Help picking optical drives please!

[MrGamer7934]

Ok here it goes, I've done the research and pulled out my hair now its time to help me!

Below are the parts I've gotten or ordered already, fill in the blanks..
Case: Lian-Li PC65B
PS: Enermax 430w
CPU: Pentium 4 3.06ghz
Mobo: Asus P4t533 (latest revision)
RAM: 2x512mb Samsung 32-bit 4200 RDRAM
Video: ATI Radeon 9700
Sound: Audigy 2
DVD: ________ (Toshiba vs. LiteOn)
CDRW: _______ (LiteOn 52x vs. Plextor 48x)
Hard Drives: 2x 80gb WD SE (raid)
Speakers: Klipsch 5.1
Monitor: NEC 19" FE950+

 

[CraigRT]

for both the blanks, buy the opposite of Lite-On (for obvious reasons)

Toshiba is better Lite-On, and Plextor is better than Lite-On.

 

[Boobers]

Buy the LiteOn's. They are the best for the money. I own a 40X writer and a couple 16X DVD;s and they never have given me any problems. I use Fuji CDR's and burn all day long at 48X speed (er, I mean 40X ).

 

[MrGamer7934]

any other opinions... I've used plextor forever, a bit skeptical with liteon but heard alot of good things. Thanks

 

[Macro2]

Hummm...for the same price I'd go toshiba and Plextor.

I suspect however, that the Toshiba and Lite-on DVDs are about the same $$$. So I would go with the Toshiba.

As for the CD-RW. I suspect the Plextor is a LOT more than the Lite-on so i would go with the LITE-ON.

So I personnaly would go with the Toshiba DVD and a Lite-on CD-RW. As a matter of fact i have this combo in a couple computers. And if I build one for someone I set it up that way. You can scarf Lite-on cdrws rebadged for $30 or less on hot deals, but make sure you know what you are buying first.

Mac

 

[MrGamer7934]

I would like to note, money isn't a object in this decision making process. I'm out to get the best performing components.

What is the lite-on RAW copy mode? Would this be better when duplicating music and games? (for personal backup purposes )
Which drive would be better for those purposes?

Also I do rip cds for my mp3 collection...

Thanks everyone for your help

 

[Boobers]

Plextors are over-rated, IMHO. I've owned them all, starting at 2X all the way up to the Ultra SCSI drives. Personally, I think they are junk and don't seem to last very long. For the price, I think they are not a very good buy. That's just been my actual experience with them, YMMV...

I had a Toshiba and returned it because of the horrible high pitched noise it made when reading at fast speed. Hated playing games using it because of the whine. Very annoying. I think it was a 16X DVD drive. I exchanged it for a LiteOn (Thanks NewEgg!) and have never looked back. I also had an AOpen DVD drive that also produced a very high pitched whine when reading, returned it too. And again, this is my actual experience with the actual hardware and not just some statement that "I heard LiteOn's suck".

 

[jazzhound]

Lite-On writers have been very consistant based on empirical experiences. I've also asked many users prior to my own purchases. They're affordable and perform just as well as Plextor. My Toshiba DVD ROM still works flawlessly after 3 years, the only thing that seems to be going is the eject button on it. Either would be a good bet I think (Toshiba or Lite-On).

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Here's the skinny:
The Toshiba is better than the Lite-On in all regards. It rips audio at better quality, it reads subchannel data better... everything. Best DVDROM on the market period.
Now for the next bit it's more dependant on what you want the CDR/RW for. If you want to rip games and that's about it, get the Lite-ON. It is flawless at this. If you are going to do any heavy music burning (and game ripping for that matter) then the Plextor is for you because it writes the audio at better quality. The Lite-On will write Safe-Disc protected stuff better, but the Plextor can usually hack them out and it's equally good at everything else. (note: nothing can beat the newest securom to my knowledge). Also the Lite-On is $80 cheaper.

That should be enough info to help you decide which one you need/want.

 

[Boobers]

What do you mean "(Toshiba) rips at better quality"? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Either a drive rips the audio correctly, or it does not. There is no "better". The audio is digital. It is either perfect, or it is flawed.

And the same goes for writing audio. It is either perfect, or flawed. There is no "better".

 

[MrGamer7934]

WOW! Thanks everyone for all your useful information! I also disagree with the statement of ripping and writing audio, which will not influence my purchase. Even though I used plextor all my life and never decided to really switch, the LiteON is worth the shot. If it performs wonderfully like everyone is claiming, then hell, the most I have to loose is $80! DVD is another story; I've had experiences with Toshiba and Pioneer in the past. Toshiba does make high-pitched noise that drove me crazy and RMA'd for pioneer. Although I haven't had mechanical or noise issues with this drive, it seems slow when reading media and extracting audio. LiteON is supposedly known for their DAE, so I will probably consider their DVD-ROM also. Newegg only currently has the 166 series in stock currently and all the reviews I read were from the 163... Any significant changes I should be aware of. Again thanks for the responses!

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: Boobers
What do you mean "(Toshiba) rips at better quality"? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Either a drive rips the audio correctly, or it does not. There is no "better". The audio is digital. It is either perfect, or it is flawed.

And the same goes for writing audio. It is either perfect, or flawed. There is no "better".

http://www.hydrogenaudio.com

go there and post your views or read more. But if it's inaudible, then it doesn't make a difference.

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: Boobers
What do you mean "(Toshiba) rips at better quality"? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Either a drive rips the audio correctly, or it does not. There is no "better". The audio is digital. It is either perfect, or it is flawed.

And the same goes for writing audio. It is either perfect, or flawed. There is no "better".

http://www.hydrogenaudio.com

go there and post your views or read more. But if it's inaudible, then it doesn't make a difference.

edit - also the ripping software makes a difference.

 

[PliotronX]

Lite-On vs. Toshiba for DVD -> Depends; do you want very quiet, or superior performance? Noise level = Toshiba, Performance = Lite-On

Plextor vs. Lite-On for CDRW -> Lite-On, save the cash for something else