Should I spend the extra for a super drive?

WeeZer51402

WeeZer51402

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I'm getting a new powerbook for school next year and I plan on getting the 15" with 1.67Ghz G4. I'd like to upgrade the HDD to 100Gb but it gets a bit costly even with my $200 student discound. I can save $135 by downgrading the superdrive to a combo drive but I have my reservations about doing so. I don't burn DVD's that much but I'm still having trouble deciding. Anybody have any thoughts?
 
If you've got another computer with a DVD burner in it, then I guess just ask yourself if you'll ever "miss" having the ability to burn a DVD on-the-go, and whether or not you'll be carrying around blank DVDs along with the computer.

I would save the money if it were me, but you never know -- some people need DVD authoring on the road.

If this will be the only computer you own, then I would definitely get the SuperDrive.
 
^^ Agreed. :)

Since my Mac Mini was a gift; it is the stock 1.42Ghz model, no superdrive. I sit and play with the themes in iDVD :(.
 
Keep in mind that external SuperDrives don't cost much more than $135, so you could always add one later. Plus, IMO, external drives are better because A) you'll be able to use it on future machines, B) you'll have it in addition to your Combo drive, and C) I don't think Apple uses the fastest drives on the market (or has this changed? I might not be up to date).

Of course, it won't really be portable, but...do you really think you'll need to do a lot of DVD-burning on the go?
 
I just remembered: I don't think iDVD will acknowledge external drives. Unless Apple has changed this boneheaded policy of theirs. Anyone have up-to-date info on this?
 
External drive all the way. From my experience, the internal slot loading drives have a much shorter life-span than external ones, and are generally a bit slower anyway. That said, i don't use iDVD so i don't know whether Mikuro is right or not.
 
I would prefer a mobile computer to be fully equipped and still mobil. Having an external drive would decrease my mobility and I would probably end up leaving it at home. True, external drives are better, but how much do I expected from such a drive when I am on the road? Just to burn a DVD if and when it's needed. Speed and media compatibility wouldn't matter to me.
So, I would definitely pick the superdrive even if I had a much better DVD-burner at home. You will never know if there wouldn't be a situation where you have to move or store big files..
 
I just remembered: I don't think iDVD will acknowledge external drives. Unless Apple has changed this boneheaded policy of theirs. Anyone have up-to-date info on this?
Click to expand...

Maybe you should try patchburn4 then. It is a program which, according to my knowledge, makes an entry in the "Drives which are supported by Apple" database in OSX. So, you should be able to use your external drive with the finder CD burning feature and Apple's iapps.

Otherwise, I am sure iDVD lets you create an image of your creation so that you can burn it with Toast etc.
 
My advice would be to spend the extra.
Whilst right now you don't burn many dvd's, who knows what you may require in two years time.....
Get it all done at once and save all the hassle later.
Very useful for backing up too, as well.
 
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