What CD-RW drive would you recommend? Thread poster: Nikita Kobrin
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Nikita Kobrin 
Lithuania
Local time: 21:36
Member (2010)
English to Russian
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Next week I\'m going to buy a new CD-RW drive for my PC. What manufacture and particular model would you recommend?
Please take into consideration that:
1) I need it mostly for backing-up my files on CD-RW discs and playing music CDs.
2) I don\'t need very high-speed models.
3) One of the main concerns is reliability.
4) My family name is not Rockefeller.
Could you also r... See more Next week I\'m going to buy a new CD-RW drive for my PC. What manufacture and particular model would you recommend?
Please take into consideration that:
1) I need it mostly for backing-up my files on CD-RW discs and playing music CDs.
2) I don\'t need very high-speed models.
3) One of the main concerns is reliability.
4) My family name is not Rockefeller.
Could you also recommend a good website where I can find professional but written in simple language pieces of advice about purchasing PC hardware?
Any tips and suggestions from experienced PC users will be highly appreciated.
Regards,
Nikita Kobrin ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Don't Buy a Brand Name just because of the Brand Name | Apr 5, 2003 |
I don\'t really have any good brand names to recommend since I don\'t buy brand names CD-R Drives anymore. What matters in my oppinion is if it gets the job done and how fast it gets it done. I got a 48X generic CD-R and it\'s been working great. It burns a full CD (CD-R not CD-RW) in 3 minutes. I think brand names doesn\'t matter as much since it this breaks or stops working, I can go out and buy another one of these for $50.
For hardware reviews and tips you can try:
... See more I don\'t really have any good brand names to recommend since I don\'t buy brand names CD-R Drives anymore. What matters in my oppinion is if it gets the job done and how fast it gets it done. I got a 48X generic CD-R and it\'s been working great. It burns a full CD (CD-R not CD-RW) in 3 minutes. I think brand names doesn\'t matter as much since it this breaks or stops working, I can go out and buy another one of these for $50.
For hardware reviews and tips you can try:
http://www.anandtech.com
http://www.tomshardware.com
For finding the best prices on the web:
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.pricegrabber.com ▲ Collapse
| | | | DGK T-I
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:36
Georgian to English
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My CD-RW cost me £50 in the UK, which is not big by British standards, (for an internal one suitable for a desktop PC, external ones for laptops seem to be £100 or so). I don\'t know about Lithuanian prices for computer gadgetry - are they lower ? - US prices for gadgets are said to be lower than here(!).
It has been excellent for audio copying & storing general files (\"click and move\" software which comes with it lets you move files instantly to and from a CDRW like ano... See more My CD-RW cost me £50 in the UK, which is not big by British standards, (for an internal one suitable for a desktop PC, external ones for laptops seem to be £100 or so). I don\'t know about Lithuanian prices for computer gadgetry - are they lower ? - US prices for gadgets are said to be lower than here(!).
It has been excellent for audio copying & storing general files (\"click and move\" software which comes with it lets you move files instantly to and from a CDRW like another drive).
There were more expensive models, but my experience with this one has made me completely happy that I wasn\'t tempted by them.
If it\'s any use I\'ll send you the brandname (others might well be as good, I can\'t say)and anything else I can help with.
▲ Collapse
| | | | DGK T-I
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:36
Georgian to English
+ ...
accidental repeat send.
[ This Message was edited by: giulik on 2003-04-06 14:19]
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Wit
Local time: 20:36
English to Polish
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| LiteOn LTR-40125W | Apr 6, 2003 |
Not the latest, 48 and 52 models followed,
so should be cheap enough (ca. USD 50). Reliable (many brand names are in fact LiteOn OEMs), though not as the Teacs of course. AFAIR the Teac drives excell at fast RW reading (most others read RW disks 2-3 times slower than their model rating suggests).
However there are two catches:
1) the 48 and 52 models need bios reflashing as they cannot handle properly 700MB disks
(it is little pain though and can be done a... See more Not the latest, 48 and 52 models followed,
so should be cheap enough (ca. USD 50). Reliable (many brand names are in fact LiteOn OEMs), though not as the Teacs of course. AFAIR the Teac drives excell at fast RW reading (most others read RW disks 2-3 times slower than their model rating suggests).
However there are two catches:
1) the 48 and 52 models need bios reflashing as they cannot handle properly 700MB disks
(it is little pain though and can be done at home in half an hour, manual reading included)
2) the letter W is important here, since it marks P-CAV (and so a faster and smoother writing) and Mt.Rainier format (you can use a RW disk just like a floppy)
However I\'m a little out of sync due to chronic lack of time for the last few months.
:)
The best place to check out the CDRW drives and to find out about their features is cdrinfo.com (tests are inside \"Hardware\" section).
It is much more comprehensive than general sites like Tom\'s and Anand\'s; you can find there individual tests, roundups, software and firmware.
If you can read Polish cdrinfo.pl is an excellent Polish site devoted to CDRW drives with up-to-date material.
Happy CD writing then,
Witek ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 20:36
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Agree with Boyan | Apr 6, 2003 |
Buying a cheaper one you cannot make a mistake.
What you only should pay attention to is the speed - it does not need to be the speed of light, so lets say a 40-48x is good enough, because the latest 52x generation will be much more expensive at this time. And what you need is burn-proof or similar, protecting you from damaging CD-Rs due to buffer underrun. Choose a drive with good software package - I can recommend Nero Burning Rom, it is very easy to use. A good one is Clone CD, but ... See more Buying a cheaper one you cannot make a mistake.
What you only should pay attention to is the speed - it does not need to be the speed of light, so lets say a 40-48x is good enough, because the latest 52x generation will be much more expensive at this time. And what you need is burn-proof or similar, protecting you from damaging CD-Rs due to buffer underrun. Choose a drive with good software package - I can recommend Nero Burning Rom, it is very easy to use. A good one is Clone CD, but AFAIK it is not supplied with the drives themself.
Kind regards
Jerzy ▲ Collapse
| | | | Andrea Ali
Argentina
Local time: 15:36
Member (2003)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Don\'t worry too much about brands, there aren\'t really \"bad ones\". AOpen is one of the main manufacturers for different brands.
Of the ones I know, AOpen, LiteOn, Creative, Sony, Yamaha, HP, etc. the most oustanding difference among them is the price.
What you should compare is the speed, but again, one minute more or less doesn\'t make any difference (at least to me!).
But definitively, buy a whole (you may keep the floppy drive, cd-rom, sound card,n... See more Don\'t worry too much about brands, there aren\'t really \"bad ones\". AOpen is one of the main manufacturers for different brands.
Of the ones I know, AOpen, LiteOn, Creative, Sony, Yamaha, HP, etc. the most oustanding difference among them is the price.
What you should compare is the speed, but again, one minute more or less doesn\'t make any difference (at least to me!).
But definitively, buy a whole (you may keep the floppy drive, cd-rom, sound card,not the video card if you buy a P4 - it works better with a 64MB video)new computer, it\'ll be cheaper in the end!!!
Good luck!!!  ▲ Collapse
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