I have one of the first xbox out there and my original dvd drive still works just fine. Its a phillips. I have heard some bad stories about the thomson drive but I never had one so I can't comment. People really like the Samsungs too.
Do I have a choice on which driver I can buy? It going to be the lastest model. Do you know whos making them now? Maybe I should look for a refurished model.
There is a way to tell which dvd rom drive will be in the xbox. You need to check out the serial # on the xbox. They say it is visible through the carton. Its a pretty good read if you are going to go buy one and want to get a certain drive. http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/docs/versionsfinding.html
