No Benq 1640 or 50's?

[Denvers Dawgs]

Why can't I find any Benq 1640's or 50's anywhere?

Newegg has the 1655, but I have no need for lightscribe, so the 1655 would be a waste I think. They also have the DQ60, but again no need for dvd-ram and not sure if I trust teac for the drive. Plus I haven't seen any reviews on it not even at cdfreaks

[OneSickPup]

There's a guy that posts quite often over at Cdfreaks.com that has some inside contacts and has been very accurate with passing along availability info in the past. He said the 1650 was made available to US distributors (as far as ordering) about 2 weeks ago. Based on best guesstimates - he predicted they would show up at places like Newegg 3 weeks from then - meaning about 1 more week.

[budz]

Why can't I find any Benq 1640's or 50's anywhere?

Newegg has the 1655, but I have no need for lightscribe, so the 1655 would be a waste I think. They also have the DQ60, but again no need for dvd-ram and not sure if I trust teac for the drive. Plus I haven't seen any reviews on it not even at cdfreaks

If you got a COMPUSA near you they have rebadged BENQ 1640 drives under their own brand name called NORWOOD MICRO. Someone at cdfreaks.com confirmed this. All you need to do is open up the box from the bottom and you'll be able to look at the drive. There is the famous cooling vent on the drive as well as the sticker on the drive that says 1640.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=168489

[Denvers Dawgs]

great thanks for the info guys....

[Denvers Dawgs]

When looking at the specs for the 40 and 50 are they the same thing, with the 50 just having newer firmware?

[OneSickPup]

Specifications are almost identical - but they are different drives. The 1650/55 uses a different Phillips chip. Most of the Benq Fanboys seem to think the 1640 is currently still a better burner with the most recent firmware in place. The 1650/55 has rapidly closed the gap and may soon pass it up when newer firmwares are available. Only time will tell I suppose. They both are obviously good choices.

[guillermo_1]

Last night I purchased the Norwood Micro DW1640 (UPC 8-41808-00632-6, CompUSA SKU320106) at the local CompUSA for $79.99 plus tax. Examination of the drive reveals the following markings:

Model: Benq DW1640
Number: 294
Manufactured: Jan2006

Upon installation into a Windows 2000 Professional environment the drive identifies in the Device Manager as "ATAPI DVD DD 8X16X8X16". Driver used is

"C"\WINNT\system32\DRIVERS\cdrom.sys, Provider: Microsoft Corporation, File Version: 5.0.2195.6655"

For those in the USA, the following link is useful and provides some of the software used in testing:

BenQ Support (http://www.benq.us/ServiceAndSupport/Drivers/drivers.cfm?product=782)

Use of BenQ firmware version check software (fwcheck.exe) reveals:
"Device: ATAPI DVD DD 8X16X8X16 Firmware Version: GSOB"

Use of BenQ firmware flashing software (bsob.exe) will not complete. The following message is presented:

"ATAPI DVD DD 8X16X8X16 Current firmware : GSOB
==> New firmware Version : BSOB
The drive is not allowed to be updated."

Installation of QSuite Version 2.1 proceeds nomally and the software seems to recognize the drive with Firmware Version: GSOB. But only four tabs show, "Information", "Book Type", "Solid Burn" and "OverSpeed". With limited testing it is not clear yet whether the Solid Burn or OverSpeed features are funcional.

After installation of the Nero OEM software provided with the drive, Nero InfoTool (Version 3.00) shows the following software installed:

Description: Nero Burning ROM Version: 6.6.0.14
Description: Nero StartSmart Version: 2.0.0.20
Description: NeroVision Version: 3.1.0.14
Description: Nero ShowTime Version: 2.0.0.39
Description: Nero Recode 2 Version: 2.2.6.17
Description: Cover Designer Version: 2.3.0.42
Description: Nero BackItUp Application Version: 1.2.0.52

Oddly, Nero SmartStart provides an option to do a LightScribe labeling even though the drive documentation makes no mention of the drive being LightScribe capable.

Limited testing shows that all media I have on hand burns successfully with the drive. Though a straight DVD-Video (made with ULead Movie Factory 3) which seemed to burn with no errors (verification successful in Nero Burning Rom) did display a couple of video playback freeze problems.

The following (cheap) media was tested successfully:

FujiFilm DVD-R (RitekF1)
FujiFilm DVD+R (ProDisc R05-001)
NexxTech DVD-R (UME01)
NexxTech DVD+R (AML002)
CompUSA DVD-R (AML)
CompUSA DVD+R (AML001)

Although the signs are promising, it remains to be seen if this is the genuine article. It is disappointing that the firmware cannot be flashed to the mainline BSOB version.

