I need a new DVD burner (internal) for my father-in-law's computer. He's apparently broken the current one – he forgot to push the tray back in after doing something and hit it with his chair.
Given this, I'd like to get him a slot-loading DVD burner, so as to avoid the problem entirely. I need an internal device, and I'll be mounting in a 5 1/4" bay. He doesn't need any super-spec device – as long as it can read/write all the standard formats, it's good.
I see a few options at newegg.com, but they all have mixed reviews. Are there any out there that are generally seen as reliable?
How does one go about mounting slimline devices in a standard 5 1/4" bay? Is there a standard faceplate kit for that?
Best Answer
I just finished spec'ing out a computer build that nearly required a slim optical drive. Frankly, I'm not a fan of slot loaders at all, so there's not one I can particularly recommend.
But mounting a slim drive in a full-height 5.25" bay should be doable. Not pretty, but doable. I don't know of a mounting bracket offhand, which is what you'd really want, but I expect you'll be able to juryrig something if you can't find an existing product.
You'll need a slim SATA 7P-to-std adapter cable (like this one -- this is an example, not a product recommendation) to hook up the final product. The optical drive itself won't come with one (unless you're buying a retail version instead of an OEM drive).
Update:
Thanks to Molly's answer, I found the Digistor company that provides bezel kits (including single-slimline and dual-slimline mounts) and a 5.25" SATA slot-loading drive (available in DVD-RW and Blu-Ray varieties):