Enclosure for DVD

[Zamar]

I just got my X61 tablet and so far I love it. Of course I did a clean install which made a big difference.

Anyway, I also have on order the Ultrabase with DVDRW ultrabay drive. Does anyone make an USB Enclosure that the drive can be used in so I can swap out the drive and take it with me without have to take the Ultrabase all the time?

I already know I don't use the drive much, which is why I want a very small package for if I ever do.

Thanks,

Dave

[quantum]

Well, if you don't need the other ports etc of the ultrabase you could just get an external DVDRW drive in the first place, but other than that the only enclosures I know of are 5.25" enclosures (that need an external power brick to run the drives). The Dell D-Bay external drive enclosure runs on what Dell likes to call a D-Port which is just two USB ports stuck very closely together, one of which only has power connectors in it. The external DVDRW drives from Plextor and Asus also run on 2 USB ports, to supply enough power to the drives in them. Technically, both of the drives have a USB/IDE interface card in them, but the form factors are different. The Asus is closer to the shape and size of what would be a standard enclosure, whereas the Plextor has a unique solution. The Dell D-Bay can also house other external devices such as ZIP drives, HDD's, media card readers etc, so it probably has a very standard layout.

All in all, the Asus external drive and Dell D-Bay seem to have what is closest to an external USB enclosure, but there is no guarantee that they will work with the slim DVDRW drive from the ultrabase. My personal choice would be the Plextor, but at around 200 dollars it is also the most expensive.

[ivanhoe]

Have you ever Googled "slimline external DVD drive"? I got 41,400 hits.
There are tons of options out there!

[quantum]

Not half of which will run on USB power alone unfortunately...

[sp_17]

check out the LG one, got it for $130 at Fry's, looks good and works good

[werdna167]

So the ultrabase will probably be very useless if I plan to constantly be on the move with my x61. What are some of the smallest external DVD/RW drives with and without a power adapter?


sorry to thread jack, figured it was easier than posting a new thread

Also, if i do plan to get the ultrabase dock station in the future it using what type of internal optic drives?

[quantum]

Despite being the most expensive, the Plextor seems to be the safest route of making sure you can take it on a trip where lightness will be essential and be sure that it will at least read optical media without the power brick.

I'm not sure the exact make and model that the ultrabase uses for an optical drive, and it is highly likely that every manufacturer tailors their docking bay devices to their own standards i.e. they may not be using standard connectors or standard sized drives.

[werdna167]

figured that would be the case.

I was reading in a different thread that these external drives with 2usb ports will never operate at the said speed, is this true?

[quantum]

It depends really. Manufacturers refrain from displaying the specs of the drives when running on USB power as opposed to AC power, so they only give use the higher readings. Given the fact that the AC input is only 5 volts, the issue must be that USB ports can't give enough current to run the drives at full spec (or at all in most cases). The Plextor site doesn't state whether or not the drive is capable of writing when powered by USB, whereas in the comments at Newegg for the NU branded slot loading external drive, it can be inferred that the drive will read fine over USB power but can only write when attached to a power outlet. Further than that, there was a negative review on one drive (can't remember which) that stated the drive would read CD's and run DVD movies, but couldn't provide the power or throughput to run a HD video file off of a data DVD. All in all, this external drive dilemma is a puzzling one and doesn't seem to have any direct, full featured solution.

[werdna167]

alright, so it is a safe bet for most if not all external optic drives that a AC power supply with be needed to use the drive for all its intended uses.