Back in February of 2004, I finally bought a DVD burner. The price had dropped to $62, with free shipping, and I bought 3 of them. One for a friend, one for myself, and one for my Father.
It was the BenQ DW-400a model. I've never had it act flaky or cause any trouble, and I'm still using mine today, though it only burns at 4X, and is only +R compatible.
A year, maybe a year and a half ago, I decided to get a faster dual layer burner. I ordered another BenQ drive. It was July of 2005, and it was a DW-1620. I was enticed to "upgrade" because the price had dropped to $38 per drive. It added dual layer support, 8X burning, and +/- R support. Within just a few months, the thing wouldn't spin up properly. I sent it in for replacement, and waited about two more months for the replacement drive to show up. That one worked fine for a while, but now, after I've had it for about a year, the drive will not eject properly when I push the eject button just over half the time. It is getting so annoying that I'm thinking of replacing the drive.
Obviously, something happened at BenQ between the DW-400a and DW-1620 that saw a marked decrease in drive quality. Maybe cheaper parts were used, or perhaps quality control decreased - I don't know. All I know is that the newer drives certainly don't seem to last. I've had two of the newer ones go bad in a year, while the old one is still going strong. My first clue was the fact that the newer drives don't have the "BenQ" name printed all over the front, like the DW-400a did. I guess if a company is proud of their products, they will shout out their name to everyone.
I guess my question is, should I get another BenQ DVD burner, or go with another brand? Can anyone recommend a DVD burner model where they still put the name on the front of the drive? I figure if they are not trying to hide it, they probably made it to last. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
It was the BenQ DW-400a model. I've never had it act flaky or cause any trouble, and I'm still using mine today, though it only burns at 4X, and is only +R compatible.
A year, maybe a year and a half ago, I decided to get a faster dual layer burner. I ordered another BenQ drive. It was July of 2005, and it was a DW-1620. I was enticed to "upgrade" because the price had dropped to $38 per drive. It added dual layer support, 8X burning, and +/- R support. Within just a few months, the thing wouldn't spin up properly. I sent it in for replacement, and waited about two more months for the replacement drive to show up. That one worked fine for a while, but now, after I've had it for about a year, the drive will not eject properly when I push the eject button just over half the time. It is getting so annoying that I'm thinking of replacing the drive.
Obviously, something happened at BenQ between the DW-400a and DW-1620 that saw a marked decrease in drive quality. Maybe cheaper parts were used, or perhaps quality control decreased - I don't know. All I know is that the newer drives certainly don't seem to last. I've had two of the newer ones go bad in a year, while the old one is still going strong. My first clue was the fact that the newer drives don't have the "BenQ" name printed all over the front, like the DW-400a did. I guess if a company is proud of their products, they will shout out their name to everyone.
I guess my question is, should I get another BenQ DVD burner, or go with another brand? Can anyone recommend a DVD burner model where they still put the name on the front of the drive? I figure if they are not trying to hide it, they probably made it to last. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
But my older Plextor PX-712A is still chugging along. 
Facebook
Twitter