Superdrive - anything but super.

[mongoos150]

I'm very dissapointed Apple has not stepped it up on the optical drive - I mean come on, 24x cd write speeds?! 2.4x for Dual Layer DVDs?! This is insane! The drive should write AT LEAST at 48x! I don't know what's going on, the drive does not live up to its name in the least. Here are specs from a mid-level NEC dual layer drive that's equipped in many PC boxes. We need something like this. I'm pretty disgusted.

o DVD-RW: 6x max.
o DVD +R: 16x max.
o DVD-R: 16x max.
o DVD +RW: 8x max.
o DVD Dual Layer: 8x max.
o DVD-R Dual Layer: 6x
o CD-R: 48x max
o CD-RW: 32x max
Yes, these are WRITE speeds.

 

[pcguru83]

I definitely agree. That's the one BIG downside about my Mini that drives me up the wall. I'm a switcher from a PC that I was using that had a 16x DVD burner in it, and burning DVDs now is definitely a test of my patience!

Most certainly though, it's all aesthetic. If they added faster writing drives, it would increase the thickness of the laptop. I don't believe there are slot loading drives in the form factor that the current Macs use that are up to the 16x write speed.

 

[KevKaos]

I definitely agree. That's the one BIG downside about my Mini that drives me up the wall. I'm a switcher from a PC that I was using that had a 16x DVD burner in it, and burning DVDs now is definitely a test of my patience!

Most certainly though, it's all aesthetic. If they added faster writing drives, it would increase the thickness of the laptop. I don't believe there are slot loading drives in the form factor that the current Macs use that are up to the 16x write speed.

OK, I'll admit that I am pretty clueless about this, and I don't have an iMac yet, but can you buy faster external dvd writers if someone were willing to spend some cash?

 

[fall3n]

I'll definatly agree to this one. My Dual Layer Sony DVD R/RW write faster then this. I believe it's 16x dvd r and 48x cd r and i got it for 30 bux! Surely Apple can compete with the amount we pay for these things. It doesn't make much sense why they don't have the latest fastest drives as they are all so cheap now anyway.

 

[aquajet]

What you fail to aknowledge is that Apple uses slot-loading drives, which lag behind tray-loading drives used in a typical PC, for all their machines except the Mac Pro. It's a compromise.

 

[fall3n]

What you fail to aknowledge is that Apple uses slot-loading drives, which lag behind tray-loading drives used in a typical PC, for all their machines except the Mac Pro. It's a compromise.

Ah, good point. It doesn't bother me the least as I rarely ever do burning, but it did make me wonder. Thanks for the info.

 

[vanzskater272]

I think that the slot-loading drives are worth the bad write speeds

 

[mongoos150]

OK, I'll admit that I am pretty clueless about this, and I don't have an iMac yet, but can you buy faster external dvd writers if someone were willing to spend some cash?

Of course you can. We shouldn't have to buy an external drive for our iMacs though - one of the big sell points of the iMac is that it is all contained! If I have to buy an external drive to get decent write speeds, Apple might as well not include a "superdrive" to begin with! Their drives are unacceptable - we shouldn't have to be forced to buy an external drive to keep up with the rest of the WORLD's disc write speeds.

 

[rifkarachman]

and to add all of the above,

i got a dvd stuck in my superdrive..
bummer..

 

[mongoos150]

Reboot, hold down mouse button.

 

[chibianh]

Of course you can. We shouldn't have to buy an external drive for our iMacs though - one of the big sell points of the iMac is that it is all contained! If I have to buy an external drive to get decent write speeds, Apple might as well not include a "superdrive" to begin with! Their drives are unacceptable - we shouldn't have to be forced to buy an external drive to keep up with the rest of the WORLD's disc write speeds.

I'll agree with you IF there are slot loading drives available with the write speeds you want. But if no one makes slot loading drives at those speeds, how can Apple use them? Would you rather have a tray loading iMac?

 

[SkyBell]

x24 write speed?

geez, I got a computer with Windows 95 with a CD Drive at x48...