External CD RW's? 4

[trybry]

Hi,

I am very impressed with the quality of the information presented from the group. So now I will pose another question, I've been pondering for sometime.

I am looking for an External CD RW for my Laptop (Win98 1st Ed, K6-2, 333mhz).
I would like the groups opinion (if it does not violate any rules) on which is the best CD RW in the following categories:

Cost - Low to High
Best Speed - RxWxRW
Reliability - Best to Worst
Quality - CD Sound recording
Connection - PCMCIA, USB (preferred) or Parallel (note those that do not require an external power source)
Availability - Products that are readily available at most outlets or on-line
vendors
Mfg - of the one(s) that best meets all or most of the above.

The reason that I ask, is that when I get my new Laptop. It will already have a new CD RW and possibly DVD RW too. So I don't want too get to crazy as far as price is concerned.

Thanks

 

[cdogg]

Since you plan on upgrading in the near future, I wouldn't worry too much about the specs. Since you have USB 1.1, 4x is the max burning speed that you can achieve. So any external 4x CDRW drive should do.

I've only worked with HP external CDRW drives myself, so I can't really give you a good overall picture of which brands are the best in this category. But I can say that I've never had any problems with those drives, and that Plextor, TDK, and LiteOn are excellent alternatives.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[ceh4702]

There are some products that I have used that have worked well but most of them have been Internal drives from Lite-On. I have another one made by LG which is a korean brand that is still working also. So far I have had good luck with CD Burners, but I do not burn constantly. Asus has a good reputation for good dependable optical drives as well. One thing to look at is what software you want to use with your CDRW. I would suggest Nero as one possibility. If you want the option to play DVD's you may also want DVD Power which is a DVD player program. Some optical drives come with this software already and some come with other software like Easy CD Creator.

Here are some things you need to mention:

Are you looking for small and slim, lightweight portable drives, or would you be happy with an external drive you plug into the wall?

I am not sure how many portable CDRW's there are that actually run off of the USB Power or if you even want to drain the power from your laptop. That power has to come from somewhere! There is probably a tradeoff between the power consumption and speed or the lightweight versions. Also when it comes to size smaller costs more. Asus makes both an ultra light weight drive and a somewhat slim portable drive with and upright stand, as well as the traditional full size externals. It looked like all the CDRW drives I looked at required 110-220 power. I dont think you can burn a CD off of the USB power.

I suggest you look at a couple of sites on the internet like:

http://www.newegg.com

http://www.zipzoomfly.com

http://www.bestbuy.com

http://www.amazon.com

If you buy online look at the delivery costs as well. Sometimes you get free delivery.

You may also want to look at places like Best Buy, Office Max, Sams, Wall-mart. Sometimes these things go on sale.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[Philly44]

If your getting a new machine with a burner in it and don't really need to burn CD's ie you just need to carry data with you I would drop the idea alltogether and get jump drive. If you still want an external I have worked many different brands abd the best for the buck that I have used specifically for external have HP burners. For internal I swear by Plextor.

 

[TekTippy4U]

I have a Buslink External CDRW (as a present - it's 40x12x48) and works well - even with USB 1.1 (it's a USB 2.0 HiSpeed drive).
I've used Lite-on for Internal and their great for the cost..
BTW - with USB 1.1 the max is 8X burn (1200kb/s), not 4x as stated. The USB 1.1 will go a slightly higher rate of transfer, but the next burn rate choice I get with the bundled (free) Ahead NERO software (I like it) is 12X (or 1800 kb/s) which is just a tad too fast for the USB 1.1 Bus.

Be wary of Mb (Megabit -8 bits make 1 Byte) versus MB(MegaByte - 1 Byte is made from 8bits) data tranfer rates in all USB 2.0 products and make sure it says "HiSpeed" USB 2.0 on it (which is 480Mbit/s or divided by 8 = 60MB/s)...and comes with a CDROM of Drivers and Free Burning Software. Though these numbers are not realistic, 2.0 is 10-20 times faster (when the SYS can handle 2.0 ofcourse)

Get a USB 2.0 capable External for future pleasure when using on a later system or Elsewhere (Hey - it's Portable!!)


TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[TekTippy4U]

I own a Buslink External CDRW (as a present - it's 40x12x48) and works well - even with USB 1.1 (it's a USB 2.0 HiSpeed drive).
I've used Lite-on for Internal and they're great for the cost..

BTW - with USB 1.1 the max is 8X burn (1200kb/s), not 4x as stated. The USB 1.1 will go a slightly higher rate of transfer, but the next burn rate choice I get with the bundled (free) Ahead NERO software (I like it) is 12X (or 1800 kb/s) which is just a tad too fast for the USB 1.1 Bus.

Be wary of Mb (Megabit -8 bits make 1 Byte) versus MB(MegaByte - 1 Byte is made from 8bits) data tranfer rates in all USB 2.0 products and make sure it says "HiSpeed" USB 2.0 on it (which is 480Mbit/s or divided by 8 = 60MB/s)...and comes with a CDROM of Drivers and Free Burning Software. Though these numbers are not realistic, 2.0 is 10-20 times faster (when the SYS can handle 2.0 ofcourse)

Get a USB 2.0 capable External for future pleasure when using on a later system or Elsewhere (Hey - it's Portable!!)


TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[cdogg]

Actually, the USB 2.0 interface is exactly 40 times faster than the 1.1 interface.

2.0 = 60MB/s (max)
1.1 = 1.5MB/s (max)

Now of course, those are theoretical max speeds. Many devices that use USB 2.0 won't be that fast. As a matter of fact, the fastest flash memory USB 2.0 devices rarely exceed 5MB/s transfer rates.

But yes, TT4U is right in saying that 8x is the max for USB 1.1 - I said 4x earlier by mistake.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[TekTippy4U]

hey cdogg;
if that's as far as either one of us ever slipped, we'd be not too much worse for the wear...eh?
I've made many a bigger oops! and more than a couple of Doh! /s in the past

peace


TT4U

Notification:
These are just my thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions.
Backup All Important Data/Docs

 

[henrymalega]

My 2 cents....I bought an I/O external 24x10x40 USB 2.0 at Comp USA for 49 bucks. It comes with the USB 2.0 driver disk for windows 98. Comes also with Nero software. I wish you luck..