Laptop optical drives - same manuf, diff models, how to tell the models apart?

[MichaelD]

I'm looking to replace the DVD optical drive in my laptop with a BluRay optical drive. The stock drive has a funky bezel screwed to the front of it, so it lines up pretty with the case.

Like so:

The stock DVD drive is a Samsung unit, SN-208, standard size 12.7mm high. I want to buy a Samsung BluRay drive to increase my chances of the mounting holes for the bezel to line up correctly.

I found this site that sells Samsung drives without the bezel, which is exactly what I want. http://www.mydvddrives.com/blu-ray-disc-re-writer-31

If you look at the bezel-less drives, they all have diff model numbers but are roughly the same price. Most of them say "For your Samsung *insert laptop model# here*" but I don't see how that's really possible that THAT drive ONLY fits that model laptop. It's a standard, tray load, 12.7mm thick drive.

How do I know which one I want? What is the diff b/t them? I'm pretty lost here. Thanks.

 

[mfenn]

Most of those drives with the same basic specs: DVD or Blu-Ray, bezel or no bezel, writer versus reader are the same. They're just making a bunch of SKUs with the laptop model in the name for SEO purposes.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks, mfenn. I have a "best offer" in on a Samsung TS-LB23L on fleabay. The pics show an HP sticker on it but all the closeup pics show a very standard SATA optical drive with no bezel...looks good to me. Best part is it's half the price of the drives on that website in my OP .

 

[piasabird]

All Laptop drives are designed for a specific laptop. The drive covers are custom built by the laptop manufacturers. Take the drive out or look at the manual to see if it has a part number and purchase an exact replacement. The plugs on the back of the drive may be different size also.

Laptops are not like desktops where everything will fit in another computer. You might ask questions in the Laptop/SFF forum and get better answers. I hate laptops with a passion. Never owned one. There are probably some websites just for Laptop parts and info.

 

[code65536]

Laptop optical drives are standardized. (Speaking as someone who has swapped them before, including a Blu-Ray upgrade operation.)

1) There are two different heights: 12.5mm and 9.5mm. Make sure this matches. (Pretty sure 12.7 is really the same as 12.5; this is the first I've heard of a 12.7.)

2) SATA or PATA. Make sure this matches. Note that ODDs were slower to move from PATA to SATA, so it's entirely possible for a system to have SATA HDDs and PATA ODDs. 2009 and newer should be SATA, but your system is old enough, you should verify this just in case. Although the connections for slimline optical drives do vary from their counterparts in hard drives and in desktop optical drives, they are standardized and identical between different slimline ODDs. Of course, some system OEMs will have the drive in a custom caddy or adapter, but those are removable and and you can just swap them onto the new drive.

3) Like desktop ODDs, the faceplates (which are attached to the tray with tabs) are interchangeable, and AFAICT, standardized. I have a computer that came with a drive from manufacturer A, and I put in a Blu-Ray drive from a different manufacturer B. The Blu-Ray drive had a generic faceplate that I removed (be very careful, as it's difficult to remove and also easy to damage if you use too much force) and replaced it with the faceplate from the laptop's original ODD (which was even harder to remove because the funkiness of the shape was such that I couldn't get a good angle on one of the tabs). I suspect that there is a very strong demand from OEMs for standardized faceplate interfaces because most OEMs source their ODDs from multiple manufacturers, and since the design of the faceplate is determined by the OEM's design of their laptop, it's a part that the laptop OEM, not the ODD maker, supplies.

Installing a faceplate is much easier than removing it: just snap it in.

4) No idea if #3 applies to slot-loaded ODDs. But thankfully, those things seem to have fallen out of vogue.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks for the replies and thanks, code65536 for taking the time to type out such a detailed reply.

I was careful to wait until I actually had the laptop in-hand (it's brand new) so that I could pull out the stock ODD and ensure that it used the standard laptop SATA power/data connections AND that the bezel/faceplate was just bolted on. Happily, it's a "Yes" on both counts.

I did receive advice to buy the new drive from the same manuf (Samsung in my case) to increase the odds that the bezel from the old ODD would bolt onto the new ODD.

I haven't pulled the trigger on the new one yet b/c the Ebay seller hasn't replied to my "best offer" which I thought was really reasonable...only $2.00 less than he's asking...I'll ALWAYS ask for a better price if the auction has the "Make offer" button. :ninja:

 

[paul878]

Laptop drive are ANYTHING but standardized, the bezel is always a nightmare to match. OEM use many type of drive from different manufacturer for the same model and their face plate are not interchangeable.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks for the reply, paul878. My laptop is based on a Clevo W650SZ chassis. Several boutique makes like Sager and XocticPC sell it and you can buy it from them with a BluRay OD (mine came from Gigabyte with just a Samsung brand DVD/RW). The stock OD has the standard mini-SATA power/data connector on the back and overall, the drive looks "normal" as compared to pics of many other laptop ODs.

So am thinking (on the advice of others and it makes sense) that if I buy a Samsung BluRay OD, the odds are good that the weird faceplate that's on the stock drive will bolt right on to the new OD.

Worst case, I wind up reselling the new OD on Ebay for half of what I paid for it.

I guess we'll find out.

 

[mfenn]

Laptop drive are ANYTHING but standardized, the bezel is always a nightmare to match. OEM use many type of drive from different manufacturer for the same model and their face plate are not interchangeable.

Laptop drives are absolutely standardized except for the bezel. If you read the OP carefully you'll note that he has already determined that the bezel on his drive is removable and is looking at bezel-less drives.