NEC DVD +/- RW 4x DVD Recordable Drive ND-1300A

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mikeki
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NEC DVD +/- RW 4x DVD Recordable Drive ND-1300A

Post by mikeki » Fri Aug 22, 2003 1:39 pm

I'm in the process of selecting components for a relatively quiet PC and this forum is awesome. First a huge thanks to everyone who contributes!

One component I haven't found a lot of information on is a DVD Writer. The model that has been recommended on other forum is the NEC ND 1300A. Does anyone here have one of these and if so how loud is it?

Any other recommendations for a quality DVD Writer?

Here is a link the drive:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.a ... 27-152-009

Thanks,

Mike

drfinalfantasy
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Itz amazing

Post by drfinalfantasy » Fri Aug 22, 2003 1:53 pm

For the speed and price this thing is extremely quiet. I can't hear it at all during dvd playback or write. The only thing quieter I imagine is the Sony DRu 510 but unless you want to dish out 300 bux for it be my guest but I say itz the best bang for the buck...itz around 160 and it beats out the sony and pioneer and tdk in speed test.

eric

lenny
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Post by lenny » Fri Aug 22, 2003 3:08 pm

DW-U14A is the OEM version of the DRU-510A. NEC is available for around $150, the Sony around $220 from US retailers.

Can't comment on noise, still waffling on which one to get myself.

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Tue Aug 26, 2003 6:08 am

I'm sort of in the same situation. Debating whether I want to shell out the extra $$$ for the Sony over the NEC. Mainly trying to find out which one is quieter...

lenny
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Post by lenny » Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:27 am

chiahaochang wrote:I'm sort of in the same situation. Debating whether I want to shell out the extra $$$ for the Sony over the NEC. Mainly trying to find out which one is quieter...
Well I finally jumped off the fence (cliff?) and got a Pioneer 106 for $181 after tax / shipping. I'll post about subjective noise as perceived by an uncalibrated pair of ears when I get it. Now to hunt for some cheap Riteks...

I figured that it's main duty is writing DVDs and the occasional CD, so noise is not going to be a main concern (as long as it doesn't sound like my current DVD-ROM drive - a BTC 12x that sounds like a jet taking off). Will probably get a Samsung 352 for secondary duty as a CD burner / DVD + CD reader.

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:18 pm

lenny wrote:I figured that it's main duty is writing DVDs and the occasional CD, so noise is not going to be a main concern (as long as it doesn't sound like my current DVD-ROM drive - a BTC 12x that sounds like a jet taking off). Will probably get a Samsung 352 for secondary duty as a CD burner / DVD + CD reader.
I'll probably use the DVD burner for DVD-video playback too. My current DVD-ROM drive (older AOpen DVD-1648) is unbearably loud and annoying. In fact, I usually turn up the speeds of my case fans attempting to drown out the DVD-ROM drive, as I find the fan noise to be less annoying than the AOpen. I'm fighting noise with noise. :roll: I've tried various CD/DVD speed throttling software on it, and nothing seems to work on it... :(

I've got a Plextor 48X CD-RW, which I'll keep for CD burning duties.

lenny
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Post by lenny » Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:34 pm

chiahaochang wrote:I'll probably use the DVD burner for DVD-video playback too.
It seems like most of these drives limit DVD video reading speed to 2X. I've seen that mentioned on the Sony, NEC and Pioneer. Optorite seems to read video faster - useful for ripping. Not that anyone here dares defy the MPAA, of course.

Anyway, as a result of that lower speed, video playback is usually pretty quiet. The question of course then is, how quiet are they relative to each other. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer.

I like Plextors too. My old trusty expensive 16x is still chugging along churning out backups of my data. Maybe you should wait for the Plextor PX-708A dual format coming out next month. 8X DVD+R, 40X CDR, 24X CDRW, the rest of the specs are the same as the other dual format drives.

Jan Kivar
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Post by Jan Kivar » Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:44 pm

Yes, I have my eyes on the new Plextor too. NEC seems to be a good drive too, but requires firmware update to allow to burn to some of the "cheap" DVD-media. There are no reviews of Plextor anywhere, and I wouldn't like to buy a lemon...

Jan

EDIT: Typo (is/are)
Last edited by Jan Kivar on Sat Aug 30, 2003 10:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:34 am

lenny wrote: Anyway, as a result of that lower speed, video playback is usually pretty quiet. The question of course then is, how quiet are they relative to each other. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer.
Well, I just ordered the Sony DRU-510A, should be here sometime next week. I went for the Sony over the NEC just because of the slightly larger cache, and from hearing it's more tolerant of cheap media.
lenny wrote:I like Plextors too. My old trusty expensive 16x is still chugging along churning out backups of my data. Maybe you should wait for the Plextor PX-708A dual format coming out next month. 8X DVD+R, 40X CDR, 24X CDRW, the rest of the specs are the same as the other dual format drives.
I was thinking of waiting for the Plextor, but I'm running low on disk space now and I needed more storage. I have a bunch of videos (HDTV caps) that are >800MB and thus, I can't burn them on CD, so I either needed to buy another HD, or a DVD-burner.
Jan Kivar wrote:Yes, I have my eyes on the new Plextor too. NEC seems to be a good drive too, but requires firmware update to allow to burn to some of the "cheap" DVD-media. There is no reviews of Plextor anywhere, and I wouldn't like to buy a lemon...
Part of the reason I choose the Sony over NEC was that I've read that some people with WinXP have problems with the new "cheap media" firmware. NEC removed that version of the firmware from their site.

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Post by hawkeye1 » Fri Aug 29, 2003 3:38 pm

I have the ND-1300A and have been thoroughly pleased by it. To date I've used nothing but quality TDK/Sony media, which I've gotten fairly cheaply at BestBuy, including free shipping.

As for the ND-1300A's tolerance for cheaper media, there's home-built firmware by a guy named Herrie at this site http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php (go the the DVD-R/RAM/+RW section in the forums) that has allowed numerous people to successfully burn cheap media.

A quick check of Pricewatch shows several sites carrying the ND-1300A for under $150, an amazing deal for a +/- DVD burner.

Hope this info helps; if anything, the site I gave you can help you with further research into your DVD burner buying decision.

hawkeye1
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Post by hawkeye1 » Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:00 pm

Here's an update with a thread that discusses some current DVD burner deals. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview ... id=1128225

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