Recommend an external CD/DVD drive for a newbie?

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Level 1

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Recommend an external CD/DVD drive for a newbie?

Hi,

Just bought my very first Mac, a new iMac. Then discovered it didn't have a CD/DVD drive. Woops. Probably should have realised that earlier...

Anyway, my student budget won't really stretch to a SuperDrive right now, so I was hoping someone could recommend an external drive or even just what I should be looking for in one? I'm not a tech aficionado, and a quick look around has left me very confused at how many options are out there!

I'd mainly be using it for occasional computer games (eg. Sims 3) and watching DVDs, and maybe DVD writing as I get to grips with iMovie. Will a bog standard drive with CD and DVD in the title suffice, or do I need something more? Or are SuperDrives the only ones that really work with iMacs?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer me!

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Mar 12, 2013 5:06 AM

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Answer 1

MichelPM

Level 10

80,958 points

Mar 12, 2013 5:18 AM in response to Lyilly

SuperDrive refers to an optical drive that can both read and write CDs and DVDs.

Most external optical drives are combination drives (SuperDrives), now.

Do you watch regular DVDs or BluRay?

You can now buy BluRay reading/writing optical drives, but the Mac doesn't play BluRay movies natively.

You would need to purchase and download a BluRay player app.

You need a Super Drive for what you are doing.

Apple's own drive works and isn't that expensive. There are more expensive drives. There are more cheaper drives.

Do a search for external optical drives. For your new iMac you can either search for USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Thunderbolt or FireWire external optical drives.

USB 3.0, Thunderbolt and FireWire will be faster data throughput drives.

Good Luck

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