[motlatsi]

I got my ibook G3 back in 2001, and together we've been around. DJ'ing dances, traveling, high school, etc., but now I'm in college and using it more than ever. I don't go a day without it, and not 5 minutes in class where I'm not typing notes.

But sadly, great things must end. The ibook's hard drive has begun to crash, and daily the head gets stuck. It started 6 months ago, but went away for a while after it took a spill off a desktop. Now the sound is back, and I think it's here with a vengeance.

Film school is intense, and requires a laptop. My question is if anyone knows if the 15 inch powermac pro will likely come out with a dual layer burner. Twice the dvd space is twice the fun, but I really don't want to have to get the most expensive macbook pro just for the bitchin' burner.

Thanks.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

It will for sure one day, nobody knows when though.

[amazing]

there's not enough height in the 15" MBP for a DL burner (which isn't to say that slimmer burners aren't being developed somewhere.) Get a 5.25" firewire case and Pioneer DL burner from newegg.com, cost about $90 plus shipping. It'll be way faster, 16X, than any superdrive.

[motlatsi]

How about down the line when Blue ray comes into play? Could I later install a different burner internally? Price?

Thank you guys.

[Bryanmc]

Originally Posted by amazing

there's not enough height in the 15" MBP for a DL burner

The 17" has one and it's the same height as the 15".

[amazing]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc

The 17" has one and it's the same height as the 15".

Internally it's not the same height where the burner has to go, the space is a fraction of an inch too short (on one of the corners afaik.) I saw that in some article or other, but can't cite chapter and verse. You can probably expect rev B to redo the internal geography to make room for it, because Apple will be needing to tout new features at that point, so as to stimulate upgrades.

By the time BlueRay becomes available for laptops (if and when) there'll probably be loads of other reasons to upgrade to a newer laptop. But if you do the external firewire case, then yes, it'll be easy to slap a newer burner into it. The current Pioneer 16X DL burner at newegg.com is around $39.

[hldan]

Originally Posted by amazing

Internally it's not the same height where the burner has to go, the space is a fraction of an inch too short (on one of the corners afaik.) I saw that in some article or other, but can't cite chapter and verse. You can probably expect rev B to redo the internal geography to make room for it, because Apple will be needing to tout new features at that point, so as to stimulate upgrades.

By the time BlueRay becomes available for laptops (if and when) there'll probably be loads of other reasons to upgrade to a newer laptop. But if you do the external firewire case, then yes, it'll be easy to slap a newer burner into it. The current Pioneer 16X DL burner at newegg.com is around $39.

Actually BlueRay is available, the Sony Vaio notebook ($3500) is the first. Right now BlueRay isn't practical for most users.

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc

The 17" has one and it's the same height as the 15".

Because of the larger case of the 17" but essentially the same motherboard as the 15", the 17" has room to accommodate a 12 mm DVD drive mechanism. The 15", on the other-hand, given the internal geometry, has room to only accommodate a 9.5 mm mechanism.

When the slimmer mechanisms are available in a DL version, you can expect Apple to add them. And I'm sure they will be for sale through third parties if you're brave enough to install it yourself.

But, as suggested above, an external drive, though not portable, will always be cheaper and faster.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by amazing

Internally it's not the same height where the burner has to go, the space is a fraction of an inch too short (on one of the corners afaik.) I saw that in some article or other, but can't cite chapter and verse. You can probably expect rev B to redo the internal geography to make room for it, because Apple will be needing to tout new features at that point, so as to stimulate upgrades.

On the 15" the new, wider trackpad overlaps the optical bay, reducing the height of the optical bay; the 17" is wide enough that this isn't a problem.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by mduell

On the 15" the new, wider trackpad overlaps the optical bay, reducing the height of the optical bay; the 17" is wide enough that this isn't a problem.

100% right on.

I'm expecting Apple to redesign the MBP case for the Merom MBPs that will probably be introduced in (late) Fall. When they do that, they'll likely make sure 12 mm optical drives fit the case. It's probably just as much of a problem for Apple as it is for us that they have to wait for new/faster drives to be released in 9.5 mm versions (wait time, availability, more expensive, etc.). Such a case redesign doesn't mean the MBP has to become thicker, they just need to find a way to keep the bay clear of the trackpad electronics.

[motlatsi]

I checked out the pioneer drive, and it looks unbeatable. Then I saw that for 10 dollars more, samsung had a comparable drive that has lightscribe.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151118

I know Apple ships with pioneer, but how does samsung compare? What about lightscribe?

THanks.


p.s.
Sorry this no longer is about the mbp, just trying to get a followup.

[Boardwalk]

Originally Posted by Cadaver

Because of the larger case of the 17" but essentially the same motherboard as the 15", the 17" has room to accommodate a 12 mm DVD drive mechanism. The 15", on the other-hand, given the internal geometry, has room to only accommodate a 9.5 mm mechanism.

When the slimmer mechanisms are available in a DL version, you can expect Apple to add them. And I'm sure they will be for sale through third parties if you're brave enough to install it yourself.

But, as suggested above, an external drive, though not portable, will always be cheaper and faster.

There are 9.5mm DL drives available, made by Matsushita. The T60 from Lenovo, and the T42/43 (14" laptops that are about the same thickness as the MPB 15") ship with them. Some people don't like Matsushita drives, though.

[unix]

umm....the thinkpads dont have slot loadin drives...r u sure matsushita makes 9.5mm slot loading DL drives?

[RevEvs]

I have a LG Burner in my PowerMac G5. It works perfectly with 10.4. Its a Dual Layer burner, you wouldnt know its not an apple approved drive as everything just works.

It cost me under �40 a while back. I thought that was very cheap!