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Optical Drive

F

Fester

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 6, 2010
Messages
85
Hello,

I'm looking for a DVD/CD burning internal optical drive for my new desktop PC. I really only need it to install Windows 7 (the USB method confuses me) and perhaps occasionally burning a cd/dvd or playing a cd/dvd.

It has to be a retail version (I don't want to buy a separate SATA cable). Also, I’m located in the U.S. (in case that matters). I'd like it to be reliable and relatively quiet. I don't need Blu Ray capabilities either. It seems that the two most popular brands are ASUS and Lite-On?

Also, does anyone know what the difference is between ASUS DRW-24B1ST and DRW-24B3ST?
 
Been using my Asus burner for like 7 or more years - never had any problems with error correction, or with playing scratched disks.

When I was in market for burners, Lite-Ons had problems with correction, and required perfect disks to read. But though, those times, Samsung HDDs and burners were considered utter crap, and Plextor was the king of everything :)

I'd go with Asus.
 
The place that does the most thorough reviews of optical drives is probably http://www.CDRinfo.com .

I can't find information about the differences between the Asus DRW-24B1ST and DRW-24B3ST, but it seems that all DVD drives made in the past few years are very good at reading marginal disks, significantly better than my old PATA LiteOn SHW-160P6S and ancient NEC ND-2500A (originally could write only single-layer disks). I'm sure those Asus drives are actually LiteOns because my LiteOn iHAS324s has the same funny shape stamped into its top. OTOH I wouldn't exactly call those LiteOns quiet. Read the NewEgg reviews if CDRinfo doesn't list the drives you're considering.
 
@larrymoencurly,

Thanks for the information. I will definitely check it out.
 
Do they still make those front loader dvd drives? They were not as reliable but are neat.

Good post, I need to get a dvd drive too. Haven't used mine in years till I got BorderLands2 yesterday and it would not open. Building a new machine so. What you guys recommend with a Bluray reader as well?
 
We always recommend the cheapest drive at the time of buying. Whether its a dvd/cd rw drive or bd. Which ever comes out to be the cheapest after shipping gets recommended.
 
Skillz said:
We always recommend the cheapest drive at the time of buying. Whether its a dvd/cd rw drive or bd. Which ever comes out to be the cheapest after shipping gets recommended.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. They're all good enough these days as to make no difference. I'm a Sony fan so I have on of their Opticarc drives. Bought it in 08 and it's been rock solid ever since. But generally I go to Newegg, find the cheapest SATA drive with free shipping and that's the one I always recommend.
 
DVD+-RW drives are pretty much commodity parts. Just grab whatever's cheap and has the most reviews on Newegg. Looks like the Asus has that crown at the moment.
 
Jucius_Maximus said:
I thought ASUS was a re-brand of Lite-on?
Click to expand...
I think so because my Lite-On iHAS324 has the same wierd shaped top as Asus drives do, but I think the firmware is branded differently for each. Apparently cross flashing isn't nearly as easy as it used to be.
 
having a optical drive is nice but if your only real use for it is to boot/install your OS, almost a waste of money. the only reason i keep my optical drive in primary system is to fill the 5.25 hole. lol.

personally i haven't used my ancient DVD/CD writer burner (so old, no Bluray read) in years. creating a USB flash version of your win7 DVD is actually really simple not to mention the install process goes a damn sight quicker & quieter than using optical media.

YUMI...
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/
...is great for a multi-boot USB drive tho if you're just after a util for windows 7,

'USB Creator for Windows 7 or Vista' makes it dead simple.
http://www.lancelhoff.com/usb-creator-for-windows-7/

creating a multi-boot version of win7 with the various distros (ultimate, pro, home etc) in x86 & x64 selectable in the boot menu is when it gets a little tricky.
 
They are getting outdated it seems but I still have a CD player in my car so I burn CD's occasionally and I still buy hard copies of games when I can. So they havent gone the way of the dinosaur quite yet but theyre getting close.
 
I just got the cheapest I could find on amazon, liteon for 17 bucks, 23 bucks after tax and 1 day shipping with prime.
 
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