I bought this drive for $38 shipped with 5 Ridata DL discs and 1 Ridata 4X +RW disc, very decent drive with fairly new firmware. This drive has potential when Firmware is mature.
Apparently this drive is identical to the 3551/4550/4551 with only firmware changes between them. This means the possibility of somebody adding DVD-RAM and LabelFlash features with a hacked BIOS.
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=157594
In for one. Thanks OP!
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=157594
In for one. Thanks OP!
Performance wise, I have no beef with the drive, but this thing is LOUD. It is as loud as my 4 year old Pioneer slot DVD drive. You would think they would have made the drives quieter. Very disappointed. I don't know how noisy Pioneers are, but I am going to give them a try next time.
This thing is like a freaking jet engine in my Antec BQE case.
This thing is like a freaking jet engine in my Antec BQE case.
oooh thats not good I just ordered one too
guess its going up for sale lol
at least I get to keep the dvd's I guess
guess its going up for sale lol
at least I get to keep the dvd's I guess
I am tempted to get this and upgrade my 2500a. However, can anyone confirm that this drive is as loud as Dacalo claims it is? My 2500a is barely audible and my fathers 3520a is also barely audible.
Also is this a good time to upgrade? It seems DVD+/-R has hit the top speed. What about +/-RW? I don't really care for DL since media is ridiculously expensive and rumors have it that it will always be that way. Also is DVD-RAM dead?
Also is this a good time to upgrade? It seems DVD+/-R has hit the top speed. What about +/-RW? I don't really care for DL since media is ridiculously expensive and rumors have it that it will always be that way. Also is DVD-RAM dead?
Is it loud or quiet? arg, that was my biggest concern, and I already ordered. I would rather get a slower but quieter BENQ than a louder NEC.
I've had my 3550a for two weeks, its dead silent. Much quieter than my 2500a, that was the first thing I noticed after installation and alot more quieter than my Lite-on that was replaced by it.
MM
MM
OMG, seriously thinking about buying this. So cheap, and such a nice burner. I'm going to buy this thing ASAP. The only concern in the noise, but most people are saying it's pretty quiet. Any last second thoughts, guys, or should I splurge on this?
It depends on how it is mounted and the drive mechanism whether it is quiet or not.
I have a BenQ 1620 and its dead silent. My new 3550A is noisier, but I would not call it loud. I am a silent freak. I am waiting for the new BenQ 1650 due out any time now, and I want to compare the 2 (3550A and 1650).
I have a BenQ 1620 and its dead silent. My new 3550A is noisier, but I would not call it loud. I am a silent freak. I am waiting for the new BenQ 1650 due out any time now, and I want to compare the 2 (3550A and 1650).
Let me clarify. When you are burning, it is quiet, but the drive is bad for reading DVDs. Check Newegg feedbacks, a lot of people claim the same. My rig is VERY quiet, so I am sensitive to sound.
the beige one is 38.99 with free shipping...
Those free combo deals seemed good to me .. but than my shipping got jacked up to $10 so i opt it out.
These drives aren't that noisey(you can obviously hear it), but when they run full speed they can be ... like when burning a cd at 48x ...
Those free combo deals seemed good to me .. but than my shipping got jacked up to $10 so i opt it out.
These drives aren't that noisey(you can obviously hear it), but when they run full speed they can be ... like when burning a cd at 48x ...
- Apr 8, 2005
- 4,185
- 29
- 91
Burn baby burn! That's exactly what I've been doing ever since I got the 3550a as my second burner in my system last week. Have burned quite a few dual layer discs to perfection using Verbatim (stay away from Memorex DL) since then. Make sure reflash to its latest driver which I did immediately after installing.
Paid $39.99 along with a free 5 Verbatim DL and one single DVD Rewriteable disc. Can't beat that combo price.
Noise? What noise?
Paid $39.99 along with a free 5 Verbatim DL and one single DVD Rewriteable disc. Can't beat that combo price.
Noise? What noise?
videopho,
Can you post the link to where you can download the latert firmware for the drive, mine will be coming in tomorrow
thanks
Johnny
Can you post the link to where you can download the latert firmware for the drive, mine will be coming in tomorrow
thanks
Johnny
Link to firmwares, including new and older burners. Backup your old firmware, turn off virus scan before you run new firmware.Originally posted by: johnnytc3
videopho,
Can you post the link to where you can download the latert firmware for the drive, mine will be coming in tomorrow
thanks
Johnny
khurios2000
Diamond Member
- Dec 11, 2003
- 7,531
- 1
- 91
Sweet hawt deal!! Includes 5 dual layer DVDR and 1 dual layer RW free disks!!
Considering they are normally $15 on newegg this makes it a SMOKING deal. Then if you ever need a dual layer for one time use, use the RW and you can use it again later. Very good stuff.
As for max speed I'm not sure. I know that 52x is pretty much the max reasonable CD speed, because faster than that and the cds blow apart in your drive.
