- Feb 5, 2003
- 4,150
- 8
- 81
I recently built a new C2D rig, and I'd like to share my experience with these two DVD Burners.
NEC 7170A IDE - OEM $30.99 at Newegg
Pros:
Price
18X
Carries the NEC name? (see cons below)
[/i]Cons:[/i]
First and foremost was the noise! Very very loud by my standards and experience with other optical drives. I always thought people were exaggerating when they would refer to a drive sounding like a jet engine or vacuum cleaner, but that fits the bill perfectly with this drive. I just couldn't believe how loud it was.
Second, the drive is not black, lol. It is listed as black, and it may look black at first glance, but stick it in a black case with another truly black drive and the difference is very noticeable. The drive is a very very dark shade of gray, or perhaps even a dark "charcoal" color. But it is not true black as you may and probably will expect as I did. It just looks like crap when set up in a black system.
Third, and maybe very important to those who have loyalty to the old NEC drives...this drive is not made by NEC. It is a rebadged Sony Optiarc. Whatever the heck that is
It is printed clear as day on the lablel on top of the drive. I know many devoted NEC fans will be upset because the older NEC drives were some of the best bang for the buck drives around, but at least with this model, that is no longer the case. They made a switch to Sony Opticrap for some reason, and I suppose they are hoping that their name and reputation will carry on without a hitch.
Liteon SH-16A7S SATA - Retail $44.99 at ZZF
Pros:
It's SATA!!!
It's Retail---includes full version of Nero 7!!
It's BLACK!!! AND includes Beige Bezel!
And last but not least, it is very quiet IMHO! Yes, you can hear it since it is not completely silent, but it sounds more like a system fan running at a higher RPM when reading / writing than the loud, annoying, sucking, whirring sound that came with the NEC.
Cons:
16X (not a big deal to me, I can wait a few more minutes for a DVD)
Price (not bad IMHO, for a SATA drive, when IDE is becoming scarce on newer chipsets)
So, that's my little review. It is not comprehensive by any means, but I wanted to point out 2 things.
1) I highly recommend the Liteon drive for anyone looking to go with SATA optical in a new build.
2)I really wanted to get the word out that the new NEC drives are really really not what they used to be. They had such a good name and a good following, it's just a shame that they made this move with this particular model. I can't vouch for their reliability, as I only had the drive in my posession for less than 4 weeks, but it just wasn't worth it to me to find out with all the blatant flaws I noticed right off the bat.
I'm hoping my remarks in this thread will stop some of the people recommending this drive to others that are looking for help with a new build. I know that many recommned this drive out of experience with other NEC models, but it is poor advice as this drive is crap IMO.
Thanks for reading!
mcurphy
NEC 7170A IDE - OEM $30.99 at Newegg
Pros:
Price
18X
Carries the NEC name? (see cons below)
[/i]Cons:[/i]
First and foremost was the noise! Very very loud by my standards and experience with other optical drives. I always thought people were exaggerating when they would refer to a drive sounding like a jet engine or vacuum cleaner, but that fits the bill perfectly with this drive. I just couldn't believe how loud it was.
Second, the drive is not black, lol. It is listed as black, and it may look black at first glance, but stick it in a black case with another truly black drive and the difference is very noticeable. The drive is a very very dark shade of gray, or perhaps even a dark "charcoal" color. But it is not true black as you may and probably will expect as I did. It just looks like crap when set up in a black system.
Third, and maybe very important to those who have loyalty to the old NEC drives...this drive is not made by NEC. It is a rebadged Sony Optiarc. Whatever the heck that is
It is printed clear as day on the lablel on top of the drive. I know many devoted NEC fans will be upset because the older NEC drives were some of the best bang for the buck drives around, but at least with this model, that is no longer the case. They made a switch to Sony Opticrap for some reason, and I suppose they are hoping that their name and reputation will carry on without a hitch.Liteon SH-16A7S SATA - Retail $44.99 at ZZF
Pros:
It's SATA!!!
It's Retail---includes full version of Nero 7!!
It's BLACK!!! AND includes Beige Bezel!
And last but not least, it is very quiet IMHO! Yes, you can hear it since it is not completely silent, but it sounds more like a system fan running at a higher RPM when reading / writing than the loud, annoying, sucking, whirring sound that came with the NEC.
Cons:
16X (not a big deal to me, I can wait a few more minutes for a DVD)
Price (not bad IMHO, for a SATA drive, when IDE is becoming scarce on newer chipsets)
So, that's my little review. It is not comprehensive by any means, but I wanted to point out 2 things.
1) I highly recommend the Liteon drive for anyone looking to go with SATA optical in a new build.
2)I really wanted to get the word out that the new NEC drives are really really not what they used to be. They had such a good name and a good following, it's just a shame that they made this move with this particular model. I can't vouch for their reliability, as I only had the drive in my posession for less than 4 weeks, but it just wasn't worth it to me to find out with all the blatant flaws I noticed right off the bat.
I'm hoping my remarks in this thread will stop some of the people recommending this drive to others that are looking for help with a new build. I know that many recommned this drive out of experience with other NEC models, but it is poor advice as this drive is crap IMO.
Thanks for reading!
mcurphy
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