Laptop DVD Drive for a full Tower?? (adapter)

jreffy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
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I want to install a slot-loading DVD and DVD-RW drives into my new case. I found that most of these slot-loading drives are all slim-drives for laptops (there's only one full-size drive from Plextor that I could find)

I could swear I saw an adapter that went into a case's 5 1/2" bay that could house 2 slim drives. Anyone know where/if I can find one of these?
 
The adapters for 1 slim cd + 3-1/2" or 1 slim cd + 1 slim floppy drive + 1 laptop hdd are easy to find. I've never seen one for two slim cd's though. The brackets are for servers with limited space. I can't think of a reason a server would need such a thing, hence the problem finding one.
 
synaps3 said:
OKANG, where have you seen the laptop floppy/laptop cd drive bezels and converters? I have been looking for them for a long time.

@jreffy: This is what you need:
2 of these: http://www.slidirect.com/web/do/pub...62FC885B65E47D230B771485AD?categoryId=8&id=38
1 of these: http://www.slidirect.com/web/do/pub...B40D31BE99F87987136F00BC2?categoryId=10&id=40

You should get this drive, it is the best IMO: http://www.slidirect.com/web/do/pub...7F8D6ACEF933B54D92A0D3383?categoryId=45&id=75

Have fun :D


That's EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thanks very much!!!

I want slot-loading DVD drives, but I have a Lian Li PC-70 case, and so far, I'd only be using one of the SIX front bezels, lol. I need to find more stuff to put in front now, that case is MONSTROUS!! I saw a fan control/LCD display device in red (my case will be black and red), that also displayed the sound settings like a stereo when playing music. Maybe throw in a few volt-meters or something else along those lines as well.

Thanks for the help though, exactly what I was looking for.
 
Thanks for the awesome links, definitely my next mod. My question is if I am buying OEM slot loading drives off of newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106033) does the adapter you linked just plug into the back of the drive. I just want to make sure I don't need a laptop drive ide cable. It looks like it would, but semi-unclear from just the pictures.
 
Fleat said:
Thanks for the awesome links, definitely my next mod. My question is if I am buying OEM slot loading drives off of newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106033) does the adapter you linked just plug into the back of the drive. I just want to make sure I don't need a laptop drive ide cable. It looks like it would, but semi-unclear from just the pictures.

to me it looks like an interface that just plugs into the back of the slot-drive, not sure though, good question.
 
jreffy said:
to me it looks like an interface that just plugs into the back of the slot-drive, not sure though, good question.
You're absolutely right - it just plugs into the back.

itschop said:
are these made from alum or plastic ?
I'm not sure what you're asking about. All of the drive brackets linked to in this thread so far should all be metal. If you're asking about something else, please specify.
 
To answer everyone's questions (I am the guru of laptop drives in desktop cases):

Fleat: you need no cables, the adapter plugs into the laptop IDE connector and then screws into 2 mounting holes on the back of the drive.

itschop: They are steel. The front is usually painted with a semiglossy black that is a bit rougher and shiner than most cases.


I love the MDVAs, they should build a blue LED one :D
 
synaps3 said:
To answer everyone's questions (I am the guru of laptop drives in desktop cases):

Fleat: you need no cables, the adapter plugs into the laptop IDE connector and then screws into 2 mounting holes on the back of the drive.

itschop: They are steel. The front is usually painted with a semiglossy black that is a bit rougher and shiner than most cases.


I love the MDVAs, they should build a blue LED one :D

He did build a limited edition blue one, but blue surface mount LEDs are much much more expensive then red ones.
 
Erasmus354 said:
A suggestion for something cool to fill up the drive bays. How about a MDVA, only $30 and pretty darn cool. http://www.mashie.org/mdva/index.html


I was looking for something like this. Something that will show those bars like on car stereo systems and whatnot.

I'm also looking for a bezel with 3 meters in the front, they could be volt/amp heck or even a Hz meter for the processer. I just want those little stick dials to bounce aroudn when I turn on my PC :) Maybe a few cool looking switches, and red LED fan control dials.

It's so f-ing hard to find RED lit fan controls and displays, everything is friggin blue: (
 
I need to find a nice display and a nice bezel with 3 temp guages or volt/amp meters in it.
 
jreffy said:
It's so f-ing hard to find RED lit fan controls and displays, everything is friggin blue: (
You could always mod them to be red :eek: lol
 
I am just curious here, why do you want a slot loading drive? I have never had the tray fail on a tray loading drive except on a stand alone CD deck, and that is because I had a student accidentally walk into it sideways in my classroom, as long as you can keep your knees away from trays, why bother?

Slot drives are more prone to jamming, can't use the business card or mini-CDs/DVDs (granted those are pretty rare these days). Is it just for looks?
 
NulloModo said:
I am just curious here, why do you want a slot loading drive? I have never had the tray fail on a tray loading drive except on a stand alone CD deck, and that is because I had a student accidentally walk into it sideways in my classroom, as long as you can keep your knees away from trays, why bother?

Slot drives are more prone to jamming, can't use the business card or mini-CDs/DVDs (granted those are pretty rare these days). Is it just for looks?


Yes, just for looks. I want something different with my computer, something more to make it unique.
 
NulloModo said:
I am just curious here, why do you want a slot loading drive? I have never had the tray fail on a tray loading drive except on a stand alone CD deck, and that is because I had a student accidentally walk into it sideways in my classroom, as long as you can keep your knees away from trays, why bother?

Slot drives are more prone to jamming, can't use the business card or mini-CDs/DVDs (granted those are pretty rare these days). Is it just for looks?

for people who have absolute standards on asthetics, slot loading allows you to hide the drive completely. i know it's not what's happening in this case, but take this mce301 that i built:

mce301.jpg


if i wanted to hide a tray drive completely, i would have needed to build a flip down panel in the front. it was easier in this case (and ultimately better looking) to have a machinist cut a strip in the case (i have no tools to cleanly cut 1/2" thick aluminum) and custom mount the laptop drive behind it.

the stock mounting position for an optical drive in that case is behind the door on the right. however, you've got this really nice looking media center case, and you put an big ugly plastic drive behind the door? to me, it didn't make sense to buy a nice case and ugly it up as soon as you popped open the door, so i chose to do something to keep the asthetic clean. slot loading drives are good for this reason - they are the easiest way to make a computer not look like a computer. the same would be true if you were making a wooden case, or building a computer into furniture: the cutout for a full dvd drive is much more noticable and more of a "hey this is a pc" alert. what i had done in this particular case was to glue some black felt behind the front panel, and then cut a slot in it so the dvd could pass through. this stops you from seeing the drive, and helps cushion the dvd a bit as it goes in the slot
 
NulloModo said:
I am just curious here, why do you want a slot loading drive? I have never had the tray fail on a tray loading drive except on a stand alone CD deck, and that is because I had a student accidentally walk into it sideways in my classroom, as long as you can keep your knees away from trays, why bother?

Slot drives are more prone to jamming, can't use the business card or mini-CDs/DVDs (granted those are pretty rare these days). Is it just for looks?

I have the full-size Plextor slot-loading drive (LL PC-71! Represent!) and I got it because I've broken three CD trays with my chair. I'm absent-minded and clumsy. :p I had wanted one before that for looks, but when I saw the PX-716AL I just fell in love.
 
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