Which 8x to get

[dbeck8053]

Hey all been trolling here for awhile and really thinking about getting an 8x brands I'm considering. NEC 2500, Lite-On, Plextor and Pioneer and maybe a few of the off relabeled brands.

Now I'm new at this DVD stuff and I want a drive that will be able to handle cheaper DVD media if I wish to use it. Also I think I'll mainly be writting -R's, so that should narrow down a few. I'll be backing up most of our DVD's and the kids PS2 games and coping over our older 8mm camcorder tapes.

I have a couple of friends who'll swear up & down on their drive and not like others. One says Plextor is the best other is all for the NEC and does'nt like the Plextor.

SO give me some feedback on your experiences......

Thanks

[budz]

I have a Plextor 708A and the drive works great. Every brand has their pros and cons. Plextor is known for reliablity and there tech support is great. Check out www.zdnet.com and see how they rate the Plextor 708A drive. You may want to check these websites as well.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=43&s=

http://forum.firmware-flash.com/index.php?sid=380bca6332f4dda618c1ca30f2e3136c

Take a look at the different brands of media Plextor supports at their compatiblity site.
http://www.plextor.com/english/support/support_compatability.html

Those sites will give you some information on the NEC & PLEXTOR drives. Both brands have their pros and cons. Making backups of your dvd movies have lots of variables. From the brand of media you use, the software, & how your drive is set up in your pc. Good Luck!

[jaxxboss]

One more thing to consider. As of now -R does not write 8x, so if thats what You primarily want to burn, then you can save some $$ and go with a 4x. Having said that, dual burners that do 8x are not that much more expensive, so........ decisions decisions.

[Jah_Rankin]

Hey all been trolling here for awhile and really thinking about getting an 8x brands I'm considering. NEC 2500, Lite-On, Plextor and Pioneer and maybe a few of the off relabeled brands.

Now I'm new at this DVD stuff and I want a drive that will be able to handle cheaper DVD media if I wish to use it. Also I think I'll mainly be writting -R's, so that should narrow down a few. I'll be backing up most of our DVD's and the kids PS2 games and coping over our older 8mm camcorder tapes.

I have a couple of friends who'll swear up & down on their drive and not like others. One says Plextor is the best other is all for the NEC and does'nt like the Plextor.

SO give me some feedback on your experiences......

Thanks

Keep in mind that u can't play ps2 back ups without a mod-chip or boot type disc.

[blinky]

Either the NEC 2500A or Pioneer 107

Personally I bought the NEC partly because it was £25 cheaper.

Mod Chips + fitting for PS2 is quite cheap these days

[camm]

as a 107d owner, I can vouch that it's great at 4x speed, and there's just been a patched firmware released that will enable 8x writing (check news forum for link) - not tried it out at 8x speed yet, so can't comment. It feels very 'sturdy' and writes well, so I'm happy with it.
The 107d you can get for £95 from SVP or BigPockets (used both companies regularly - very good/honest/quick!)
My mate has an NEC2500 that writes at 8x out of the box on Ritek - he swears by it. I think they;re about £80/£85 from SVP. (and as 4x writers are still around the £65 mark, I'd definitely pay the little extra to have the 8x option).

[camm]

...and i've just noticed that you're in texas, so SVP/Bigpockets won't be of much use...unless you wanna pay air mail charges of course...

[jesus_verga]

lite on 451s...flashed to 851s. $79.95. No coaster out of 100 burns.