On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 18:10:51 GMT, "@drian" wrote:

"kony" wrote in message
.. .
It's a Liteon, of whichever model # that's the same speed.
I like Sony's faceplate more, it doesn't look as cheap, but the
Software Sony bundles is something odd... dont' remember what it is,
but not popular, and not Nero (which comes with the Liteons).

Ahhhhh, a LiteOn? Are they an OK brand of CD-RW? Or can I expect problems
in six months? I'm not so worried about the software bundle, as I have my
own tool to make CDs. I just want a reliable, problem-free, long-lasting
drive. I assume most brands of CD-R are compatible with most CD-RWs these
days.

@drian.



The common problems with CDRW drives are attributable to the media
used. Most cheapo media has progressively worse error rates burning
faster than 32X, regardless of the spec on the label. In my
experience liteon drives do as well if not better than any other
drives (on average) and attaining highest burn speeds per given media
with minimum errors, but specific drive/media combinations, their
results, can and do vary.

Personally, I'd take any major manufacturer's drive if it were
near-free after rebate (except Top-G/Top-Glory/et al.), but if I were
paying near-retail for a drive, it'd be a liteon. Though IMHOl, it's a
waste of $ to buy a 52X burner, as it's only a few seconds (if that)
faster than a 48X drive, and that 4X speed benefit on the outer tracks
of a CDR, are exactly where the read errors are most likely to occur.

I'm odd like that though, I'd rather burn at 32X on a 52X burner, and
have a greater chance that the data is readable in 2 years, though
with low-end media even that isn't certain. As inexpensive as HDD are
these days, I backup to RAID 1 mirrors and only use CDRs for
short-term distribution, not backup.


Dve