iMac DVD Burner failure

[24nigel]

The DVD Burner (Optiarc AD-5630A) in my 18 month old iMac 2.8Ghz has stopped burning discs, and damages made ones.
A Mac repairer says this could be much more expensive to repair than replace with a new external Burner.
1. Is there any drawback to replacing with an external Burner ?
2. Which Burner to buy that would be at least as good ?

 

[Sur3Mac]

There are no drawbacks that I'm aware of, and as to which one is the best choice...
personally I'd go for the Macbook air Superdrive, it's affordable, and looks very slick.;D

 

[hughvane]

The DVD Burner ...
1. Is there any drawback to replacing with an external Burner ?
2. Which Burner to buy that would be at least as good?

1. No. The only thing you *might* notice is a very slight lag. FW400 is quick, but not as quick as SATA. Going to a FW800 external drive gets expensive.

2. Pioneer. The 218L would be a good choice. OWC Mercury Pro FW/USB2 SuperDrive up to 22X... (MRF82SD22) at OWC

Personally, I'd shop around for a used USB/Firewire optical drive with reputable and suitable controller/chipset (Oxford brand is very good with Mac), take out the old optical drive and put in a Pioneer 218.

 

[Sur3Mac]

Thanks for correcting me on this one hughvane, even though not in so many words.
It's come to my attention that the MBA superdrive is specifically for the MBA, and won't work on any other machine.

Sorry about the mishap;D

 

[dtravis7]

That is one thing a lot of people have missed and that really bothers me that Apple did this.

]
The Macbook Air External DVD drive will NOT work with any other system but the Macbook Air. That I do not understand at all, but just a warning to anyone thinking of purchasing one for anything other than the Macbook Air. It will not work.

I can't see why since it's a USB 2.0 external, but everyone who has tried one reports the same thing.