Mac Mini Optical Drives - What works?

I am contemplating the purchase of a Mac Mini (2.5 GHz) to replace my presently dead iMac (2006-07 model, white plastic case, Intel Core2 Duo, 2.33 GHz). It won't boot up and has the panic message right before the curtain comes down and it asks for a restart.

I noticed that the new Mini's don't include an optical drive. I assume this is to keep us chained to the Mac App Store as indentured servants. They'll gladly sell me a SuperDrive to enable use of CD's and DVD's, but what I want to know is, will any external CD/DVD drive work with the new Mini's? I'm thinking that they may even be a bit more reliable due to being less miniaturized.

Thoughts, comments, and suggestions, please. And please make it quick -- my appointment with the Apple Store Genius Bar is tomorrow, Saturday 2/18/12.

Thanks!

I got the Superdrive for mine and it has worked great. I use it as my DVD player as well as to rip my CDs into iTunes. Will another drive work? As long as it is compatible with OSX.

The Mini has the same warranty as all other Apple products and you can get Applecare for it as well.

If you have a nice monitor (i am using my 32" HDTV via HDMI) for mine, then the Mini is a great addition. Mine is being a media/airplay server and do a kick **** job.

When you head to the apple store, make sure you have a good understanding of what you want out of a PC. that will make it easier to know which will fit your needs best.

I will recommend you upgrade to the i7 chip - you can always upgrade Memory and Hard drive.

Thanks, Deckyon. I was planning on the i7 version of the Mini. I just re-checked the Apple web site, and it says that it can only be configured with the i7 online. Are they seriously saying that this cannot be done at the Apple Store? Wouldn't they have one in stock? What is the difference in price?

If I have to wait a few days to get the i7, I'd be willing to do so.

OK I guess I should be asking -- what does the i7 do for me that the i5 won't? I haven't had to purchase any computer hardware for five years, and as I don't do computers for a living, I don't keep up on such things. All I need is something that would work at least as well as my old iMac, and I know from experience using my mother's Mac Mini that it is very much up to par. Hers is a few years old -- and has an internal optical drive!

BTW are other Mac Mini users ticked off about Apple's decision to delete the optical drive from the Mini? Can we organize some serious campaign to get them to restore it to future versions?

BTO(Built to order) models are not stocked at the Apple Stores. They only sell the default models in store. If you want options, you have to order online.

As for the optical drive, I'm glad they finally got rid of it. Optical media is an obsolete technology. I wish my 2009 Mini didn't have an optical drive. Immediately after I got it, I wanted to swap the useless optical drive with another hard drive so I could double the HDD space in it. When I got my MBP, I pulled out the optical drive and put an SSD in it's place. Best decision ever. And, in the extremely rare case that I do need an optical drive, I have an external one.

Thanks for the reply, Stretch.

Obsolete or not, an optical drive is not an option for me. I have an iMac that just went belly-up on me, and I don't know if my hard drive is good or not. All my iTunes purchased are backed-up on CD's, so there's that. I have a big investment in other software that is all on DVD's. So, looks like I get to buy a Superdrive, unless, of course, I decide to buy a Mac Pro instead of a Mac Mini. There's quite a difference. But -- you only live once, and it's only money. And I have 12 hours to regain my sanity.