Plextor 712A or NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive

[BMW2000z]

I'm thinking of buying a dvd burner. I hear the plextors are really good and quite and reliable. I'm between the Plextor 712A ( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-131-326&depa=1 ) and the NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive ( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-034&depa=1 ). The NEC is a lot cheaper eventhough the specs say it's all around faster then the Plextor, except that it has a 2mb buffer vs 8mb on the plextor. I have a burner with 2mb right now and it seems fine. Does that really matter when burning dvd's? Are the NEC's also quality and does this one run quiet? Or shold i just get the plextor?

 

[LordPhoenix]

NEC

 

[50]

NEC hands down

 

[BMW2000z]

Hmm, i thought Plextor would win, but guess not. So does the 2mb and 8mb buffer matter or not much? And nobody has really answered the question....is the NEC drive quiet or does it sound like a plane taking off when reading/burning?

 

[AndyHui]

Plextor is somewhat behind the curve for this round of DVD burners. For the choices given, you would probably be better off purchasing the NEC drive.

However, if you have the option, the Pioneer DVRA08XL/108 should definitely be worthy of consideration.

 

[jdogg707]

The Plextor is an excellent drive, but it is expensive for what you are getting. No DL support and no 16X support, both are features that will be important in the near future.

 

[blodhi74]

Plextor

 

[wfn]

i'm sorry but i will second andy's suggestion and recommend a Pioneer 108. They are always on the ball with media compatibility and f/w upgrades and the drives are really well built. I've had Pioneers since 103 and never been disappointed. I have a NEC 2510 in my other machine and it's a good drive but to me the tray is a bit flimsy.

 

[Bar81]

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=9346

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=10114

No real news on the NEC yet so I'd hold off if you choose that one until a proper review happens. However from an initial report both the NEC and Pioneer DL burning has a problem, namely PI error rates beyond acceptable around the middle of the burn; presumably the layer change point. I wouldn't jump on these drives for their DL burning ability just yet until the issue is hopefully worked out. That's not to mention the DL media costs and speeds.

Figure out what you want to do with the drive and then check the reviews to see which drive does it well. There is no "best" or "better" drive, it just depends on what you want. Personally, I want something that does everything well so I choose Pioneer. I don't want to mess around with "special" firmware or have to set a bunch of things. I pay extra for that convenience. On the other hand you may want to only burn DVDs in which case you could probably get an even cheaper drive than those you mention and be perfectly happy.

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
The Plextor is an excellent drive, but it is expensive for what you are getting. No DL support and no 16X support, both are features that will be important in the near future.

Unless you plan on holding the drive past 2005, those two features are irrelevant. DL is still slow even at 4x, write quality isn't where it should be, and the media is ridiculously expensive (and will be until the end of 05). Similarly 16x isn't a feature that matters over 12x, you're not gaining much time at all. The real negative against the Plextor is the price but for that price you get a drive that essentially does everything well- game ripping, CD ripping, etc The same thing can't be said of the cheaper drives.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: Bar81

Originally posted by: jdogg707
The Plextor is an excellent drive, but it is expensive for what you are getting. No DL support and no 16X support, both are features that will be important in the near future.

Unless you plan on holding the drive past 2005, those two features are irrelevant. DL is still slow even at 4x, write quality isn't where it should be, and the media is ridiculously expensive (and will be until the end of 05). Similarly 16x isn't a feature that matters over 12x, you're not gaining much time at all. The real negative against the Plextor is the price but for that price you get a drive that essentially does everything well- game ripping, CD ripping, etc The same thing can't be said of the cheaper drives.

You may not be gaining much, but you will be topped out. It's kind of like the difference between a 52X and 48X CD-RW, there may only be a 5-10 second difference in write performance, but that is the theoretical end to the technology, the same can be said between 12X and 16X DVD+/-R. Just as DVD+R and DVD-R media was incredibly expensive when it first hit, that doesn't mean by the end of the year we won't be seeing a much larger variety of media at much more reasonable prices. I would rather have a drive capable of DL, than one that is not, because with time will come maturity, and along with a greater selection of media and firmware updates, DL recording quality will be no different than the recording quality of the single layer discs we have now. With the Plextor you run into the problem that you will most likely be updating sooner and paying more now. I really liked the PX-708A, it was the best optical drive I have ever owned, but when DL came out I really wanted the feature, not for now, but for when it becomes a viable option in the near future.

 

[Bar81]

Why buy a drive now with questionable write quality that you can't even use due to that and media costs? You're buying a drive that *may* offer acceptable DL write quality in the future as well as one where if you want to pay current prices of SL discs for the DL discs you can't use until the end of 05. You're not gaining anything buying DL capable burners right now except for that pretty stamp on the front of your drive. DL is not a purchasing consideration until BOTH write quality is improved (specifically at the layer change) and media costs come down to reasonable levels. It's much more prudent to purchase a quality drive (or alternatively a cheap drive) now and wait out DL until it properly matures sometime next year. Alternatively, it may be the case that the drive you want just happens to have DL. If that's the case then great, but it should be because you would buy the drive without DL; DL should be what it is atm, a throw away feature. But then again maybe you enjoy paying $15 for media and having DL helps you sleep at night. I'm simply saying if you look at DL properly you'll realize it's not a purchase consideration at this point in time. Similarly, if one drive is substandard compared to another drive yet the drive offers 16x +R speed, it would be an extremely questionable decision were one to choose the poorer drive simply because it's a little faster.

 

[Triceratops]

Since we're talking about Plextor and price here I thought I'd mention that Plextor is running a 30USD rebate on both their 708A and 712 drives, I think through the end of August. They're also running rebates on other drives, you might want to have a look at their site.

That gets the price of a 708A down to 79-89USD and the price of a 712 down to about 115USD.

I just bought a 708A and stuck it in this machine tonight. I suppose that pretty much says how I feel about buying cutting edge, unestablished, and overpriced technology .

Anyway if you're hung up on the price of Plextors I thought this might be useful to you.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: Bar81
Why buy a drive now with questionable write quality that you can't even use due to that and media costs? You're buying a drive that *may* offer acceptable DL write quality in the future as well as one where if you want to pay current prices of SL discs for the DL discs you can't use until the end of 05. You're not gaining anything buying DL capable burners right now except for that pretty stamp on the front of your drive. DL is not a purchasing consideration until BOTH write quality is improved (specifically at the layer change) and media costs come down to reasonable levels. It's much more prudent to purchase a quality drive (or alternatively a cheap drive) now and wait out DL until it properly matures sometime next year. Alternatively, it may be the case that the drive you want just happens to have DL. If that's the case then great, but it should be because you would buy the drive without DL; DL should be what it is atm, a throw away feature. But then again maybe you enjoy paying $15 for media and having DL helps you sleep at night. I'm simply saying if you look at DL properly you'll realize it's not a purchase consideration at this point in time. Similarly, if one drive is substandard compared to another drive yet the drive offers 16x +R speed, it would be an extremely questionable decision were one to choose the poorer drive simply because it's a little faster.

Ok, so let's look at this logically, you would pay $115.00 for the Plextor, over paying $87.00 for the NEC, when the NEC has faster burn speeds and a larger feature set? Regardless of the maturity of DL technology, which seems to be the argument we are having, the economics of the matter come into play and the NEC is a better buy, hands down. I had a friend of mine get a few DL discs and they burned fine on my Optorite 12X DVD+/-RW @ 2.4X and I had no visual degradation of any kind, so your comments about write quality are lost on me, since the few DL discs I have burned seem to work fine and burned without an issue. I believe that as time goes by more and more manufacturers will start producing the DL media necessary and manufacturers will start releasing firmware targeted at improved write quality, which should give the user of a DL burner the opportunity to get optimum quality out of their drive. I just have a hard time trying to fathom why anyone would purchase a more expensive drive, with less features and slower write speed (Even though the difference between 16X and 12X is negligible, a speed difference does exist), over a cheaper drive with a better feature set from a reliable manufacturer (Not trying to say Plextor is not reliable, but it's not like this drive were made by some no name company). I would also like to know in which ways the Plextor is superior to the NEC, because as you have said, you believe it to be a "poorer" drive. When I look at DL right now I see what all DVD burners will have in a year, and I like the opportunity to have it now. I don't think it's something you can write off just because the media was expensive, I mean really, how much were the first DVD+R discs? The prices will come down, the market will open up, and there will be those who spent a bunch of money on their Plextor's running out to buy new, DL capable burners, while those who buy drives with the feature now, will be able to keep their present drive, not only because it offers DL support, but also the fastest DVD+/-R burning speeds.

To each his own, but I still say go with the NEC.

 

[willbemcse]

I say I am in the same situation. I really dont care that much about DL as its only 4X now but its a nice feature to have it. I always bought plextor for my stuff , are NEC or Poineer drives reliable . I can only get these drives OEM not retail which is kind of little scary .


I bought a oem dvd rom which crapped out after 2 months and also dvd burner costs more if they crap out that would really suck.

 

[Tullphan]

It seems right now the Pioneer DVR-108, the NEC 3500a & the Plextor 712 are all in the $70 range (granted, there's a rebate involved with the plextor). With that being the case, which drive for all-around burning?

 

[BMW2000z]

I just ordered the Plex 712 from newegg, plus 5 free dvd-r's, for just under $80 total (with ship and tax). I don't know how it is since i haven't gotten it yet. The pioneer had some good reviews (i think AT did one on it). I also compared reviews for the Plex and the NEC. Eventhough there were a lot of good review for the nec, there were quite a few that were dissatisfied. All of the plextor reviews that i found were good, every single one. Plus nec is oem and there's not a bit of info on their website regarding the 3500. It's as if it doesn't even exist. I think the pioneer has slightly slower speeds, but not sure about that. Google for customer reviews of these drives before buying. Also do a search on this forum for "Plextor" and there will be some good ones. Like this one: .http://forums.anandtech.com/me...y&keyword1=plextor Good luck.