Best CD-ROM drive for decent price?

Chriz

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
438
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I've heard TEAC is good, but their drive is only 40 speed where I can get some faster ones at best buy for same price. Is Buslink any good, or Acer?
 

Insomnium

Senior member
Aug 8, 2000
644
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Stay away from those cheap models you find at B&M stores like Afreey, Buslink as they are usually crappy drives. I dont know how much you're looking to spend, but $35 will get you a great drive from Toshiba or CreativeLabs online. You can get the 40x Teac too, i doubt you'll notice the difference between that and a 48x model unless you're really into audio extraction and stuff like that.
 

LXi

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
7,987
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40x slow? Yea, like 50x can you give you a blistering 2% performance increase. TEAC and Acer drives are excellent for their price.
 

Wingznut

Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
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I can't say enough good things about the Toshiba 48x drive. I picked one up for $44.
 

LXi

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
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"Who names their PC?" - LOL, I like that.

Just have to tell you something, the general public doesnt know fart about how your SC stacks up against the SB Live!, you need to educate them.
 

Insomnium

Senior member
Aug 8, 2000
644
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Yes, i have a friend who bought an Afreey drive. It works fine but he gets terrible transfers and crappy performance all around. It's fine for a home PC but not for "power" users. Anyway, like was said, Toshiba 48x's are awesome and you can get one for $35 - about the same price as an Afreey so there's no point in getting a lower quality drive.
 

Chriz

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
438
5
81
So do you think the Acer 50x drive is just as good as a Teac or Toshiba? I can get a discount on the Acer at BB and just pick it up there without having to pay shipping.
 

LXi

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
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I'd get the Acer 40x instead, better readability. Or TEAC CD-540E 40X.
 

oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
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I was just going to mention LG. I bought a 32X for my kids PC awhile back. I didn't even know if it was any good. I just got it cause it was cheap and available. I have to say it is a really nice CD. Takes the abuse of a kid, is very quiet both in operation and even the drawer opening and closing. Dell uses them in their PC's. In fact, I'm putting together a system for a friend and am going to buy a 52X LG from Mwave for $36.
 

LXi

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
7,987
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Its not a question of can they read it or not, its a question of how well they handle burn/pirate/abused/bad quality CDs.
 

oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
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Never had any issues. Reads burned CD's just fine. I wouldn't know about "pirated" CD's ;) I think LG is part of Samsung. This is in a 6 year olds PC. Believe me, it reads scratched, fingerprinted, abused....CD's very well.
 

Biggs

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2000
3,010
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Great! Now I'm gonna get the LG. I was dead set on getting the Afreey until a coupla minutes ago but thanks to you, I've changed my mind. :)
 

LXi

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
7,987
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LG is actually the former GoldStar brand, Samsung's archrival. But good to hear they make good CD-ROM drives, more good choices for the people.
 

Chriz

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
438
5
81
I went ahead and ordered the Teac. They make really reliable floppy drives too :)
 

Pauli

Senior member
Oct 14, 1999
836
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Good choice Chriz. See http://www.cdspeed2000.com for extensive details and comparison on many drives. Sure, the Teac is a bit slower on data transfer, but the DAE is excellent for a 40x drive. Faster than almost all 48x drives.
 

tboo

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2000
7,626
1
81
I had an Afreey 56X drive and I got excellent performance from it. I learned about the drive at the cdspeed site. It posted high performance marks just like the cdspeed site said it would. helps if you have it on its own ide channel-no sharing the cable with another drive-especially with the Kenwood 72X