soon but even the "super drive" specs are slow compared to my 40x lite-on cdrw $62.00. I'd like to get an external FW enclosure(75.00) & use it for addl. hard drive & experimenting with cd burning on the iMac. If it works, it will still caome in handy with the powermac. Is an ide cdrw mac compatable in this type of enclosure? Can anyone recommend a better or cheaper FW case?

TIA

Thade

http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage....145-306-06.jpg

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...14&order=1

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

Lite-On has become my favorite brand of CD-R. Every one I've owned works flawlessly with the Mac, and usually they are much cheaper than other brands, yet rated just highly.

I use a Lite-On 32x10x40x currently in a Firewire case, as well as have owned and/or used 12x, 16x, 24x models, all excellent trouble-free results.

I would check the actual model # of your burner, and make sure you use Apple's Disk Recording Update 1.3.5.

Apple lists thier CD-RW compatibity here. (By the way, this chart illustrates the folly of thinking that the stencil brand-name on the bevel of an external device has anything to do with the actual mech inside, hence why it's just as preferable to put your own externals together using your mech and case of choice. )

According to this, iTunes (and presumably Disk Burner,etc.) works with the 40x Lite-On model # 401245S. Check and see if that's the one you have. In my own experience, I've yet to find a Lite-On model that doesn't work with a Mac, but check to be certain the latest updates cover your model. I've found that this list doesn't list every single Mac compatible mech, they basically cater to the stencilers, not the mech-makers themselves. I'm not sure where (or if) there is a list of all the *actual* mechs that OS9/X is compatible with, but it's much longer than this one.

Also, if you use Toast, check that the lastest update supports the model you have as well.

[Thade]

Kewl, Thanks for all the info. I already have the Burner & it IS the S model 40x. I agree that Lite-On is the best. I have several on PC's & never a problem. Any recommendation for a Fire Wire Case/Enclosure?


Thade

[tooki]

I haven't heard of any FireWire cases that don't work on a Mac, so you're probably fine with that one (and $75 is a great price).

tooki

[CIA]

Are you guys actually getting 40x Speeds out of these burners? I've seen up to 48X burners, but didn't want to take the plunge and buy one because I figured in "Real World" use it would max out at like 32x or so....
What's the scoop?

And if you are getting these speeds, do the CD's play back in any CDrom or Audio CD player? 80Min of Audio burned to CD-R in 90 seconds sounds really nice!

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

32x works okay for me. I know plenty of people who use up to 48x with no problems. (At least with PCs).

I have to say though, the write speeds are getting a bit rediculous. I sell CD-RWs to clients at times, and lately I've taken to not recommending 'the faster the better' type stuff. When possible, I recommend to people to get a deal on an 'older' 16x-24x CD-RW (Which can be had for a song these days) rather than blow a big roll on the faster ones. A lot of people I tend to work with and sell to need backups or to make master copies of things, rather than just burn it fast and forget the quality of the data.



Personally -and maybe I'm wrong- I don't like burning data I *really* need to keep at anything higher than about 16x-24x. I just get the feeling that it'll mangle some critical data at speeds above those and later when I need to retrieve it -relying on a CD as a backup- I'll find out that the burn wasn't 'deep pitted' enough to last very long. Like I say, maybe I'm wrong in that thinking, but better safe than sorry is my feeling.

I burn at the full 32x just when I want to throw some data on a CD real quick, but not worry about it lasting for any length of time.

Audio CDs I still have the habit of burning at from 12x to 16x and not higher. I just don't trust audio burned at 32x (and certainly not 48x) to last all that long without skips or the disk just 'crapping out' too quickly.

CD-R speed seems to be another of those 'jack up the numbers' to keep prices up things.