<< Creative 12x, Sony 12x, or Panasonic 12x? >>
<< Are they hardware or software tho? My friend had a big problem with his software DVD-rom and it was fine when he got a hardware decoding one. Also, can this Toshiba stream to a burner at 12x? or should I just go with the Toshiba 40x CD drive that I know can? Also, is there any reason to have a DVD drive anymore besides movies? That thing w/ making games on the DVD roms died pretty quickly. >>
I have a Toshiba 12x/40x and its been flawless for the 5 months I've had it. The DVD software/hardware, all depends on the cpu and video card/DVD decoder, not the drive itself. Anything cely 500 or better should handle DVD's fine even with integrated i810 video. Less than that, post what you have, because it may be a problem. The Toshiba drive feeds my Plextor 12x/10x/32x just fine. DVD is certainly the future still. If for no other reason, its only $20-30 more than a regular CD-ROM drive, and you can watch movies if nothing else. Games may still have a future in DVD although its much more uncertain than it was awhile ago. DVD-RAM's will become more mainstream in the future, and to transfer you will need DVD-ROM to read.
Of the 3 mentioned, CL has been nortorious in the past, but may have cleaned up recently, I'm not sure, Sony is known for excellency in all electronics, I doubt DVD-ROM's are different, and I don't no much about Panasonic.
Good luck
edit: grammar