Decisions, decisions...

[epony]

Hi All,

I'm new to these parts, and addmitedly not more than a novice in the burning world (although quite the expert on other aspects of the PC world...)

Anyhow, I'm the current holder of a x8x8x24 Int. SCSI Yamaha drive, and looking to upgrade to an Int. IDE/ATAPI drive.

I've looked the forum and Ian's reviews of the latest and greatest x52x24x52 models, and I'm looking for a helping hand in finally deciding on a CD-RW of choice.

My shortlist ocnsists of the following drives:
1. Samsuns SW-252B
2. ASUS CRW-5224A
3. LG GCE-8520B
4. Lite-On LTR-52246S
5. Sony CRX220A1

and another option is the Plextor PlexWriter PX-W4824TA...

Now, as far as I could see, most ppl favour the LiteOn, but I was rather intrigued by the samsung's 8MB buffer - is it really that much of an advantage when all drives our fitted with some sort of Buffer Underrun protection systems (like LiteOn's Smart-Burn...)?

Anther consideration is price (which also why the Plex isn't shortlisted, since it's exactly twice as much as any of the others cost!) - I can get the Sony for approx. $50, while the rest go for about $60-70...

I'm not one to make a big deal out of a measly $10, but if the sony's to par with the rest of the lot, why not save a few meals
By the way, the quoted prices are based on the Israeli market, and are the best I can come up with within my country of residence...

So, any real world experience with these drives will be greatly appreciated! as you can see I'm more prone to the LiteOn or Samsung, but your opinions matter greatly in my final decision (and I already own Nero 5.5, so it's not a huge plus as far as I'm concerned)

Also, I'm not a factory-grade burner, and mostly make copies of my purchased music CDs and PC games, plus the occasional MP3 compilation for my car CD/MP3 player, and the occasional hard drive backup (although not that frequently - every 6 months or every time I get below 1 GB of free space - and that's only because it takes less time than upgradin my W2K 20GB system to a WinXP on an already purchased 40GB drive...)
Furthermore, I almost never use CD-RWs, since I haven't yet found an excuse to utilize them (I do have 2-3 medias at home though...)


Thanks to all who intened to reply - may there be plenty of you!

[MediumRare]

The Sony is a rebadged LiteOn, so if price is important, go for that. I have an LTR48246S which has been an excellent drive. A big plus for LiteOn's is the availability of diagnostic tools such as K's Probe and CD-Doctor (only PlexWriter Premium offers comparable or better diagnostics with the PlexTools).

As to buffer size, see (for example) What good is an 8MB buffer?. Try the search function for more info (it's been hashed around a lot).

G

[dodecahedron]

hi epony!
welcome to CDRLabs.
not many Israelis here

by the way, what stores/websites did you check out?
where is that $50 for the Sony from?

from your short list, i would recommend the Lite-On and the Sony (they are the same).
the 8 meg buffer isn't really that important.
the Lite-On (and Sony) drive has a big advantage - there are freeware utilities for checking burn quality of CDs: KProbe, CD Doctor. very useful!

(OK i see now that MediumRare has written everything i have first! )

[epony]

Hi there, nice to see I'm not the only israeli around these whereabouts

I've found the SONY for 199ILS (That's Israeli Shekel - the local currency, which goes 4.5:1 against the dollar - i.e. 4.5ILS buys $1), in 3 different locations using zap.co.il (the local pricegrabber) - unfortunately, all 3 demand a whopping 69ILS ($15) charge for S&H!!!
1. http://zap.wallashops.co.il/shopmind_po ... NY52x24x52
2. http://www.getit.co.il/ie2/ProductDetai ... 587&ref=12
3. http://www.shopster.co.il/mozar.asp?id=1398

Since most price quotes on the ZAP price scan engine come from roughly the same sites, the difference isn't in the S&H charge, but in the basic chrage for the drive package itself.

So, as the Sony goes for a total of 268ILS (approx. $60), Samsung and LiteOn sell for as low as $65, LG for $70, Asus for $75 and Plextor (x48 as opposed to the others which are x52) on the other hand, sells for as little as $120...

Having realized from previous postings linked by MediumRare that an 8MB buffer is quite irrelevant (as I had suspected) once an "error-proof" burner is purchased (i.e. smart-Burn for LiteOn products), and after realizing that the Sony requires that one depress the eject button for 5 seconds every time one wishes to burn at speeds higher than x40 (duh! why else would I buy a x52 burner in the first place??), I'm very much inclined towards the LiteOn.

If any of view have any other suggestions, recommendations or other words of wisdom, I would me much obliged

Thanks![/i]

[dodecahedron]

the Sony is a rebadged Lite-On, but with a tweaked firmware, hence the Turbo-boost feature.
however it is easily remedied, since you can flash a Sony drive with a Lite-On firmware, thus making it a "true" Lite-On 100%. this is easily done and the tools are freely available.
so this souldn't be a consideration for Lite-On against Sony.

so i say, go for the Sony.

apparently in Israel the Sony is cheaper, this isn't the first time i'm seeing this...

[dhc014]

My current favorite deal is to pick up a Sony CRX225E from Newegg for $38.99 (white OEM) or $41.99 (Black OEM). This drive is actually a LTR-52327S which goes for around $45 on newegg...

For some reason Sony is selling them labelled as 52/24/52 instead of 52/32/52

[epony]

I have seen the the CRX225A in a local "pricegrabber"-like site, for approx. $10 more than the CRX220A1 - but I noticed that dhc014 was referring to the CRX225E - so I'm not sure which is the better deal.

Also, I know this is probably not the first time you've been asked, but where can I learn a bit more on firmware flashing (if indeed I were to buy a sony and flash it with the original LiteOn firmaware) - and then, where can I d/l the firmware from (duh! www.liteonit.com, right?)

Thanks again!

[dhc014]

I have seen the the CRX225A in a local "pricegrabber"-like site, for approx. $10 more than the CRX220A1 - but I noticed that dhc014 was referring to the CRX225E - so I'm not sure which is the better deal.

They're the same hardware... the box says CRX225A but the drive calls itself a CRX225E...

Good Sony links:
http://www.sonycrx2xx.org
http://dhc014.rpc1.org (my site )

[Ian]

My current favorite deal is to pick up a Sony CRX225E from Newegg for $38.99 (white OEM) or $41.99 (Black OEM). This drive is actually a LTR-52327S which goes for around $45 on newegg..

Do we know this for sure or is this still a theory?

[dhc014]

For sure now.

[istomtom]

FYI: The Asus is $46 shipped from newegg.com.

[dodecahedron]

FYI: The Asus is $46 shipped from newegg.com.

shipped to Israel, it would be a little more expensive!
newegg doesn't ship internationally.

[Inertia]

My current favorite deal is to pick up a Sony CRX225E from Newegg for $38.99 (white OEM) or $41.99 (Black OEM). This drive is actually a LTR-52327S which goes for around $45 on newegg...

For some reason Sony is selling them labelled as 52/24/52 instead of 52/32/52

The OEM version of the Sony CRX225E is selling for $38.99 plus $6.00 shipping, or $44.99.

The retail boxed Liteon LTR-52327S is selling for $42.99 total (free shipping).

[dhc014]

Dang newegg and their tricky free shipping!