[P]

Hi,

I'm considering replacing the DVD-RW drive in my iMac G5 (Rev A) with a better unit, preferably 16X DL (mainly because I'm going to buy an optical drive for another computer anyway, and might as well switch them around a bit). Does anyone have any recommendations for a good drive that has been confirmed in the iMac, works with Toast and Disk Utility, etc?

[mduell]

I don't think there are any 16x DL DVD burners in the slim form factor that the iMac needs; also, even the slim 8x DL DVD burners are rather pricey (~$100+) for their speed.

I'd recommend getting a Pioneer DVD-110D ($40, fastest burner on the market, works natively with OSX) and a Firewire or USB2 enclosure (~$40). Faster, cheaper, and this way you can copy disks from your internal drive to a blank in your external drive without needing to copy the disk to your hard drive first.

[brokenjago]

I always hated the idea of external enclosures.

Why add any bulky crap to an already beautiful design?
I dunno.

[italiano]

I added a DVR-109 (firewire case) to my Imac G5 because the ones in the Imac's are slow and finicky about the media you use - I burned loads of coasters - my external Pioneer is dual layer and fast and NEVER A COASTER. Apple sent me a replacement superdrive for mine cause I bitched so much (DIY replacement) - the new one is the same crappy Matshita and no better than the original - I use VERBATIM in it now but my Pioneer burns any media sweeeeet.

[P]

I don't have a problem with my drive, other than the fact that some 4x media only burns at 2x but I know which brands to get now (Maxell and Ritek RiDisc) as well as which not to (Princo). I understand that the drive in the Rev B is much pickier. No, the issue is that I'm (most likely, anyway) going to build myself a PC, and I'd like slotloader in it for various reasons. If I'm getting a new slotloader drive, I might as well think about putting it in the iMac since that is going to be my main computer and switch the stuff around.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by P

I don't have a problem with my drive, other than the fact that some 4x media only burns at 2x but I know which brands to get now (Maxell and Ritek RiDisc) as well as which not to (Princo). I understand that the drive in the Rev B is much pickier. No, the issue is that I'm (most likely, anyway) going to build myself a PC, and I'd like slotloader in it for various reasons. If I'm getting a new slotloader drive, I might as well think about putting it in the iMac since that is going to be my main computer and switch the stuff around.

Most PC cases (including most of the low-profile ones) use full size 5.25" drives, whereas the iMac uses a slim 5.25" drive (the type usually found in laptops), so you won't really have the swapability that you'd like.
You could put a slot loading full size drive in an external enclosure for now, put that drive in the PC later, and find a new use for the enclosure later. The problems with slot loading drives is that they are expensive, slow, and noisy.

[P]

Originally Posted by mduell

Most PC cases (including most of the low-profile ones) use full size 5.25" drives, whereas the iMac uses a slim 5.25" drive (the type usually found in laptops), so you won't really have the swapability that you'd like.
You could put a slot loading full size drive in an external enclosure for now, put that drive in the PC later, and find a new use for the enclosure later. The problems with slot loading drives is that they are expensive, slow, and noisy.

Where's the fun in building a computer if you use an existing case?

I haven't really decided what to do, but with SATA you can have fairly long cables. One idea was to put the motherboard and graphics (on a riser, so folded parallell to each other. X800 GTOs run cool enough to do that) along with the HD in a small box somewhere out of sight - possibly inside the desk if I can get some airflow going - leave the powersupply outside and just run a long cable to the optical drive somewhere closer to the keyboard and mouse. I know that the drive in the iMac is slim, so I thought I could fit it somewhere close. And I like slotloaders, so I thought I'd fire off a question into the air and see what came back.