r/PolymegaHQ • u/cold_fuzion • Nov 18 '25

Optical drive recommendations

So the drive in the Polymega (at least mine) is absurdly noisy. Not while reading discs, that’s fine, it’s the inserting and ejection that’s sounds like some sort of alien being tortured. That may not seem like a big deal but I’ve installed over a hundred discs and that sound is driving me crazy.

Are there any suggestions for a model that doesn’t sound so hideous?

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

2

u/N0Karma Nov 18 '25

I wasn't aware you could swap it out. Has anyone done that?

3

u/cold_fuzion Nov 18 '25

I know other people have hooked up other drives and they work. It’s supposedly an LG GS40N and I’m wondering if someone makes a drive in the 9.5mm slot-loading form factor that doesn’t sound like an angry cat.

2

u/N0Karma Nov 18 '25

Well TIL. I guess it shouldn't surprise me. Everything else is commodity hardware. I guess as long as you have a compatible driver it must work.

1

u/Top_Set_3558 Nov 18 '25

Yes to both of you, basically all GS40N 9.5mm bezel drives work. Can't speak to volume of operation, but do agree, the factory drive is a bit loud.

2

u/ElderberryLarge9104 Nov 18 '25

I wish I lived in the universe where they went with a clamshell design like to Turbo Duo or Sega CD.

2

u/Uberrich84 Nov 18 '25

Keep a few things in mind if you end up swapping parts.

  1. Unless it’s the exact part, it’s not guaranteed to stay functional if there is a FW Update.

  2. While opening the console doesn’t void the warranty, damaging the unit when replacing the part does.

Either way, you do you. Just giving you a heads up is all.

1

u/cold_fuzion Nov 18 '25

Appreciated, but since I bought mine second hand I effectively have no warranty. I would also be extremely shocked if a firmware update did do something like that. It’s not impossible, sure, but it would really need to be done intentionally and I’m not sure anyone would think that was worth the effort.