What's the best CDRW for around $150?

[Leo V]

Hi,
My Mitsumi CD-ROM died (as did my friend's; for God's sake, don't ever buy Mitsumi! ) So now I'm shopping for a CDRW drive--which will also become the primary CD-ROM drive.

The criteria:
* Preferably 8x4x32 or faster (ATA interface); fast seek times are a bonus
* Solid quality/priced around ~$150
* Good at reading existing CDR's, DAE (digital audio extraction), and scratched CD's
* Quiet operation is a bonus

Please help out a CDRW newbie

 

[Mikewarrior2]

How about something like a Yamaha 8x8x24(or is it 8x8x32)... I saw it at a computer show for around $155.



Mike

 

[NFS4]

Nothing but Plextor. You can get it for $189 at Buy.com and then use the $30 Coupon.

For CDRW, don't consider ANYTHING but Plextor

 

[Leo V]

Mikewarrior2: Thanks for the tip. My objection to the Yamaha is the 24X read speed--it'll be my CD-ROM drive as well.

NFS4: Please tell me more. Why Plextor and only Plextor? (Yes, I see the 8x4x32 EIDE Plextor for ~$190; it seems a bit overpriced, considering its high seek times and sub-ATA33 interface...enlighten me!)

 

[NFS4]

Oops, It's the Plextor 8x4x32, IDE

And Plextor b/c they are the BEST. They OOZE quality. 80% of the people on the BBS will agree And you get what you pay for. I don't mind paying extra for something that I use ALOT. And what do you mean sub-ATA33. All IDE burners/CDROMs/DVD drives use the same IDE interface to my knowledge

 

[Leo V]

OK, you've convinced me Just one last question: I've found the BUY.COM coupon number, but where do I apply it?? Their website has changed since my last visit.
-Leo V

[Edit:] problem fixed. Hmm, $162 shipped ain't bad..

 

[NFS4]

Woohoo, I hope you like it...I love mine even though I bought it at the regular $189 price

 

[Mikewarrior2]

The Plextor is an awesome drive too, and I forgot about the coupons... . As an example of plextor's quality, i went from a scsi Ricoh to ide plextor and haven't looked back. And it hasn't been cause of Burnproof either, cause i've only had it kick in once.

The only reason that you would want to go with teh Yamaha would be for the 8x RW.

Then again, I have a plextor 12/10/32A, and I haven't touched the RW.


Mike

 

[Leo V]

Thanks for the advice! The Plextor shall soon be on its way.

 

[NFS4]

Yeah, I only touch the RW on my drive twice a week, and that's only to make backups.

 

[Leo V]

While we're here, could you guys recommend any high-quality CDR/CDRW media? Preferably affordable, though

 

[Mikewarrior2]

bestbuy when they have $20 50 CDr imation spindles.


Mike

 

[MaxFPS]

Leo V,
It's really not necessary for you to buy high quality CDR's/W. I've had the Plextor PX-W12TS since Feb and have used many different brands of CDR's/W (S&F, Imation, Sony, and other weird names I can't think of) and to this day I haven't burned ONE coaster! Plextor's drives are probably the most reliable drives I've come by.

You might want to stop by http://www.cdmediaworld.com.
Whoa, now there's 90Min CDRs:Q!

 

[Leo V]

I'm not so worried about wasting media, as I am about its longevity. I've had many problems with my friends' CDR's, mostly due to their abysmal quality (yes, I handle CD's properly). Since I'll be backing up data, I'm vitally interested in highly reliable media.

BTW, how about CDRW (rewritable) media? What are some of the better ones?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

verbatim and ricoh cdrw media seems pretty good.. I've had both TDK and Imation backed up cd's for over a year now and they are lasting just fine...



Mike

 

[MaxFPS]

Ricoh. I have a few programs (spread out through a few RICOH CDRWs) stored on them for 2yrs and it's still accessible.

 

[Erasmus-X]

I use mostly Verbatim and Maxell. They're not too expensive, and their quality is pretty good (if they'll play in most car decks, they're good enough for me). At Best Buy with my employee discount, I just bought a 50-disc spindle of Maxell with 5 free 80-min jewel-cased CD-Rs for only $18.

 

[DesignDawg]

Hey Leo V,

I was just about to post a topic looking for a broken mitsumi drive! I need to replace a part that was broken on a friend's drive (dropped it.) If you would be willing to get rid of that broen drive you had, I would LOVE to have it. PM me or email me at DesignDawg@aol.com to discuss details. Either yours or your friend's drives will probably be fine. Let me know ASAP...

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[Leo V]

YGM

 

[Leo V]

OK, I've purchased my first batch of recordable media:

* 50-pack of Imation 12X CDR disks
* 20 (4*5pack) of Ricoh 4X CDRW disks (100-year integrity )

 

[AMB]

For CD media I would recommend TDK, that is all I have used, and it is very good, for CD-RW, I have been using Sony's recently and they have worked good too.

Surprisingly, I would recommend Plextor for a CDR as well.

 

[Doomguy]

Plextor is overrated. Yamaha drives do the job just as well and have much better customer serivce.

 

[NFS4]

Plextor is not over-rated, and you never need their customer service b/c their drives don't break down

 

[MWink]

I would recommend the Panasonic 8/4/32.

 

[Sunner]

The ones Ive had best luck with in terms of durability have been Kodak's, Traxdata's and Verbatim's.