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PowerBook G3 Q&A - Updated January 12, 2010
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What are the capabilities of the optical drive provided by the PowerBook G3 models? Is it possible to upgrade a PowerBook G3 to a SuperDrive or Blu-ray?
The PowerBook G3 models shipped with "hot swappable" 5.25-Inch bays equipped with tray-loading CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives. The default configurations of each are provided on the specs page for each system, but for your convenience, it also is summarized in the chart below:
PowerBook G3 | Default Optical Drive |
20X CD-ROM | |
20X CD-ROM* | |
20X CD-ROM* | |
20X CD-ROM* | |
20X CD-ROM* | |
20X CD-ROM* | |
1X DVD-ROM* | |
24X CD-ROM* | |
2X DVD-ROM* | |
6X DVD-ROM* | |
6X DVD-ROM* |
* Please refer to the applicable specs page for additional configuration options and/or other details regarding the optical drives in these systems.
PowerBook G3 models can be upgraded with a variety of third-party "swappable" modules including CD-R and DVD-ROM and even DVD/CD-RW "Combo" drives and DVD-R/CD-RW "SuperDrives", many long ago discontinued (note that modules from one system often are not interchangable with another). Other "swappable" drive bay modules included hard drives, SuperDisks, and Zip drives.
The company that once produced them is no longer in business, but Combo, SuperDrive, and even Blu-ray -- expansion modules for the "Pismo/Firewire" PowerBook G3 models do exist.
External SCSI-based, USB-based, or Firewire-based optical drives -- depending on the model -- can be connected to the PowerBook G3 as well.
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