Iomega Burn-Proof 12x4x32 for $119 after rebates at Circuit City

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DDDay

Member
Dec 18, 2000
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I never said the Plextor was not the better drive, it gets great reviews. You said that the The Plextor kicks its @$$. There is no contest what so ever. Do you want the best or the cheapest? Plextor is in an entirely different class.

You are saying that the Iomega is CRAP... that is not the case and if you like the plextor, then say so. You don't need to say the Iomega is the cheapest, I know plenty of cheap drives and this is not one of them.

That is just my two cents.
 

Jamey

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
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That was not my intent, and if you thought so, I am sorry for the confusion. I am mearly making a point of value. The Iomega is the cheapest burner that was mentioned in the post above mine on the 17th. I do not feel this is a "cheap" drive. If so, I wouldn't have bought two of them. I just don't believe that anyone can make a comparison between this drive and the Plextor. Many have made comparisons between the TDK unit and the Plextor. There is NO WAY those same comparisons can be made with Iomega and the Plextor. You said "

<< How can the Plextor be in a different class, Sanyo makes both drives. The only difference is the package >>

.&quot; They ARE different. I do not believe these are identical drives made by the same manufacturer. I have, and am currently using both of them. There is a night and day difference in drive noise. Also, you have to perform a bios update with a bios that is NOT marketed for the drive (although reports say it works). With the Plextor it ships ready to use Clone CD. Therefore you can NOT compare this drive as it ships with the Plextor. All other attempts to create an illusion of how &quot;

<< The only difference is the package >>

,&quot; is FALSE, and I didn't want this forum to turn into that. My post was a preemptive strike against just that type of comment!
 

smensch

Senior member
Nov 30, 2000
393
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I went to my local CC today to see if any of these drives were in stock. No such luck. Plus, the price on the label for the Iomega said $259. I guess the sale price is over. Damn.
 

Jamey

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
286
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smensch,

Try to get this at staples through a price match if it is still available at compusa or cc. Then use a coupon to get the price lower. If you can find it locally, they shouldn't charge you shipping costs.
 

TimidOCer

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2000
1,903
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<rant=&quot;on&quot;>

DAMN JAMEY! You must be a picky SOB, I bought this drive a while back for $125 i LOVE it! LOUD!?!?! This drive is VERY quiet i cant hear it . There is no way that the plextor is any quieter than this iomega, maybe yours makes more noise than mine but i actually took and got down on my knees while this thing was burning at 12x and it was SOO silent I barely heard it from having my frickin ear on it !!!
For anyone who doesnt want to upgrade the firmware by all means get the plextor after all theyre both the same f%cking drive just one already has the updated firmware!

</rant=&quot;off&quot;>
 

mwmadbad

Junior Member
Dec 17, 2000
17
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Jamey....

I fired up my 12x Plex and my 12x IOmegas...one on each side of me...the Iomega is as quiet if not quieter at FULL DAE rip speed...About the same at full speed write...and WAY quieter on loading Motocross Madness 2...

I think you have a screw loose...(literally....LOL)

Also..I sold my Plex for 2 IOmegas....hmmm...I would say that is MUCH better
 

Jamey

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
286
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WOW...did I step in something or what? :D

I have been working with 2 of the Iomega's for a couple of weeks now and my Plextor for a couple of months. They are installed correctly, screws tightened, yadda...yadda...yadda... What can I say? My wife and a friend of mine both agree that the Iomega drives I have are noticably louder than my Plextor. No Contest. Period. End of Story. Everyone has their opinion, and call me screwy if ya wish, but I still say the Iomega's are not as nice, and I would prefer Plextor even at $50 more. After all, that's what I did. I could easily keep one of the Iomega's and give the Plextor away.

How many ways can I say it? Let me be perfectly clear about my position. The Iomega is/was roughly $50 cheaper than the Plextor. If you want the best drive at any price (IMHO) get the plextor. If you want to get a drive that performs at nearly the same CDR speed for $50 less get the Iomega. If you choose to save the $50 and get the Iomega, be prepared to flash the bios with a version that is not marketed for the drive if you want CD Clone ability (reports say it works). Also, while others here say the drive isn't loud, my two are. Rated CD-RW speed is less than half as fast (I don't use CD-RW discs so I can't comment on real world difference in speed). If these three things don't bother you, the Iomega would be the obvious better deal.

Please, someone show me that these drives are identical. I don't believe they are same. I want to agree and learn that I just bought 2 more drives just like my plextor for less than $125 ea.

BTW....TimidOCer...I am a picky SOB :D , but my drives are louder than the Plextor. My wife says it wouldn't be a big deal to her, but it would be a big deal to my friend. The score here seems to be 2-1 that the drive is louder than desirable.
 

Jamey

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
286
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I have found a possible source for my differing opinion on these drives. There seems to be two Iomega 12x drives out there.

12x/4x/32x Iomega part # 31236

and

12x/10x/32x Iomega part # 31120

The deal is supposed to be for the former, and I have 2 of them. Perhaps part # 31120 is exactly the same drive as the plextor, while part # 31236 is not. I could live with this explaination, except no one is claiming to have gotten the 12x/10x/32x. Is the 31236 the same drive as the 31120 except an older bios? Hard for me to believe the bios update would make that much of a difference in CD-RW speed.
 

JimMc

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
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If flashing firmware is a major hurdle for you, pay Plextor the extra $50. But for those who are somewhat familiar with computer hardware, it is not a big deal. You're really starting to sound defensive, no one is knocking Plextor, the Iomega is simply a better value.

