I am having a new computer built. I wanted to put a DVD drive in but i noticed that the speeds are lot lower in DVD than in a regular cd rom. Do I need both a cd rom and a DVD drive. My current cd rom is a 50x. The DVD drive I was looking at is a 16x dvd/40x cd rom. Does that mean I have everything together in 1 drive. I am a little cloudy on the new DVD technology. It looks like they are combining both cd rom and dvd together in one drive. Is this the case?
DVD or CD Rom?
- Thread starter ginky4
- Start date
Will I notice any difference in performance if I just insert a 16x DVD instead of a 50x cd rom. What are the benefits of DVD compared to a regular cd rom? How important is this speed stuff anyway?
Ok, it looks like I will just put a DVD drive in , instead of putting a DVD and Cd-Rom in. Having both looks like a waste of time and money.
I still have yet to use a DVD in my DVD-ROM drive. Thanks, game publishers, for never releasing anything on DVD. :Q
My 24x CDRom is plenty fast enough (well it's a CDRW, but 24x read)
40x CDRom is plenty fast, you will not notice the difference between 40x and 50x.
And just for reference, 1x on a DVD is 1350k, 1x on a CD is 150k.
They are quite different. A 10x DVDRom reads DVD media as fast as a 90x CDrom would read CD Media. You can't compare 16x DVD to 40x CD, they are multipling from a different base.
Anyhow...get a DVDRom, my pioneer reads CDs just fine. And then you can play movies on your Computer, or play games on DVD (of course the only games I've seen on DVD is the DVD Edtion of baldur's gate
)
40x CDRom is plenty fast, you will not notice the difference between 40x and 50x.
And just for reference, 1x on a DVD is 1350k, 1x on a CD is 150k.
They are quite different. A 10x DVDRom reads DVD media as fast as a 90x CDrom would read CD Media. You can't compare 16x DVD to 40x CD, they are multipling from a different base.
Anyhow...get a DVDRom, my pioneer reads CDs just fine. And then you can play movies on your Computer, or play games on DVD (of course the only games I've seen on DVD is the DVD Edtion of baldur's gate
)im sure they will put games and products on DVDS once ppl get more DVD ROMS. get a DVD ROM its much better, you can wathc movies on your comp
Ditto here, JellyBaby, though I do watch DVD movies on my system from time to time (19" aperture grille with an 80 watt speaker system is nicer than my TV setup, plus if my wife's sleeping I can't watch the TV anyway).
<< you should get one with at least 50x CD >>
Why on Earth would you say that? CD drives that spin that high can be exceptionally noisy (jet turbine comes to mind), and there are so few instances where CD speed really matters that it's not worth worrying about. I have a Plextor 40MAX, and it's probably faster where it counts than just about any 50x drive out there. It's also quiet compared to a 45x Afreey that I've also used.
I'd pay more attention to manufacturer than speed. Would that 16x/40x DVD be a Pioneer? I've heard good things about those but have never used one myself. I have two Toshibas -- 2x (20x CD?) and 5x/32x. Both are good drives and have not caused me any trouble. The 5x one is actually branded a Philips, but it's made by Toshiba.
<< you should get one with at least 50x CD >>
Why on Earth would you say that? CD drives that spin that high can be exceptionally noisy (jet turbine comes to mind), and there are so few instances where CD speed really matters that it's not worth worrying about. I have a Plextor 40MAX, and it's probably faster where it counts than just about any 50x drive out there. It's also quiet compared to a 45x Afreey that I've also used.
I'd pay more attention to manufacturer than speed. Would that 16x/40x DVD be a Pioneer? I've heard good things about those but have never used one myself. I have two Toshibas -- 2x (20x CD?) and 5x/32x. Both are good drives and have not caused me any trouble. The 5x one is actually branded a Philips, but it's made by Toshiba.
ghouldini
Senior member
- May 26, 2000
- 434
- 0
- 76
"I'd pay more attention to manufacturer than speed."
Does this mean that a Teac 40x CDROM is just as good or even better than a LG Electronics 48x CDROM? I am not familiar with LG. I can get either using the $20 off $50 at Staples (Teac-$44.99 or LG-$30.99 after coupon). I was also considering the 12xToshiba DVDRom but don't know about the software vs hardware issue either.
Does this mean that a Teac 40x CDROM is just as good or even better than a LG Electronics 48x CDROM? I am not familiar with LG. I can get either using the $20 off $50 at Staples (Teac-$44.99 or LG-$30.99 after coupon). I was also considering the 12xToshiba DVDRom but don't know about the software vs hardware issue either.
Very informative post. Can you recommend a DVD manufacturer. I don't mind spending money for a top of the line DVD. What speed DVD and what Manufacturer do you recommend?
AndrewR,
I have a nagging feeling I'll post the exact same thing, "no DVD titles to buy", should this thread reappear a year from now.
ginky4,
Hitachi drives aren't bad either. I've only had one problem installing from a CD-ROM disc who's "silver" circle wasn't perfectly centered within the plastic coating. My 8x Hitachi just couldn't read that damn disc. But an older 6x Toshiba had no problems at all.
