6 dvd burners -- which to choose?

[raildogg]

I need a new dvd burner as my old NEC is about 2 and half years old. There are many burners out there, but I have narrowed it down to about 6.

Plextor PX-740A
Toshiba SD-R5372
Sony DRU-810A
BenQ DW1640
Pioneer DVR-110 Dual Layer
NEC 3540A

Which of these 4 drives would you choose? Money is not a concern, just want the best drive for speed and reliability.

I know Plextor is among the best in terms of solid reliability, my 6 year old Plextor cd-rw is still going strong.

Thanks.

 

[myrcgarage]

NEC-3540A. So far so good here. I think Benq 1620 is not as good as 1640. If you have to choose, go with NEC 3540A or BenQ 1640.

 

[orangat]

Plextor. Since money is no prob, the plex has better firmware and possibly better parts than the benq.

 

[imported_rod]

You forgot Pioneer. Pioneer make the best drives IMHO.

RoD

 

[raildogg]

The Pioneer is probably one of the cheaper models there, along with the NEC. Thanks for the responses so far.

Yes, I made a typo, meant the BenQ 1640.

As for Pioneer, I have not heard much about the DVR-110. Any comments?

 

[Coherence]

I've heard that the NEC is the only one that supports both +R DL and -R DL media (after firmware update). So if you want to be able to use just about every kind of media available, go with the NEC. It's been a while, though, so it's possible that the others may support -R DL by now.

 

[wallrunnerm15]

i have both the plextor and the sony, and i adore both. if money is no issue then go with either of these. before these 2 drives i owned a NEC 3520 and i had to switch it from udma-66 to PIO because of the numerous read and write errors.

 

[ribbon13]

I like the drama behind the DRU-810A being a relabeled DW1640. Maybe this will disturb the Sony/Lite-on alliance enough so that Lite-On reverts back to the 'pirate's dream' class of drives they used to make in retaliation.

 

[Budman]

If i were to buy a dvd drive today it would be the Benq 1640,cheap & good write quality.

 

[hclarkjr]

i read somewhere that the plextor 740 is a rebadged benq 1640 so if 2 of the big names are rebadging the 1640 then i would save some cash and get the 1640. compusa is selling hival dvd-rw's that are rebadged benq 1640's also.

 

[Bozo Galora]

Pioneer 110D sucks 108 was best
the plextor is a rebadge - they dont "make" drives anymore - you cant sell a DVD burner today that sells for more than $45
the 3540 has already been replaced by the 4550 and 4551
the NEC's have the best third party firmware support (liggy + dee) especially for bitsetting to use burned DVD's in set top boxes (+ riplock remov and region free)
Their 3520 was the winner

cdfreaks - the most knowledgeable site on the subject of DVD's says the benq is the best all around

 

[510kut]

If money isnt a issue why not get the Plextor 716? and yea the 740 is rebadged benq1640.

 

[Nick5324]

I agree with a couple people have said in here. The plex 716 or the previous Pioneer drive. I have a NEC 3540, very happy with it.

 

[Venomous]

BenQ all the way, dont look back.

 

[chucky2]

LG makes a nice drive too...not sure how their latest compares to the ones you have listed, but usually their very competitive on pricing and features.

Chuck

 

[n7]

Easy choice.

BenQ DW1640

People here still insist on recommending the NECs, even though they don't deserve the same recommendation the BenQ does.