Question 1

Is this a SATA 6/gbs or a SATA 3/gbs?

Accepted Answer

It is completely immaterial. SATA1/2/3 devices are totally interoperable: any device will work on any controller. In terms of performance, no DVD drive is even going to manage to saturate a 1.5Gb/s SATA1 channel, let alone 3 or even 6 GB/s.

Question 2

This will be used with a ASUS Sabertooth Z87 motherboard & Intel core i7 procesor.  Will it burn blue ray?

Accepted Answer

You need a Blu-ray burner. A DVD Burner will only burn DVD and CD.  A Blu-ray burner will burn Blu-ray, DVD, and CD.  Search for Blu-ray Burner on Newegg.  You will see something in the description like 16X BD-R Write capability.

Question 3

I planned on using this on my PC build to download Windows. What would I have to do to make this work? Correct me if I'm wrong, it won't read disks without the software installed.

Accepted Answer

Lucas - this should not be a problem as long as your hard drive is bare/formatted and are installing Windows from an OEM bootable OEM disk.  You should be able to go in to the BIOS and set the Boot Order to boot from the CD first - assuming the BIOS recognizes the CD/DVD drive.  Piece of cake. Good Luck

Question 4

Hi what cables does it come with like sata??? and dont you need another cable as well???

Accepted Answer

The drive comes with one data cable. Depending on the size of your case and motherboard arrangement, you may have to purchase a longer data cable if the supplied one is not long enough to connect to the required SATA port on the motherboard. The power cable to the drive should be already there and originates from your power supply.  If there is no SATA power connector from the power supply available, you will need at least one standard power connector from the power supply and then you will have to purchase a SATA power adapter to be able to connect the SATA drive. There are no jumpers to set on any SATA drive.  If there are no unused standard power connector cables available from the power supply, you will need to purchase a Y adapter to create two power sources from a single power cable. Additionally, your BIOS must be compatible with SATA and recognize any SATA connectors. If there is no empty SATA data port on the motherboard, then a SATA attachment card that inserts into one of the empty motherboard slots would be necessary to use this drive.

Question 5

Is this compatible with windows 8.1?

Accepted Answer

I wouldn't know as I installed it on a Windows 7 machine. I believe it did work with Ubuntu Linux.  Hence, I don't see why it wouldn't work with Windows 8.1. I suggest you search Samsung's firmware website to see if there's an update for Windows 8.1. A quick Google search for Samsung dvd-rom firmware would probably yield a website for it.

Question 6

Which software titles comes bundled in this package and which version of them?

Accepted Answer

Assuming that you are using an OS that is XP, Vista, Win7, or Win8, there are no drivers software required, the OS will find and recognize the dirve and install the correct driver. As to other bundled software, I never use any of this stuff, it is primarily bloatware. But any burner software (Roxio, Nero, NCH) will work just fine with this drive as will Windows Media Player

Question 7

Can it play DVD's?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as long as your computer has a program that cam play a DVD then this drive will play DVDs. Side note: Windows 7/Vista, Windows 8.1, Linux, and MAC Will all play DVDs with no issue or additional software.

Question 8

Does this come with cables for connection to a computer?

Accepted Answer

It comes with red SATA cable to transfer digital data between the motherboard and the back panel of the DVD drive.

A power cable does NOT come with the drive, but is usually available from the power pack.  If not, a splitter maybe required to "borrow" power from another drive.

Question 9

Is this being sold as an OEM drive?  If not, what else is in the box/package besides the drive itself?

Accepted Answer

This has the sata cable and cd for drivers and recording software.

Question 10

Does this read CDs and DVDs as well as burn them? or does it only burn?

Accepted Answer

Hi Jack, Yes, it reads as well as writes(it even plays music ha, ha)
seriously a better burner you won't find, it does everything you'll ever need! The +/- R means 'readable', the +/- RW means 'rewritable'. Hope that helps ya. Enjoy!

Questions & Answers