SyncMaster753

Hey OCN,

A friend approached me today with a couple of Mac questions, and i was embarassed to tell him i had no idea.

(He says he has one of the first intel macs)

1: Will any external dvd burner work with a mac?

what i said: Its USB so it should, but to check the packaging for an emblem.

2: If he buys a "superdrive" off of ebay to replace his dvd drive, will his motherboard support it?

what i said: I had no idea what to tell him, but i said probably as at the time i assume they offered it as an upgrade option, but i don't want him to go buy it and find out it wouldn't work.

3: His mac boasts that it supports 5.1 audio, but only has a 3.5mm sterio jack. He has a 5.1 logitech setup (one down from the z-5500 but with the large sub) and is wondering how he can get 5.1 out of his mac.

what i said: I said i didn't know

Is there such thing as a USB-"RCA", or USB-"6-channel analog" that would work with a mac? or are there any alternatives?

any mac vets want to weigh in?

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Deano12345

Which Mac specifically ?

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SyncMaster753

17" imac, first core duo

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/revi...ac-coreduo.ars

EDIT: i found out that the 3.5mm jack is also a mini-toslink connector, but his speakers (z5300) don't accept optical..... so he's accepted defeat on that front

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Deano12345

He already has a Superdrive

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timw4mail

As far as the drive goes...that's tricky.

If it were a Mac Pro, it would be a matter of switching out any normal DVD/CD drive.

Since it's an iMac, I would recommend asking Apple about it. Regardless of how easy it is to find a replacement drive, you have to disassemble the computer to replace the drive.

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Mast3rRoot

Most External drives dont work for mac, but some do, they can be found at macsales.com

He should already have a superdrive in there, if there is a problem with it, it is very difficult to change out.

Sorry but i dont know hardly anything about audio inputs and outputs, so I can't help you there.

halifax1

Not all of those models come with a Superdrive.

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Lord Xeb

1: Will any external dvd burner work with a mac?

Yes

2: If he buys a "superdrive" off of ebay to replace his dvd drive, will his motherboard support it?
It should

3: His mac boasts that it supports 5.1 audio, but only has a 3.5mm sterio jack. He has a 5.1 logitech setup (one down from the z-5500 but with the large sub) and is wondering how he can get 5.1 out of his mac.

If it has a 3.5mm, it does have 5.1. It may be virtual 5.1 but it is not true 5.1.

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TheFlyingWallaby

If he gets an iMac superdrive, it should work.
It is true 5.1. The 5.1 audio is digital, optical specifically. You need to buy the 1/8" optical-to-TOSLINK cable for it to work with standard TOSLINK devices.

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Why on earth wouldn't any usb drive work with mac? It's usb...that's the point.

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