I want to buy a CD writer
I want to buy a CD writer...but really have little info on types, brand,
anything..... was looking for some suggestions?
saturnva4 (109) on 05/02/99 at 17:21:09 PDT
GAZER . . . If you are at all interested in being able to do anything
else while you are 'burning' a CD you will have to go with SCSI. It is
more expensive than IDE, but the performance is so much better, there is
really no comparison. Better brands are HP, Toshiba, Plexstor, Sony . .
. to name a few. Check out the ads in Computer Shopper for MegaHaus and
DirtCheapDrives. Cost is the big difference between internal/external
drive. Most models of drive are available in both versions, with
externals usually being about $100 higher.
killam (11) on 05/02/99 at 17:30:42 PDT
Saturnva4...does SCSI vs. IDE really matter with CD-R's/RW's at this
point, seeing that they don't burn very fast anyway? Also, how much
effect does buffer size have?
saturnva4 (109) on 05/02/99 at 17:42:49 PDT
Killam - IDE CDRs or RWs use the CPU continuously, and place such a
load that no multi-tasking is possible while the CD is being burned, so
18-20 minutes with fastest, and 45-60 minutes (with slower drives) of
your computers time will be tied up, waiting for the CD to finish. The
buffer in the CDR drive makes no difference. SCSI controllers can
multi-task easily while burning, since CPU loading is minimized. All but
the very least expensive SCSI controllers are called Bus-Mastering,
since I/O is handled independently of the processor CPU. Hence the
multi-tasking capability.
bm-comps (54) on 05/02/99 at 17:44:12 PDT
Saturn: Not true... You can't do other things while burning a CD with
a SCSI writer any more than you can with an IDE. The chances of it
screwing up are still great. With the new HP CD-RW's (7200 and 8100),
you can use them like regular hard drives, complete drag-n-drop
capabilities from within the Windows Explorer, no extra applications
needed. Both of those models are IDE only. A "buffer" is an actual
memory chip, like RAM, that is built into the CD-Writer. When the Hard
drive slows down and doesn't give data at the speed it should (a normal
occurrence when hard drives are looking for files) it reads the data from
the buffer, instead of the drive. As long as the buffer has info, the
CD-Writer can burn. If the hard drive stops for too long, the buffer
runs out, and the CD is ruined.
bm-comps (54) on 05/02/99 at 17:47:00 PDT
Saturn: Yeah, right... I'm going to spend $150 for an Adaptec 2940
controller so I can burn CD's and multi-task, and then not buy a SCSI
hard drive to plug into it? Yeah right. If you plug a SCSI hard drive
into the same card as the burner, it has the same affect as using the
IDE. Unless you have a $150 SCSI card and IDE hard drives (why you
wouldn't upgrade to the FAST SCSI technology supported by the card,
since you DO own it, I don't know), multi-tasking is no better.
POINT NOT MADE.
bm-comps (54) on 05/02/99 at 17:50:18 PDT
GazerBoy: Internal is usually more dependable when it comes to
CD-writers. Hewlett-Packard's writers are supposed to be the best
available today. I've had some trouble with my Memorex and Mitsumi, but
no trouble with my HP (I re-sold the Memorex and Mitsumi ones once I
discovered the HP).
saturnva4 (109) on 05/02/99 at 17:52:03 PDT
BM aka INGFAST ... A used $40 Adaptec 1540B/C controller will
multi-task just fine in a Pentium 60/133/200, etc. You bottom-end
promoters don't care to discuss performance, just price..... the price
you can sell IDE for, that is...
bm-comps (54) on 05/02/99 at 17:56:15 PDT
Saturn... Been there, done that. I have an Adaptec 1505 card. They
claim it is BUS Mastering as well. Hmmmmm. It isn't. I can tell you from
experience with my 6020i HP writer that it isn't any better. I'll send
you some of my screwed up CD's if you don't believe me. Bottom end
promoters? I think not. HP's are HARDLY inexpensive OR bottom-of the
line.
saturn -- If I were that serious about copying CD's I'd get a
CD-Dupe-It, which is a standalone CD duplicator, they're about the same
price as a nice PC, and I'm sure they're the Pirates' Choice! Of course,
there are a lot of legal uses for it too........carter
..back..