CDR/RW purchase advice??

[The Heretic]

I am going to be looking at buying a CDR/RW drive this weekend to replace my old CDR/RW 2x drive.

I am looking to stay well under $100 (DVD-RW drives are down to $270 now) and I would like something that is relatively speedy for burning CDRs - but doesn't have to be the fastest on the market. It has to be IDE, I prefer it come with Nero (Roxio sucks), and I want it to come with the latest "burnproof"/etc. tech because I am really tired of making coasters.

Besides model/brand suggestions, what tech buzzwords should I look for? Are there any websites that have done some recent reviews on drive brands/models?

Thanks.

 

[Starblayde]

Lite-On make good drives.

A super-fast write speed doesnt make much difference as thats the speed the CD is spinning at at the end of its burn process, so a 48x will save you about 20 seconds over a 40x

 

[Bob_Bytchin]

I am going to be looking at buying a CDR/RW drive this weekend to replace my old CDR/RW 2x drive.

I am looking to stay well under $100 (DVD-RW drives are down to $270 now) and I would like something that is relatively speedy for burning CDRs - but doesn't have to be the fastest on the market. It has to be IDE, I prefer it come with Nero (Roxio sucks), and I want it to come with the latest "burnproof"/etc. tech because I am really tired of making coasters.

Besides model/brand suggestions, what tech buzzwords should I look for? Are there any websites that have done some recent reviews on drive brands/models?

Thanks.

Just look for the name Plextor. You may be able to find an older 16x Plextor for around $100.

The 16x Yamaha Lightspeed is another good buy for around the $100 range.

Just look for a burner with a decent sized buffer if you can't find a Plextor or Yamaha in the $100 range.

** Stay away from Sony if you plan to use your burner for less-than-legal purposes.

 

[Ask For More]

CDR drives shouldn't cost over $100
I work part time for a computer company, and we sell a Cyberdrive 48/16/48 for around $70.
Plextor, Cyberdrive and LiteOn are pretty good makes(and Nero included), although there have been a some reliabilty issues with the LiteOn's recently. But you shouldn't have to pay more than $100, I'd definitely recommend shopping around a little. Look for smaller stores rather than big chains, they're often cheaper and offer the same guarantees.

 

[Starblayde]

CDR drives shouldn't cost over $100
I work part time for a computer company, and we sell a Cyberdrive 48/16/48 for around $70.

I bought my LiteOn 40/12/48 for about £50 last month, with Nero. Have had no problems whatsoever.

 

[The Heretic]

CDR drives shouldn't cost over $100
I work part time for a computer company, and we sell a Cyberdrive 48/16/48 for around $70.
Plextor, Cyberdrive and LiteOn are pretty good makes(and Nero included), although there have been a some reliabilty issues with the LiteOn's recently. But you shouldn't have to pay more than $100, I'd definitely recommend shopping around a little. Look for smaller stores rather than big chains, they're often cheaper and offer the same guarantees.

Thanks. I am looking at buying this weekend because I am going to be near a Fry's, which is often fairly competitive on PC component prices. Not always as cheap as can be found online, but pretty good and less expensive than most of the other superstores.

I am looking at spending more like $50-$70 because I believe DVD-RW drives will be below $100-$200 within a year.

http://www.burnworld.com seems to be a decent review/info site. Here is an interesting piece of tech:

http://www.burnworld.com/news/october2002/sony.htm

Standalone DVD, CD drive that can play back MP3 and WAV files - for under $300 - and it burns CDR/RW when hooked up to a computer. I see where DVD-RW media is getting down to near $1 per disk.

 

[Ask For More]

I bought my LiteOn 40/12/48 for about £50 last month, with Nero. Have had no problems whatsoever.

Glad to hear it I've had a few returned to me with problems recently. Although in general I'd say they were excellent drives, and I use one myself again with no problems.

A word of caution on DVD/CDRW combined....even though they're becoming more commenplace I'd definitely recommend waiting a while before buying one, purely because of reliabilty issues.