 

TerreApart

Senior member
Aug 30, 2000
231
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Jamey, the version everyone here is talking about is the second version of the 12x4x32 series from iomega. The second drive is easily identified---it has BURN-Proof stamped on the front of the drive itself...

If your drive doesnt have this stamp, then you have the first release of the iomage 12x4x32 series (there are 2 versions sold under iomega, each built by different companies, the SECOND one is a SANYO 900-with burnproof)

STOP saying the flash is not built for this drive, IT WAS BUILT FOR THIS DRIVE! GMC trucks and Chevrolet trucks both use the SAME PARTS, but they have different brand names---WHO CARES about the name--its the same DRIVE...

Ok, nuff said...

I guess people are ragging on you cause your NOT adding to this thread your filling it with speculation and YOUR opinion. The topic is NOT --what do you think of this drive...

Ok---enough of my soapbox...

BTW, this is an excellent deal, we still have a few of these drives here in Minneapolis (i saw 4 on the shelf this morning)-(they were mixed in with the iomega 8x4x32 drives, so you have to search though the shelf...)
 

ebaker

Golden Member
Dec 15, 1999
1,056
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I have an Iomega 12x10x32 drive, it is definitely a Plextor, TLA 0203(as is the TDK 12x10x32). It is constructed differently from the my Iomega 12x4x32 which is a Sayno CRW BP900P. I believe the Sayno bios upgrade is made for all BP900's they sell to OEMs. It does not change the drives identification as an Iomega drive like Imation 820 bios upgrade did. The 12x4x32 is an excellent drive,very smooth and quiet. I haven't used the 12x10x32 yet.
 

Jamey

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
286
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Well, you got part of my opinion right...thats a start. Seems like everyone leaves out the fact I bought two of them. I bought these for gifts because I will be doing the bios updates, but they wouldn't be. As little as they will use the drive, the noise won't be a factor. CD-RW speed isn't a factor either. For all THREE of these reasons I settled on getting the Iomega's because it was the best value for them. I can only say I (and others) differ in opinion about the drive noise, and for ALL the reasons I've given against the Iomega (and the fact I am a picky SOB), I would rather have the Plextor and pay the extra $50.
 

TimidOCer

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2000
1,903
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well jamey ... Im a picky SOB too and there is NO way that the plextor is quieter than my iomega because theyre both the same drive AND this drive while burning at 12x is quieter than :
A floppy drive
A whisper <-----Literally
any cdrom ive ever owned
PSU
hard drive
clicking of a mouse
typing
Now if you can justify paying $50 more for the pretty little plextor label go ahead but theres no way in hell your plextor drive is quieter than my iomega. Anyone who would pay 50$ more for the plextor doesnt belong in the hot deals forum for god sakes thats the price of a crap load of cdr's or a stick of 128mb pc133 ram!
So now im done RANTING LIKE A MADMAN .
thank you and now i need to go get a db rater from radio shack use it once to check dbs than take it back and see how loud this baby is NOT LOUD AT ALL
 

apunahus

Member
Nov 20, 1999
173
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i was going to say something else to jamey about knockin this drive but i see everyone beat me to it. my iomega is not whisper quiet tho. its far from loud but it definately makes noise --louder than my case fans but no where near as loud as my reader. TimidOCer, i hope you are serious about gettin a db rater cause i would love to know the reading (i am still crackin up from your post)
 

Mysterie

Senior member
Jan 7, 2000
881
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After reading all these post I am wondering what's the point in flashing the drive. I have the burn-proof. Does it make the drive better (sorry for not knowing the difference)?

BTW CC is suck, I went back to do a price guarantee on the drive I previously bought and they said they have to see if CompUSA had it in stock to do it. They never did that at Best buy, even the worse ones.

*edit* How can anyone say this drive is loud. It's very runs very quiet, not unlike the drive it is replacing, a Creative 8432 CDRW. My Toshiba DVD is louder (of course even my Toshiba DVD player is loud too so I guess it's a Toshiba thing)
 

Jamey

Senior member
Aug 6, 2000
286
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Flashing the drive unlocks the drive's full ability in Clone CD. It isn't that big of a deal to flash it if you are comfortable with most any hardware upgrade. I hope my posts don't make you timid about doing the flashing. I made a point to not cast any judgement on the patch itself, only that you have to do it.

On all the other points, I've said all I wanted to say, several times. I hope that users take my comments as well as all others in to account when they make a purchase looking for a hot deal. That is what I thought this forum was about. If it turns out that most people disagree with me once they make their purchase(as has happened), I think it's wonderful. Afterall, I am giving two of them away for presents.
 

src

Senior member
Sep 4, 2000
434
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Just checking to make sure... does this drive support CD-TEXT writing?
 

trex

Junior Member
Dec 20, 2000
3
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can someone email me a copy of their receipt. I can not find mine for the rebate. Compusa won't issue me another one. thanks to all in advance.


email addy: Tosure_200@yahoo.com
 

nuges

Junior Member
Dec 20, 2000
7
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I don't suppose anyone could email me the Circuit City rebate form (if you have a copy in whatever format). Circuit City online seems to have taken it off their website. sn99187@juno.com
 

kevin143

Junior Member
Sep 21, 2000
6
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HELLO one quick question do i need to flash the iomega 12-10-32 for clone cd to get all the games to copy ok kevin
 

nuges

Junior Member
Dec 20, 2000
7
0
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I hate to ask again, but...

I don't suppose anyone could email me the Circuit City rebate form (if you have a copy in whatever format). Circuit City online seems to have taken it off their website. sn99187@juno.com

It'd be really appreciated.