Its quite possible that 16x is the max dvd speed, I dunno. But the speed staying max 16x (especially reading speed, since reading is normally easier to boost than writing) in all the modern DVDR drives for a year or two now would argue that its the max.
Also now that I think of it, most dvd 16x drives have maximum CD read speed of 48x which is pretty close to the 52x limit. So that also argues that we have reached max.
Also keep in mind that its not 52x across the whole disk. 52x is max, they usualy start at arond 24x then goto 36x, then 48x, then finally towards the end, 52x. Same with dvds.
The only real way to get faster than this is to use that old tech of splitting the laser into multiple beams to read (or write??) multiple tracks at once. Kenwood (I think thats the name) had a 72x reader that could do that. But that was quite a lot more expensive and has been long ago discontinued. There's such a small segment of people willing to pay twice as much for such a thing that I doubt any other manufactures will try it for a long time. Nowadays if you want faster burning than the 5 mins or so for 16x, you can just put do multiple burners at once.
Keep in mind that link is not official firmware. Thats hacked firmware. Official firmware page is:
http://support.necsam.com/optical/downloads/flashfirmware/
If you want unofficial firmware though, thats one of the places to get it. Some things you can do with unofficial firmware:
remove riplock (many dvd drives limit your ripping a dvd to 2x read speed in firmware)
remove region lock (watch movies from other regions like japanese anime if you are into that or whatever)
Add ability to bitset (allows you to mark the DVD as DVD-ROM retail pressed. Good for REALLY picky standalone players, like sony stuff).
Some unofficial firmware adds things like burning some media faster, and occasionally when a company makes multiple versions of a drive but nerfs some of them in firmware, you can use it to add functionality. I've had a firmware increase maximum burn speed, and others are saying you may be able to add ability to burn DVD-RAM (not that I have ever needed to burn that) by converting this into a 4550 drive. As well, I understand that the 4550 uses ultra DMA mode 4 instead of the normal ultra dma mode 2 that dvd drives have. And I hear when you crossflash it this is changed as well. Also the 4550 adds a special burn mode called LabelFlash, which is like LightScribe on the HP burners. Except this can mark the top AND bottom of a dvd. But it requires special (read expensive) media just like the lightscribe.
Considering they are normally $15 on newegg this makes it a SMOKING deal. Then if you ever need a dual layer for one time use, use the RW and you can use it again later. Very good stuff.
As for max speed I'm not sure. I know that 52x is pretty much the max reasonable CD speed, because faster than that and the cds blow apart in your drive.
Its quite possible that 16x is the max dvd speed, I dunno. But the speed staying max 16x (especially reading speed, since reading is normally easier to boost than writing) in all the modern DVDR drives for a year or two now would argue that its the max.
Also now that I think of it, most dvd 16x drives have maximum CD read speed of 48x which is pretty close to the 52x limit. So that also argues that we have reached max.
Also keep in mind that its not 52x across the whole disk. 52x is max, they usualy start at arond 24x then goto 36x, then 48x, then finally towards the end, 52x. Same with dvds.
The only real way to get faster than this is to use that old tech of splitting the laser into multiple beams to read (or write??) multiple tracks at once. Kenwood (I think thats the name) had a 72x reader that could do that. But that was quite a lot more expensive and has been long ago discontinued. There's such a small segment of people willing to pay twice as much for such a thing that I doubt any other manufactures will try it for a long time. Nowadays if you want faster burning than the 5 mins or so for 16x, you can just put do multiple burners at once.
Originally posted by: brucekatz
Link to firmwares, including new and older burners. Backup your old firmware, turn off virus scan before you run new firmware.Originally posted by: johnnytc3
videopho,
Can you post the link to where you can download the latert firmware for the drive, mine will be coming in tomorrow
thanks
Johnny
Keep in mind that link is not official firmware. Thats hacked firmware. Official firmware page is:
http://support.necsam.com/optical/downloads/flashfirmware/
If you want unofficial firmware though, thats one of the places to get it. Some things you can do with unofficial firmware:
remove riplock (many dvd drives limit your ripping a dvd to 2x read speed in firmware)
remove region lock (watch movies from other regions like japanese anime if you are into that or whatever)
Add ability to bitset (allows you to mark the DVD as DVD-ROM retail pressed. Good for REALLY picky standalone players, like sony stuff).
Some unofficial firmware adds things like burning some media faster, and occasionally when a company makes multiple versions of a drive but nerfs some of them in firmware, you can use it to add functionality. I've had a firmware increase maximum burn speed, and others are saying you may be able to add ability to burn DVD-RAM (not that I have ever needed to burn that) by converting this into a 4550 drive. As well, I understand that the 4550 uses ultra DMA mode 4 instead of the normal ultra dma mode 2 that dvd drives have. And I hear when you crossflash it this is changed as well. Also the 4550 adds a special burn mode called LabelFlash, which is like LightScribe on the HP burners. Except this can mark the top AND bottom of a dvd. But it requires special (read expensive) media just like the lightscribe.
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