Who here has a laptop cdrw or dvd/cdrw and think its good.

[Dug]

I'm contemplating on getting a laptop with a cdrw or dvd/cdrw, but don't want to get one if they're crap.

I believe Toshiba is the main supplier for the dvd/cdrw and noticed that they won't burn over 650MB's. And I can't find anybody that says they will overburn.
And they don't include any kind of burnproof technology according to the CloneCD site. So this seems a waste unless you just want to copy some files.

As far as just a cdrw it looks like a mixed bag. Nothing seems descent though. Or am I wrong. Looks like Sony is the main player here, but obviously there are others.

 

[jschuk]

Didn't know about some of the limitations, but I still think a combo drive is an excellent idea. Being able to use DVD's, or write discs anywhere the laptop is a great tool. However, if you have to write past 656MB, then I guess it would be a waste of your money. The Toshiba SD-R2102 supposedly writes up to 656MB according to the specs on their website.

 

[RalfHutter]

I'd just get an external drive so you can get the best and avoid all those limitations.

I have a Plextor 12x10x32x external SCSI drive that is interfaced through an Adaptec SCSI/PC card adapter. It works great and the wonderful Plextor drive does everthing-overburns to 90min, copies copy-protected disks, supports Burn-Proof etc.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If the CD-RW drive is a Sony CRX700E, then it will burn 700MB discs. It will not burn past a disc's rated capacity (as read in the ATIP), but it will burn a 700MB disc without a problem. My ThinkPad has a CRX700E (8x4x24) and I've not had a lick of trouble with it. I don't know of a single internal laptop CD-RW that includes a Burn-Proof technology, but again, it's not really a problem. My CRX700E has an 8MB buffer and it doesn't have any trouble burning a disc with me doing some basic things in the background. Of course, I wouldn't want to run Need For Speed: Porsche or a very disk-intensive program while burning, but normal use has yet to have an effect on the drive. Personally, I prefer the idea of a separate DVD drive and CD-RW drive because that way if one fails you still have a drive while you wait for the warranty replacement. Most laptop CD-RW's are either Sony or Matshita (parent company for Panasonic). Currently, you're not going to get anything over an 8x burner in a laptop, but you have to remember that laptops tend to lag a bit. I use my ThinkPad exclusively, and I have not yet felt that I should have a desktop instead.

ZV

EDIT: Oh yeah, the CRX700E can write in RAW-DAO mode, so it can make back-ups of copy-protected discs.