DVD writer for PC help please

coolagarry

Considering that they cost about the same as 100 DVD blanks I think that internal dvd drives are a snip at just over £20 including P & P
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=1854
I find all SVP stuff to be excellent and excellent back up from them if things go wrong.

happyhero

coolagarry wrote: »

Considering that they cost about the same as 100 DVD blanks I think that internal dvd drives are a snip at just over £20 including P & P
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=1854
I find all SVP stuff to be excellent and excellent back up from them if things go wrong.

This drive looks good but mentions nothing about dual layer, should I not be buying dual layer capable drive to be future proof. In case this is a stupid question, yes I dont know much about dual layer.

BillScarab

It is dual layer and looks like a bargain. If you look at the write speeds it mentions both DVD-R and DVD-R DL, the DL indicates Dual Layer.

bat999

hi happyhero


The spec says
DVD-R DL: 6X
DVD+R DL: 8X

This means it will write to dual layer DVD- at 6X speed and DVD+ at 8X speed.

I bought one of these, the same model but badged by LiteOn, from Play.com.
It works great, though I haven't burned any dual layers yet.
It costs £17.99 including postage.
This is the link:- http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/GENSO/667/874/-/3271383/LiteOn_DW1670_16X_Internal_DVD_RW_Drive/Product.html?searchtype=genre

happyhero

Hi apologies for reviving my old post but I didn't get round to buying the writer in the end due to other major things going on and have since created some movies on my camcorder and edited them to something decent on my PC, so I am now ready to buy one and keen to do it quick so that I can empty the files from my PC.
I am now decided that I will buy an internal and I was just about to buy the Liteon one kindly suggested above but as a few months have passed and this stuff is always being superceded by something better, so I would just like to ask one final time should I get the same Liteon one still or is there something new and better out now.
Any help really appreciated.

Lakeuk

£16.91 (exc P+P)
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127856

£20.45 (exc P+P) (inc lightscribe but the discs are expensive)
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126226

superscaper

Only real experience I have is my Asus 1608p3s which works with every disc I've come across and I've been very happy with it. My parent's pc has a Sony DVD writer (OEM) and it's rubbish, can't write to most DVD discs (+ or -) and there's no updated firmware.

Cerro

I'd go internal, its cheaper and faster (generally speaking).

LiteONs are great, i've used a few other brands - Sony (usually liteons rebranded or vice-versa depending on how you look at it), NEC, Samsung and MSI to name a few. NEC i've found to be so-so, they're cheap but not exactly great. MSI are hit or miss, the drive I last got was fantastic, some others i know who have used them hated them... Samsung have always been good for me. Pioneer and LG also have good reputations, though Pioneer drives are usually more expensive.

That LiteON suggested would do, I personally avoid ebuyer like the plague - made a mess of orders and then refused to replace those orders, so i voted with my feet and will never buy from them again. I'd also check Komplett and Scan for similar drives, but I wouldn't bother with litescribe drives, otherwise most drives are much the same in terms of features, though the faster the better.

One thing to check and this will depend on the age of your PC, is how many IDE drives you have and if you have SATA ports. You can only support a maximum of 4 IDE devices, that includes hard disks (2 IDE devices per cable and don't mix Hard disks and optical drives on the same cable/ribbon). So take a quick look around your PC and see how many physical hard disks you have and if they are SATA or IDE. If you have two IDE hard disks, you will have to give up one of your other optical drives. If you have SATA then check how many SATA ports you have free - you could then buy a SATA version of that liteON and have all 3 optical drives in your PC.

happyhero

Cerro wrote: »

One thing to check and this will depend on the age of your PC, is how many IDE drives you have and if you have SATA ports. You can only support a maximum of 4 IDE devices, that includes hard disks (2 IDE devices per cable and don't mix Hard disks and optical drives on the same cable/ribbon). So take a quick look around your PC and see how many physical hard disks you have and if they are SATA or IDE. If you have two IDE hard disks, you will have to give up one of your other optical drives. If you have SATA then check how many SATA ports you have free - you could then buy a SATA version of that liteON and have all 3 optical drives in your PC.

Hi Cerro and thanks for your advice. I know about sata connections as I have worked on my fathers pc which had sata but my pc I know does not have sata, I have the typical ribbon cable. But I cannot remember so maybe you can advise me, how can I tell if I have an optical drive?
The drive I will fit I am hoping to put in place of the DVD-ROM fitted so there is a connection there. Directly above this I have a CD-RW, this was how the PC came from new. Would you do it differently for any reason, or the same as I suggest, i.e. leave CD-RW in place and replace the DVD-ROM?
Other than this I have one hard drive partitioned to look like 3 hard drives ( part of the recovery method this manufacture used).

Chippy_Minton

happyhero wrote: »

Hi Cerro and thanks for your advice. I know about sata connections as I have worked on my fathers pc which had sata but my pc I know does not have sata, I have the typical ribbon cable. But I cannot remember so maybe you can advise me, how can I tell if I have an optical drive?
The drive I will fit I am hoping to put in place of the DVD-ROM fitted so there is a connection there. Directly above this I have a CD-RW, this was how the PC came from new. Would you do it differently for any reason, or the same as I suggest, i.e. leave CD-RW in place and replace the DVD-ROM?
Other than this I have one hard drive partitioned to look like 3 hard drives ( part of the recovery method this manufacture used).

An optical drive is simply another name for a DVD or CD drive.

Apart from the convenience when copying CDs, or having 2 browsable CDs there is no advantage in having 2 optical drives. The new DVD-RW can replace both your current drives.