I have a nagging feeling I'll post the exact same thing, "no DVD titles to buy", should this thread reappear a year from now.
ginky4,
Hitachi drives aren't bad either. I've only had one problem installing from a CD-ROM disc who's "silver" circle wasn't perfectly centered within the plastic coating. My 8x Hitachi just couldn't read that damn disc. But an older 6x Toshiba had no problems at all.
JellyBaby: I'm beginning to wonder the same thing about those mysteriously absent DVD software titles. Personally, I would have purchased the DVD version of Baldur's Gate had I owned a DVD drive when it debuted. Since most of the games I do buy are only on one CD, it doesn't matter. Given a preference, though, I would buy a DVD title. It probably comes down to cost though, but I'm just guessing. Doesn't DVD media cost a fair amount as compared to CD-ROM?
As for recommendations on drive manufacturers, for DVD, I'd also follow recommendations for Toshiba (from my use of them) to Pioneer (from recommendations of many others on this board and elsewhere). That's not to say Actima and Hitachi aren't good, but I cannot say one way or the other. I have heard of Hitachi obviously and have also heard of Actima, though it's a far less well known name. On speed, if it's your primary optical media drive (meaning, you don't have another CD-ROM), I'd try to go for a higher speed drive to cut down on installation times and to decrease your audio ripping times for creating MP3's (if you do that). I'd say a minimum would be 5x, and you should probably try a little higher than that if money permits. My Toshiba 5x is the primary drive on my other system, and I've not had any problem with its speed. I also don't convert MP3's on that computer though.
On CD-ROM drives, I would think either of those would be good, but you may want to look at specific recommendations for those drives since even drives from the same manufacturer can vary widely. For instance, my old Plextor 12/20 PLEX CD-ROM drive was quite noisy though it was fast. You would think that increasing the speed to a 40MAX (40x) would increase the noise considerably -- quite the contrary, it's about half as loud as my old one (it's SCSI though, you probably cannot use it). Teac is a well known name as they make a ton of floppy drives. LG Electronics is also a large, well known manufacturer (also called Lucky Star, I think -- they do have another name, not sure if that's it though). I did use an LG Electronics CD-ROM drive several years ago, 24x I believe, and it was a very good one. However, it's hard to base a recommendation from that long ago. Since I'm a SCSI user, there's only one recommendation for me: Plextor. I haven't looked at IDE drives in quite some time.
RagingGuardian: I've heard that comment from many people but usually in reference to using a CD-R/W as the primary drive in a system. I am not sure that it's that important, quite honestly. These drives usually have fairly high estimations for durability, and optical drives are not used 24/7 (unlike hard drives). Since mine rarely last more than a year in my system, I don't particularly worry about wear and tear since it's under warranty. Personally, I have never had a CD drive fail on me, and I've been using them since 1991 (about when they debuted for home use -- 2x Creative Labs for $250 baby!). If the drive is going to be used quite a bit (database reference, for instance), I would definitely try to split up the usage between drives. Just my thoughts.
As for recommendations on drive manufacturers, for DVD, I'd also follow recommendations for Toshiba (from my use of them) to Pioneer (from recommendations of many others on this board and elsewhere). That's not to say Actima and Hitachi aren't good, but I cannot say one way or the other. I have heard of Hitachi obviously and have also heard of Actima, though it's a far less well known name. On speed, if it's your primary optical media drive (meaning, you don't have another CD-ROM), I'd try to go for a higher speed drive to cut down on installation times and to decrease your audio ripping times for creating MP3's (if you do that). I'd say a minimum would be 5x, and you should probably try a little higher than that if money permits. My Toshiba 5x is the primary drive on my other system, and I've not had any problem with its speed. I also don't convert MP3's on that computer though.
On CD-ROM drives, I would think either of those would be good, but you may want to look at specific recommendations for those drives since even drives from the same manufacturer can vary widely. For instance, my old Plextor 12/20 PLEX CD-ROM drive was quite noisy though it was fast. You would think that increasing the speed to a 40MAX (40x) would increase the noise considerably -- quite the contrary, it's about half as loud as my old one (it's SCSI though, you probably cannot use it). Teac is a well known name as they make a ton of floppy drives. LG Electronics is also a large, well known manufacturer (also called Lucky Star, I think -- they do have another name, not sure if that's it though). I did use an LG Electronics CD-ROM drive several years ago, 24x I believe, and it was a very good one. However, it's hard to base a recommendation from that long ago. Since I'm a SCSI user, there's only one recommendation for me: Plextor. I haven't looked at IDE drives in quite some time.
RagingGuardian: I've heard that comment from many people but usually in reference to using a CD-R/W as the primary drive in a system. I am not sure that it's that important, quite honestly. These drives usually have fairly high estimations for durability, and optical drives are not used 24/7 (unlike hard drives). Since mine rarely last more than a year in my system, I don't particularly worry about wear and tear since it's under warranty. Personally, I have never had a CD drive fail on me, and I've been using them since 1991 (about when they debuted for home use -- 2x Creative Labs for $250 baby!). If the drive is going to be used quite a bit (database reference, for instance), I would definitely try to split up the usage between drives. Just my thoughts.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 21K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter