What are opinions on USB CDRWs?

[moocat]

I'm leaning toward a USB writer...is there any reason I should steer clear of them. Not talking about any particular brand, just curious about opinions on them in general.

 

[3615buck]

Well, USB is not fast... It should be OK for a 4x burner but I wouldn't try anything higher on a USB port.

The theoretical max. speed of USB is 1.5 Mb/s, but you'll never get that speed, especially if you have other USB devices.

 

[Dameon]

other issue:

Limitation of Driver / software support. USB is not the default standard for CDRW software... for example my SCSI CDRW worked in Windows 2000 long before IDE ones would. Just an item to consider... if you plan on running Windows 2000 make CERTAIN your USB device SPECIFICALLY WILL SUPPORT Windows 2000. Many manufacturers are still hmmming and hawwwing about USB / 2k.

 

[Horsepower]

I've had a Sony Spressa for a year and a half now. It works with 98SE, Me, and W2000. It's not fast, but it's consistent.

 

[xtreme2k]

if u can stay away from USB devices stay as they eat up your cpu like hell when in use

 

[hymy]

To me it seems USB burners fall between IDE and Scsi. They have the drawbacks and plusses of USB w/o all the problems OF IDE. I've heard that you can use your computer while burning. I haven't tried. My Mitsumi operates in win 98 as a virtual scsi device. I have never seen anyone who actually has one, say anything bad about 'em.

You don't have to worry about what IDE channel to plug into, or how to arrange everything for optimal performance. You just plug it in and it works. New software supports them, Adaptec recognizes mine as a mitsumi IDE drive. HEll my girlfriend uses it as a cd player, while she works on the computer.

 

[HD2GO]

Currently, USB is rated at about 1.5 MBytes/s not 1.5Mbits/s. The normal convention is

B = Bytes
b = bits