Do I really need a Plextor DVD burner?

[geepondy]

I have destroyed two plextor burners. Knocked the external off the table onto the floor and then only three months later, accidently kicked the tray after I left it open on the internal replacement, snapping it off and disrupting the innards. Now I see some really good deals on different brand burners compared to the Plextor16A or I forget what it is called but it cost $120 online. I saw some Lite-on's for $50. Will I lose a lot in quality by buying cheaper? Main reason I stick with Plextor because at least in the past, it seemed to burn audio cds that were much more compatible with my cd players, particularly my car one.

[Stormin Norman]

Never had a problem with audio cd's. Burner just burns, dont know why the disc were incompatible. Lite-on or pioneer are good brands to stick with. Tough it might of been your hardware that had a problem with your burnt disc.

[lenti_75]

plextors are very good burners but overpriced.
any pionner, nec does a great job. or others...... :P

[ebenton]

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.

I hate to contradict such a distinguished hedonist as Hunter S. Thompson, but I think in this case, after knocking a drive onto the floor and also kicking an open tray on another drive, a little abstinence from mind-altering substances might be more effective than another drive.

[Stormin Norman]

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.

I hate to contradict such a distinguished hedonist as Hunter S. Thompson, but I think in this case, after knocking a drive onto the floor and also kicking an open tray on another drive, a little abstinence from mind-altering substances might be more effective than another drive.

Heh. Negligence is probally the problem here as you stated.

[geepondy]

Ha, ha, let's see. I was royall P.O'd when I knocked my external 708U to the floor because I bought it when it first came out for $300 but was not under the influence of any kind. I did however have a couple of beers when I broke the external 716A. I was walking to the printer in a confined area and nailed it.

I'm actually looking at the HP 640i as it is cheaper then the Plextor and offers light scribe technology. Any experience in either that particular drive or light scribe technology in general?

[slacker]

I have the Plextor 716UF and the HP dvd640e. They are both AWESOME in their own right. I wanted state of the art and I wanted Lightscribe and, since they don't exist in one drive, I purchased both drives. The Plextor drive is the most intelligent drive I have ever reviewed, and you pay for that intelligence. It is the cream of the crop. But you may not want or need to pay for it. You would not be unhappy with this drive.

The HPdvd640e is the first Lightscribe dvd burner from HP. The external is made by BenQ (1625 I believe). I LOVE Lightscribe burned dvds. All of my family archives are stored on Lightscribe discs. Verbatim MCC-003 Lightscribe dvds are the only discs available as far as I know. BUT, they burn PERFECTLY on the HP dvd640e. Having said that, there are probably other Lightscribe drives out there that MAY be better than the HP. I have NOT seen any real evidence of this, but...

Also, I have read that some new NEC drives incorporate a competing labeling technology from Yahama, but I have no experience with this. I would keep an eye open!

[budz]

do yourself a favor and purchase a BENQ 1640 drive which at this time is only $40.99 at Newegg.com. The lightscribe burners from HP are REBADGED BENQ 1625's. put it this way if you ACCIDENTLY break the BENQ 1640 you can always purchase another one cuz it's reasonably priced compared to the PLEXTOR 716 drive.

the PLEXTOR 740 drive is a REBADGED BENQ 1640 drive. if your want the PLEXTOR name on the drive then buy the 740. but with the BENQ 1640 drive you'll have the QSUITE 2.0 software to use which is simliar to PLEXTOR's PLEXTOOLS software. it can adjust the write strategies on certain brands of dvd media before burning. also booktype dvdrom can be set with QSUITE. some have said both oem and retail drives are automatically set to DVDROM out of the box for DVD+R, +RW & DL +R.

unfortunately PLEXTOR 740 drive can not use QSUITE 2.0 software. there have been reports of people flashing the PLEXTOR 740 to the BENQ 1640. read up at the BENQ & PLEXTOR FORUMS at CDFREAKS.COM.

[geepondy]

Thanks Budz for the useful information. If I decide not to get a lightscribe DVD burner then I'll definitely buy the Benq you mentioned.

[junkmalle]

Nec 3540A runs around $40. Gets good reviews. My 3520A (last years model) works quite well.

[lordsmurf]

Buy the PIONEER 109 drives.
Newegg.com for about $50 shipped.
Easily the best drive around.

