Greets all. I've been browsing through the archives in this part (and will continue to do so), but don't seem to have (yet) quite found "the drive(s) for me".

What is it I'm after?

Drive 1 - the DVD-Writer:
- Support as many different CD/DVD-formats as possible.
- Noise is mostly "secondary", as I won't be using that OVERLY much, just for recording, and I can live with that.
- I figure anything currently out should be "fast", seeing as I'm currently suffering an 8x CD-Writer... .
- Pref. black bezel. Can't be asked to do a paint job ... wouldn't mind saving me that hassle .

Drive 2 - the DVD-ROM
Now this one will be my main drive in use. Decent DVD-playback I figure is pretty much the "de facto" CD/DVD-drive I'll be using 99% of the time. Have we got anything "quick and smooth" here? If there's good experiences here, please put them in. Other than SPCR it's rather hard to find info on "quiet drives" I've found...

- Preferably, support as many DVD-R formats as possible. Will be handy if I can read the stuff the DVD-Writer can't
- Speed should not be an issue, as such, as most modern things should be "just fine" .
- As above, preferably with a black bezel .

Thanks for suggestions.

*goes off to search some more...)

Hmmm - having come across this link [url]http://www.overclockers.com/tips00553/]HERE[/url], I am contemplating on staving off on the DVD-Writer for a bit.

Might not, though, if someone comes along with a movel which does support many modes. My main beef with DVD-recording is still the lack of a single "de facto" standard. Makes buying still a gamble.

But certainly for READING, it'd be nice. Incidentally, if the DVD_ROM can be RPC-1'ed, that'd be a bonus .

*continues to seach...*

Edit: While I'm aware that this has been discussed before (my question in particular), those threads seem to point back to 2002 and so mostly. Surely, since then, we've seen some improvements, right?

Hmm LG's GSA-4081B Super-Multi DVD±RW/RAM seems to be a half-decent piece of kit. How loud is LG stuff usually? It'd be an added plus if it's nice & quiet-ish .

Review can be found here:
http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.ph ... page=Intro

(Once again, not a word about noise...)

The NEC 2500a seems to be a popular DVD writer these days. It burns DVD+/-R at 8x and DVD+/-RW at 4x. It's biggest claim to fame is its media compatibility, especially for DVD media. With most DVD burners these days, you have to be careful with what brand of media you buy, but the NEC can handle almost anything you throw at it. Check out doom9.org's DVD Burning forum, or the CDFreaks review, to see all the positive comments. I just got mine on Wednesday for US$88, and the drive is offered with beige, black, or silver bezels.

The noise when it's burning isn't bad at all. It's just a "whoosh" sound, and not a very loud one at that. It doesn't make my case vibrate nearly as much as my Aopen CD burner. However, if you leave a DVD in the drive, the drive emits a faint whine, even after spindown. It's probably no louder than a typical Maxtor or Western Digital drive's whine, but still, you can't leave discs in this drive if you want a silent PC.

As for DVD readers, all I can give you is a thumbs-down on the Pioneer DVD-120. I bought a DVD-116, which was pretty good if I remember correctly, and then it broke within the warranty period, so I was sent a DVD-120 as a replacement. The whoosh made by this drive during playback makes watching DVD's no fun. The NEC drive makes about as much whoosh sound when playing movies (I haven't made any direct comparisons), but it doesn't have any of the Pioneer's rumble. I also had an Afreey 12x DVD reader a couple years back, but that broke after a year. It was a good drive for watching movies and ripping DVD's, but I can't remember if it was noisy. Check out Lite-On's offerings, because from what I hear they only spin at 1x if a DVD movie is in the drive, whereas some drives spin at 2x or even maximum speed. You can also then use K-probe, a useful CD and DVD burn-quality analyzer that only runs on Lite-On drives.

Well, you sold me on the NEC DVD-Writer (which, conveniently, can be RPC-1'd as well) .

*investigates your recommendations for DVD-ROM*

Hmm - impossible to find a black-bezled non-OEM LG-drive in the UK. I can live with an OEM-drive, if need be, but the commentary on the LG drives is rather minimal.

Anyone here can suggest a nice DVD-ROM drive? Please .

*the search continues*

I like the Toshiba SDM16 (or something close, old age ya know...). They're the quietest DVDroms that I've ever heard, but they've been discontinued for about a year. Sorry, that's all I an suggest.


BTW - Don't be afraid to get a beige drive (if that's all that's available). You can always color it with vinyl dye. It's a snap to do and looks great too. I'm actually going out to paint a few DVDrom bezels in a few minutes!

Search here at SPCR for "vinyl dye", I've made many posts about it as have others too.

I have a Toshiba SDM16-12. I consider it to be the noisy dvd drive I have ever heard. It sounds like a leaf blower spinning up. The lite on and my old NEC drive was much quieter. Hell I will sell you this toshiba I have. Colored silver and everything. I can take pics if you want.

What you're looking for that satisfies all of the above requirements is the Plextor PX-708A with the black bezel. During DVD playback it's silent as it defaults to 2x The best burner available and supports everything under the sun including Mount Ranier.

I just got one of these (£60+VAT from eBuyer for the retail model which includes 1 DVD-RAM). Writing a CD at 24x, I can't hear it running from 75cm away. Reads and writes all formats. About the only things it doesn't do are Mt Rainier and (afaict) booksetting. RPC-1 firmware from http://tdb.rpc1.org/. LG have a winner here. It's even rumoured to be firmware-upgradable to DL, though I wouldn't count on it.