ErikH2000
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I have this long, curmudgeonly rant about the state of hardware manufacturing, but I will try my hardest not to go into that.

I want to buy a drive that can read and write CD-ROMs, but I've never owned a single CD-ROM drive that lasted longer than two years, and I've never owned a CDR drive that didn't have some combination of horrible problems, such as buffer underruns and write errors. I decided that this time I will do some research and not just buy the cheapest or fastest drive. Instead I want the most reliable, long-lived, and error-free drive. I started hunting around on the net for a good site with reviews. The problem is that everyone who is selling hardware includes flimsy "reviews" to bring people to their site. So I can't seem to find any substantial information--if it's there, then it's buried under mail-order shops in the search engines.

So maybe somebody has good experience with a particular brand, or knows a good site for reviews?

-Erik



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Scott
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Tom's Hardware is a good place to look.

I have an LG cd writer. Its probably around 2 years old now and have had no problems at all with it. Can't say anything about other brands.


Edit. That link was meant to take you to a list of cd-rom reviews but doesn't work that way. Just type cd in the little box on the left under search articles.

[Edited by Scott on 11-20-2003 at 07:07 AM GMT]

bandit1200
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Plextors have probably the best reputation with LiteOn fast catching up. I have a LiteOn 48x12x48 which has burnt over 700 CD's with no coasters that weren't my own fault.

Mattcrampy
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Actually, this'll be fascinating.

I've made a few coasters in my time - I've got a RICOH CD-R/RW and a DVD player in my computer (for some ungodly reason connected to the same slot, which makes it a pain to add a new drive).

Matt

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Schik
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If you want to sink a little more money into it, I'd reccomend a DVD burner. I've got a Sony DRU-500A, and after the software caught up with it (I got it when it first came out) I've had no problems with it. It burns DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and of course CD-R and CD-RW.

I see the next in the line, DRU-510A is out, which has slightly better specs. The first place I looked has it for $179.

It has nice buffer underrun protection - I can start a burn, start a compile of DROD, and basically anything else and there's never a coaster. It just slows down to whatever speed it can handle - I've seen it even slow down to 0x temporarily when doing a hefty compile, and it recovers beautifully.


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ErikH2000
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Thanks for all the advice, guys.

I went and read a comparison of 2001 drives on Tom's Hardware. The impression I get is that burners have gotten quite a lot more reliable since the last one I purchased. Underrun protection is a standard feature. Media compatibility tests are a standard feature. And the drives have all got larger write caches. So I feel a lot better about buying a drive. Since the DVD writers are the new technology now, we've probably reached the point in history where CD burners won't get much better.

The only thing that doesn't come across in reviews is how well the drive does over the long term. I think I might go with a Plextor or other drive with a 2-year warranty. I'm unlikely to hassle around with RMAs, but I have a theory: a manufacturer will usually set their warranty just a little bit shorter than the expected lifetime of the equipment, basically enforcing Murphy's Law. I'm amazed at how many things I've bought that started showing problems, like clockwork, the month after my warranty expired. Like if Epson offered a 93-day warranty on this crappy printer I bought, they would go out of business with repairs and replacements, because their Stylus CX-3200 is engineered with cost-cutting precision to hold up 90 days and not a second longer. So if the warranty is longer, my theory goes, the manufacturer has more confidence in the longevity of their product, and I should too.

-Erik


____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

DubOSv10
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If you want reliability you could always go with a SCSI drive from Plextor, but I realize this may not be possible...

Plextor is all I ever use, and this is coming from a Microsoft Certified Profressional (Not a paper Certified, real experience, it seems that MCP means less and less everyday, sorry for the rant)...Anywho, Murphy's Law doesn't apply to Plextor drives, had my old Plextor for 4 years, burned many a CD with that son gun, now I'm on a 48/24/48A and it has given me no problems what so ever, set everything up right, read your manual, read your software manuals, and you will have NO problem with a Plextor, clearly the best brand out there...

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ErikH2000
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DubOSv10 wrote:
If you want reliability you could always go with a SCSI drive from Plextor, but I realize this may not be possible...

I'm not going to mess with SCSI, but yeah, I think I'll buy a Plextor. Next paycheck, it will be mine.

Plextor is all I ever use, and this is coming from a Microsoft Certified Profressional (Not a paper Certified, real experience, it seems that MCP means less and less everyday, sorry for the rant)...

Yeah, it used to be that MCPs ran the whole show. They would spin around in circles, humming loudly, acting all bossy. But if you throw a frisbee at them with perfect timing they will just explode.

Oh, wait a minute, I was thinking of TRON. You're talking about something else.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Oneiromancer
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ErikH2000 wrote:
Yeah, it used to be that MCPs ran the whole show. They would spin around in circles, humming loudly, acting all bossy. But if you throw a frisbee at them with perfect timing they will just explode.

Oh, wait a minute, I was thinking of TRON. You're talking about something else.

non sequitur

1. An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises or evidence.
2. A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.
3.

Game on,

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Mattcrampy
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Second Rule Of DROD Humour:

"You can't do non sequitur jokes. Oh, you make it look like a non sequitur, but there's always an underlying reason."

Matt

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Oneiromancer
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Yeah, it wasn't really a non sequitur, as there was some (warped) logic behind the very funny answer, but it was close enough, and I just had a sudden desire to use a joke like that. So, I did.

Game on,

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"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Mattcrampy
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I remember an entire episode of the Simpsons based around that joke.

But yes, we've sailed into the dangerous waters of off-topic. Naturally, this means we're just about to be boarded by pirates.

Arr! Let's hear some more 'bout them CD drives, matey.

Matthias

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Oneiromancer
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But this is the Anything board! should never have to be used here!

So, out of curiosity, which joke are you referring to? The dictionary definition? That episode does sound vaguely familiar...

Game on,


[Edited by Oneiromancer on 11-26-2003 at 01:33 AM GMT]

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"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Mattcrampy
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Oneiromancer wrote:

So, out of curiosity, which joke are you referring to? The dictionary definition? That episode does sound vaguely familiar...

It's the dictionary definition one. Homer saves the power plant through dumb luck and regularly throughout the episode (okay, three times, but that's still a running joke) it cuts to a dictionary definition where the third definition is always of "Homer Simpson" and a sketchy picture. In the end, "Homer" becomes defined as "an action involving extraordinary dumb luck that turned out okay except for the fact that you looked like a doofus".

Oh, that's right. Arr!

Matt

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