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    Adding your own blu-ray drive?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Enderwggn, Jan 3, 2009.

  1. Enderwggn

    Enderwggn Notebook Enthusiast

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    how hard is it to find a compatable blu-ray drive for the acer gemstone line (16" and 18.4")? I'm debating between those and the hp hdx, and right now the hp has blu-ray as only a 50 upgrade, and acers u cant configure. the only acer configs i can find with blu-ray are pretty much maxed out on all the other specs and the price.
     
    Enderwggn, Jan 3, 2009
    #1
  2. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Then why not get the HP?
     
    ZaZ, Jan 3, 2009
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  3. Michel.K

    Michel.K 167WAISIQ

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    You can get any bluray drive that has the same size as the acer uses. There should be no problem switching it out, though it'll probably void the warranty.

    I'd get the HP though.
     
    Michel.K, Jan 3, 2009
    #3
  4. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The majority of notebook optical drives are 1/2" (12.7mm) thick, some are 3/8" (9.5mm) thick and a few are 7mm thick. At the moment, I believe, all the Blu-Ray units are in the 1/2" format but 3/8" units should appear during this year.

    You also need to check the optical drive interface: They are currently migrating from PATA to SATA.

    As for the warranty, keep the old optical drive and reinstall it should you need warranty service.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Jan 3, 2009
    #4
  5. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    The ThinkPad T series offers 9.5mm Blu-ray drives. They're ridiculously priced, but they do offer them.
     
    ZaZ, Jan 3, 2009
    #5
  6. Enderwggn

    Enderwggn Notebook Enthusiast

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    what about the covers matching up with the contours and colors of the laptop?
     
    Enderwggn, Jan 4, 2009
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  7. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    D3X, Jan 4, 2009
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  8. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    Most notebooks can remove the optical drive by little to no disassembly. I don't think it would void any warranty.
     
    D3X, Jan 4, 2009
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  9. Enderwggn

    Enderwggn Notebook Enthusiast

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    it looks like they're too expensive to be worth it...300 bucks on newegg, its cheaper to just keep hunting for one built in....makes hdx with their $50 blu-ray upgrade even more attractive.
     
    Enderwggn, Jan 5, 2009
    #9
  10. Michel.K

    Michel.K 167WAISIQ

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    Always safer to tell that it may void the warranty, just to keep the user in mind, even though it doesn't need much disassembly, they could always put the original drive back to make it like it was from factory ocfourse :)
     
    Michel.K, Jan 5, 2009
    #10
  11. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    Agreed, however some manufacturers like Acer, Asus, MSI etc consider the optical drive a user replaceable component. So warranty is still covered despite the swap, of course putting back the original drive wouldn't cause any issues.
     
    D3X, Jan 5, 2009
    #11
  12. gtotripower

    gtotripower Notebook Guru

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    There are some blu-ray drives (supposedly new, taken out) on ebay. $149 buy it now....
     
    gtotripower, Jan 6, 2009
    #12
  13. xiamthepainx

    xiamthepainx Notebook Enthusiast

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    xiamthepainx, Jan 15, 2009
    #13