Best DVD/CD reader/burner

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Flogger23m

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
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Hello,

I am looking for a quality CD/DVD reader and burner for a desktop. I have a Samsung that has been problematic from day one. Reliability and quality is my primary concern, then write speed. OEM is fine as I have the SATA cables already. What brands tend to be the best? Any specific models I should get?
 
Flogger23m said:
Hello,

I am looking for a quality CD/DVD reader and burner for a desktop. I have a Samsung that has been problematic from day one. Reliability and quality is my primary concern, then write speed. OEM is fine as I have the SATA cables already. What brands tend to be the best? Any specific models I should get?
Click to expand...

The Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM - $20 from NE. I have 3 of them in my new machine and just ripped 500+ DVD's and 600+ CD's and am contracted to rip another 1,000+ CD's, so I'm adding 3 more drives. They are fast and accurate and have a very high review rating on NewEgg. I'm glad I finally found an optical drive that I like, I've been through about 6 brands and they all seemed cheaply built. The Asus seems more solid and a little heavier than others, especially Lite-On and Samsung.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
 
tankman1989 said:
The Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM - $20 from NE. I have 3 of them in my new machine and just ripped 500+ DVD's and 600+ CD's and am contracted to rip another 1,000+ CD's, so I'm adding 3 more drives. They are fast and accurate and have a very high review rating on NewEgg. I'm glad I finally found an optical drive that I like, I've been through about 6 brands and they all seemed cheaply built. The Asus seems more solid and a little heavier than others, especially Lite-On and Samsung.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I found this on newegg as well and it came up as number one in terms of reviews. At $20 I will buy this drive.
 
Besides the DRW-24B1, the Asus DRW-24B3 is also a good choice.

Make no mistake, though, the Asus DRW-24B1 and B3 are in fact "rebadged" Lite-Ons. Made by Lite-On, but with different firmware. Reference link. You can in fact reflash them with appropriate Lite-On firmware.

I've always preferred lately Optiarc (Sony/NEC) drives, but Sony is unfortunately closing down the entire operation as of this March.
 
Got my ASUS DRW-24B1ST. Sadly, it can't produce any usable DVDs. Which makes it as useless as the Samsung it replaced.

Any other brands worth looking at? My price is now ~$12-15 as I don't can't afford a higher end drive anymore. Must be internal and SATA.
 
Sadly, it can't produce any usable DVDs
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What is the problem? I have used many different DVD writers and they all have worked for hundreds of DVDs before they died.
 
drescherjm said:
What is the problem? I have used many different DVD writers and they all have worked for hundreds of DVDs before they died.
Click to expand...

Burns about 400-500MB out of 3-4GB worth of data. The files that do make it on the DVD tend to be corrupted. I did get one (out of five) DVDs to burn successfully. It was made up of .wmv video files (50-180MB on average for file size) exclusively. Burned as a normal data disc, yet took 50+ minutes on a 16x DVD+ to burn 4.2GB. I have not burned a disc in a while though when my Samsung worked it took far less time to burn the same files on the same DVDs (same package).

Considering most of my success rate and how long it took to burn the single DVD that worked, I am thinking it is defective.

Good thing is that it is fulfilled by Amazon so I will likely be able to return it. The question is what drive to get? A different model or try another ASUS?
 
You may want to look at SAMSUNG or LG. However I can not give you any scientific advice since I only have a few burners (even at work).
 
The biggest problem I have had with sub $20 units is the eject button stop working over time. I've got 3 that I have to use a paper clip on.
 
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