[D.A.R.J.R.]

Id go with the Benq 1640 simply because of all the firmware versions that there are. Certainly one of them has to suit you. I plan on getting one once I find a good external case for one.

[Seeker47]

Id go with the Benq 1640 simply because of all the firmware versions that there are. Certainly one of them has to suit you. I plan on getting one once I find a good external case for one.

External Cases:
I'm sure there are a number of good ones on the market, but the ones I keep coming back to -- and I've bought quite a few of them, for myself and for others -- are from Coolmax. They use a more rugged aluminum, as opposed to flimsy plastic. The 300 series [309, but now 310] are intended for optical drives, whereas the 500 series [509, 510] are for either optical drives or HDDs, as they have an integrated fan. Since I like to keep components cool, I usually go for the somewhat larger series with the fan. These come with either USB or Firewire connections -- or both -- and their own power adaptor plug. Prices range from about $28. to $55., depending on where you buy them. (I get them at a local computer show, which puts them more at the lower end of that range.) You can definitely find cheaper Ext. cases, or ones that are smaller and lighter, but I think these are more rugged and durable than most. Might just help you avoid some of those embarrassing accidents.

[slacker]

I agree with budz. Read up on user experiences over at cdfreaks. You will find quickly dvd burners come in three flavors, i.e. SHITTY, VANILLA, and WOW! And their general pricing reflects this!

[budz]

Id go with the Benq 1640 simply because of all the firmware versions that there are. Certainly one of them has to suit you. I plan on getting one once I find a good external case for one.

I would suggest you check out the BENQ FORUM to see which external cases work the best with the 1640. I've read that some use external cases with the PROLIFIC CHIPSET.

[chas0039]

Id go with the Benq 1640 simply because of all the firmware versions that there are. Certainly one of them has to suit you. I plan on getting one once I find a good external case for one.

I would suggest you check out the BENQ FORUM to see which external cases work the best with the 1640. I've read that some use external cases with the PROLIFIC CHIPSET.

You are absolutely correct. Dealsonic.com has them under the Plumax brand.

[slacker]

Looking at the BIG picture,

Benq drives are always up there in performance...
NEC drives are reliable, stable, and slowwwww...
Pioneer drives have issues with CPU usage. SCARY!...
Plextor drives are simply awesome!

[lordsmurf]

Pioneer drives have issues with CPU usage.

Baloney.

[TBoneit]

Looking at the BIG picture,

Benq drives are always up there in performance...
NEC drives are reliable, stable, and slowwwww...
Pioneer drives have issues with CPU usage. SCARY!...
Plextor drives are simply awesome!

What CPU Usage with Pioneer drives? The Pioneer is great.

Right now I'm encoding with TMPGEnc 3 Xpress, Burning a DVD in a Pioneer 109, typing this message, have the Epson R200 program setup to print the DVD when it is finished burning, and have a Newsgroup program running.

My CPU usage is at 100% with over 90% to to the encoder as it should be.

TTFN

Edit: Now that the DVD is burned I'm printing it and have started burning a second DVD

[budz]

Looking at the BIG picture,

Benq drives are always up there in performance...
NEC drives are reliable, stable, and slowwwww...
Pioneer drives have issues with CPU usage. SCARY!...
Plextor drives are simply awesome!

It would really depend on how fast your processor speed is. I can multi task as well with my P4 3.0 pc which has a PIONEER 107d drive & a BENQ 1620.. I don't see any HUGE CPU usage while I'm capturing, dvd burning & surfing the net.

[slacker]

budz and TBoneit,

The CPU usage info is over at cdfreaks. Since I run a HOT laptop, cpu usage is very important to me. The Pioneer drive number was quoted as 10%+, while all the others were down around 1-2%.

[budz]

budz and TBoneit,

The CPU usage info is over at cdfreaks. Since I run a HOT laptop, cpu usage is very important to me. The Pioneer drive number was quoted as 10%+, while all the others were down around 1-2%.

If the drive is enclosed in a external USB case that would explain why the CPU usage is high. USB relies heavily on the CPU.

[slacker]

budz,

That makes sense. But it's still high relative to the others.

BTW, the cpu usage figures came from cdrlabs.com, NOT cdfreaks.com. Sorry!