Cheap DVD burners?

[Davegod]

Looking for some opinions on really cheap DVD burners, 'cos I really dont know much on specific models etc. All I'm bothered about is reliable burns, NO coasters and actually getting something like 4x on cheap media (cba with some really fussy burner). Mostly I'd use it for ghost backups etc and copying my DVD films.

I found this (for GBP£45, very cheap, emailed to ask if it comes with Nero 6, I only have 5.5.1.56 dunno if that burns DVDs):
Optowrite DD0201 4x DVD±R Drive - Retail

Apparently it's actually a Sanyo drive, and does that HD-burn thing (1.4gb) for CDs, and apparently has 8mb cache if you upgrade the firmware (this coming from the comments from a different e-tailer though...). Decent burner or POS thats too expensive at any price? Or is it really worth waiting to get cash for a 8x Plextor or something?

next possibly-decent options seem to be:
Liteon 4x DVD+R/RW IDE BURNER - Retail £60
Liteon 8x DVD DUAL R/RW IDE Retail LDW-851S £66
LG 8x DVD DUAL R/RW/RAM IDE Burner - Retail GSA4081B £68

Most of you probably use US Dollar$, but eh you can guess well enough by the %'s Delivery is about £5

 

[volrath]

Optowrite? Never heard of it. You get what you pay for. I have a Toshiba SD-R5112, which only burns at 1x even though it reads media as being able to write at 2x. 1 hour burns suck. Go with the good name brand (liteon).

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: volrath
Optowrite? Never heard of it. You get what you pay for. I have a Toshiba SD-R5112, which only burns at 1x even though it reads media as being able to write at 2x. 1 hour burns suck. Go with the good name brand (liteon).

Optorite is a good brand and they make burners for a few other companies.
That said, I love my liteon. It's a workhorse.

 

[Davegod]

oo hanging in the balance

anyone want to tip it? this place is getting towards 0 stock fairly quickly...

 

[CraigRT]

give it a try.. it's cheap. whats the worst that can happen? heh

 

[Davegod]

I count that answer as being on the fence

 

[Nohr]

I hear that Pioneer's DVD burners are good and they seem to be reasonably priced. A friend of mine has a 4x model and he's been very happy with it. Worth checking in to I figure.

 

[Bassyhead]

liteons are cheap and nice

 

[Mavrick007]

I'm getting a Liteon as soon as exams are over.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

either of these should be fine

Liteon 8x DVD DUAL R/RW IDE Retail LDW-851S £66
LG 8x DVD DUAL R/RW/RAM IDE Burner - Retail GSA4081B £68

but I like my BenQ 800A.. coming up on 300 +Rs burnt and only 6 coasters(2 by way of a BTC1004..one by power failure..wasn't plugged into my ups ..3 by operator error..i.e. the idiot behind the keyboard..me )

 

[DeRusto]

I have an Optorite drive, bought it after looking through many threads here around December, it is a very trusty drive for me. I don't think you would be wrong to get one

 

[Conky]

Optorite is the worst brand out there. They work great for about 3 or 4 months and then they lose energy in their lasers or something because after that they don't burn worth a damn. They make great readers at that point. Buyer beware. I would sooner buy any other brand over an optorite. Plus, the company selling that rebadged Optorite crap(Pacific Digital) never did honor that rebate. Double screwed and lesson learned. But maybe you want to roll the dice?

 

[Davegod]

hmm I think I'll hang about and get a LG/Liteon or something in a month or two

 

[vicvon]

The new Benq is dual layer capable with a firmware update. I would get that one just because it's more future proof than any other drive on the market at this time.

 

[Davegod]

what with all this blu ray, dual layer blah blah I dont think any burner is much in the way of "future proof". That said, dual layer looks to be a very useful feature and a drive that can add it for free should be good value :beer:

 

[jcwagers]

You might also check out the NEC 2500A drive. It seems to drop in price fairly regularly. I paid about $130 for mine when I got it and now it can be had for less than $100. I've had no problems out of it and it burns the Ritek G04 discs like a champ. I can't say for sure about any other discs because I haven't used any others but I've been very pleased with it so far.

jc