Does any reader of this forum have additional information on this unit? I would be particularly interested in how to flash the drive to the mainline firmware.

Also, does any reader of this forum have experience in the use of both the BenQ DW1640 and the DQ60 and their relative merits?

[OneSickPup]

I think Budz is the resident expert on Benq cross-flashing. He may be along shortly. You may want to go here and read up first:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=138436

Scroll down to the firmware section - How to crossflash my 1620. That text is old but crossflashing the 1640 is pretty much the same process and tools.

As for merits of the DQ60 - it's a rebadged Teac. Early results were not good but I have heard newer firmwares have helped immensely. It's still not even close to being in the same class with the 1640.

[HatchetMan]

I on the other hand was never impressed with the burns from my 1640, as compared to my trustworthy 1620. The only reason I got a 1640 was to check the results of burning 16x media at 16x. Still got better burns burning them at 12x, like my 1620, but my 1620 scans looked much better - no matter the firmware. Last week my 1640 became non-responsive. Will no longer open without help from a paperclip and will no longer close without forcefully pushing in the tray door. RMA'd it back to Newegg. Since they no longer sell it, I wonder if I'll get a 1650/55 in return???

[budz]

Last night I purchased the Norwood Micro DW1640 (UPC 8-41808-00632-6, CompUSA SKU320106) at the local CompUSA for $79.99 plus tax. Examination of the drive reveals the following markings:

Model: Benq DW1640
Number: 294
Manufactured: Jan2006

Upon installation into a Windows 2000 Professional environment the drive identifies in the Device Manager as "ATAPI DVD DD 8X16X8X16". Driver used is

"C"\WINNT\system32\DRIVERS\cdrom.sys, Provider: Microsoft Corporation, File Version: 5.0.2195.6655"

For those in the USA, the following link is useful and provides some of the software used in testing:

BenQ Support (http://www.benq.us/ServiceAndSupport/Drivers/drivers.cfm?product=782)

Use of BenQ firmware version check software (fwcheck.exe) reveals:
"Device: ATAPI DVD DD 8X16X8X16 Firmware Version: GSOB"

Use of BenQ firmware flashing software (bsob.exe) will not complete. The following message is presented:

"ATAPI DVD DD 8X16X8X16 Current firmware : GSOB
==> New firmware Version : BSOB
The drive is not allowed to be updated."

Installation of QSuite Version 2.1 proceeds nomally and the software seems to recognize the drive with Firmware Version: GSOB. But only four tabs show, "Information", "Book Type", "Solid Burn" and "OverSpeed". With limited testing it is not clear yet whether the Solid Burn or OverSpeed features are funcional.

After installation of the Nero OEM software provided with the drive, Nero InfoTool (Version 3.00) shows the following software installed:

Description: Nero Burning ROM Version: 6.6.0.14
Description: Nero StartSmart Version: 2.0.0.20
Description: NeroVision Version: 3.1.0.14
Description: Nero ShowTime Version: 2.0.0.39
Description: Nero Recode 2 Version: 2.2.6.17
Description: Cover Designer Version: 2.3.0.42
Description: Nero BackItUp Application Version: 1.2.0.52

Oddly, Nero SmartStart provides an option to do a LightScribe labeling even though the drive documentation makes no mention of the drive being LightScribe capable.

Limited testing shows that all media I have on hand burns successfully with the drive. Though a straight DVD-Video (made with ULead Movie Factory 3) which seemed to burn with no errors (verification successful in Nero Burning Rom) did display a couple of video playback freeze problems.

The following (cheap) media was tested successfully:

FujiFilm DVD-R (RitekF1)
FujiFilm DVD+R (ProDisc R05-001)
NexxTech DVD-R (UME01)
NexxTech DVD+R (AML002)
CompUSA DVD-R (AML)
CompUSA DVD+R (AML001)

Although the signs are promising, it remains to be seen if this is the genuine article. It is disappointing that the firmware cannot be flashed to the mainline BSOB version.

Does any reader of this forum have additional information on this unit? I would be particularly interested in how to flash the drive to the mainline firmware.

Also, does any reader of this forum have experience in the use of both the BenQ DW1640 and the DQ60 and their relative merits?

Crossflash your drive by using the BQFLASHER or WINDXFLASH program you can download those programs from the BENQ FORUM, look for either zevia or zebadee's signature to download the flasher programs and cvt.files. You can't flash the drive with the BSOB FIRMWARE because the drive you have has the "G" series firmware. It has to be crossflashed to the "B" series firmware. As suggested checkout the BENQ FORUM at Cdfreaks.com for more info. Make sure there is no disc in the drive when you flash it. I flash my drives in SAFE MODE.