Cd/dvd drive recommendations

[Tidy]

Hi - recently bought a new iMac (exciting times as my previous one was rather old!) however went to load a cd into iTunes and duh! No cd/dvd drive! Which accessory do people recommend? The Apple one gets terrible reviews for being expensive and very slow. I don’t want to spend a fortune as I only use it occasionally for loading cds (don’t laugh - I know I’m old school!) and maybe burning cd/DVDs. Really appreciate your advice.

 

[Fishrrman]

There are plenty of external USB DVD/CD drives out there.
Very reasonably priced.
You DON'T need to pay extra for the Apple SuperDrive, in fact I would suggest you avoid it.

I would suggest you take a little time and investigate several drives.
The reason is that =some drives= (not all) require a "double USB connection" in order to have sufficient power. That means they come with a "y-cable" (2 USB connectors on the Mac end, 1 on the drive end) that pulls enough power from the Mac to run the drive.
Read the user reviews carefully to find out if a drive needs this or not.
The drive I have (Samsung 506 series) does not (but it's no longer made).

 

[jzuena]

As Fisherman says, some externals need two USB ports. I got a cheap one from Amazon that was sized just right for my 2009 mini, which I still use with my iMac. According to System Information it has a Vendor ID of "ASMedia Technology Inc." It is a combination Blu-ray reader/DVD burner and has worked fine reading CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as writing CDs and DVDs. I have used it without the second USB port plugged in, so maybe it only needs the extra power when burning. Now I have a new USB 3 hub with two power-only ports so I have the second USB plugged into one of those. If you read reviews online, just look for drives where users have said they have had success using it with a Mac. There should e lots to choose from.

 

[Tidy]

Many thanks

There are plenty of external USB DVD/CD drives out there.
Very reasonably priced.
You DON'T need to pay extra for the Apple SuperDrive, in fact I would suggest you avoid it.

I would suggest you take a little time and investigate several drives.
The reason is that =some drives= (not all) require a "double USB connection" in order to have sufficient power. That means they come with a "y-cable" (2 USB connectors on the Mac end, 1 on the drive end) that pulls enough power from the Mac to run the drive.
Read the user reviews carefully to find out if a drive needs this or not.
The drive I have (Samsung 506 series) does not (but it's no longer made).

[doublepost=1522178623][/doublepost]Many thanks

As Fisherman says, some externals need two USB ports. I got a cheap one from Amazon that was sized just right for my 2009 mini, which I still use with my iMac. According to System Information it has a Vendor ID of "ASMedia Technology Inc." It is a combination Blu-ray reader/DVD burner and has worked fine reading CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as writing CDs and DVDs. I have used it without the second USB port plugged in, so maybe it only needs the extra power when burning. Now I have a new USB 3 hub with two power-only ports so I have the second USB plugged into one of those. If you read reviews online, just look for drives where users have said they have had success using it with a Mac. There should e lots to choose from.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

lol no DVDs since 2012 thought ther word would have gotten round in six years!

I got a cheap Samsung optical drive and it has dual USB connectors so make sure you ha ve the ports or a dock.

 

[Ifti]

I have an Apple Superdrive - which I have had for years and never used it!!! Keep meaning to sell it but cant be bothered!
If I was to buy one now, I'd go for a generic Samsung, as mentioned above.