Help me choose...

[bimbla]

Between Plextor 52-32-52 and Lite-on 52-32-52 which would you go for?

Former is Rs. 6000/- and the latter is Rs. 2800/- (1USD+ Rs48)

bimbla.

[aviationwiz]

I'd definetly recomend the Plextor Premium (52x32x52) drive. It has superb quality and has tons of features that the Lite-On doesn't have.

You can test the quality of your burns on the Premium with Q-Check, which is included with PlexTools Pro, which is included with the drive.

On the Lite-On, you can check the quality with KProbe, which, sadly, is as far as we can tell, no longer in development. We may see new versions of KProbe later, but for now, we don't know.

The Premium is definetly worth the extra money.

[Matt]

Be wary of plextor zealots (**coughaviationcoughwizcough**), with that in mind here are some threads that have already discussed that issue or contain related information:

Experiences with Plex Premium & Liteon5232 & SmartBurn
Plextor Premium VS. Lite-On 52x23x52x

[aviationwiz]

My title says it all

Plextor Fan(atic)

[Ian]

Between Plextor 52-32-52 and Lite-on 52-32-52 which would you go for?

What's your budget like? Do you really NEED some of the features on the Plextor?

[bimbla]

May be I do not need the feaatures of Plex Premium.

Then Between Lite-on 52-32-52 and Plextor 52-24-52 who should one choose?
I look at such a buy as once in life investment. Reliability and reliable writes is most important.

Thanks in advance.

bimbla.

[TCAS]

Sound like you have made up your mind on Plexor regardless of any one recommendation. My personal choice is Lite-On.

[tcpol]

Lite-on.

[CDRecorder]

I'm quite happy with my Lite-On LTR-52327S (52X32X52X). I personally would choose it over the Plextor because of its lower price and higher speed. Mine writes very reliably, and I have never had a Lite-On drive fail. I bought my first Lite-On back in 2001.

[Stoner]

2 Lite-Ons for the price of 1 Plextor. Nice choice man.

You know, this is like a snotty person asking whether he should buy a BMW 540i or Honda Accord EX. They'll both get you places, drive well (unless you act like a CART or NASCAR driver), but the former costs more than twice the latter, not to mention the repair cost if the BMW breaks down.

Like somebody said, if you've already made up your decision on the overpriced plextor, why are you still asking for an opinion?

Lite-On gets my vote for value, quality, and ability.

[aviationwiz]

May be I do not need the feaatures of Plex Premium.

Then Between Lite-on 52-32-52 and Plextor 52-24-52 who should one choose?
I look at such a buy as once in life investment. Reliability and reliable writes is most important.

Thanks in advance.

bimbla.

If your looking at this to work right when you get it out of the box, and you want it to keep working for years and years, then you've made up your mind on the Plextor.

All the Lite-On's I have used are just not all that reliable. My LTR-48125W started wearing out after just a year, My first LTD-163D lasted about two days, then I got anpther one at the store I purchased it at and it has been on and off for the past year, as far as speed, performance goes.

[CDRecorder]

I'm not sure I entirely agree. I don't burn as many discs as some people here, but I've never had a single problem with any Lite-On drive ever, and I got my first one in 2001.

[Ian]

Once again, you have to take aviationwiz's advice with a grain of salt. All companies have lemons. I've heard of just as many Plextor drives going bad.

One thing that Plextor does have going for it is tech support. Lite-On's is kinda iffy. Of course, you're going to pay a premium for it.

[CowboySlim]

If you don't already have good software, then you should factor that in. Plextors come bundled with POS Roxio. If you are that much of a perfectionist in the hardware, then I would expect you hold the software in the same regard as a matter of consistency. So, you throw out the Roxio and buy Nero 6. Now, there is another $100 to add to the Plextor that doesn't go against LiteOn as it comes bundled with Nero.

They were selling LiteOns (52x32x52x) at the computer fair this weekend for $35.

About the reliability issue. Ian is correct, all we have to go by in that regard is that which is called anecdotal evidence. We don't have a statistically significant sample size of either brand with which to make a rational judgement with respect to reliability.

[aviationwiz]

We have user comments.

I heard from a friend that likes Lite-On a bunch that an employee at the store he got his burner from said that they get a lot of Lite-On drives back to replace because they are either DOA or they are just a POS, or they break after 2 days of use.

[CDRecorder]

Well, out of four (hopefully soon to be five) Lite-On drives, I've never seen a bad one...

What percentage do you mean when you say that the store gets "a lot" of returns?

[Bhairav]

bimbla: Rupees.. you from India by any chance? Those are the exact prices for the Lite-On and Plexy here! Go for the Lite-On. Tech-support has no meaning for us anyway, because as soon as the drive breaks or something, we have to take it back to the point of purchase. I'm having mucho troubles with my 52246S right now, will be sending it back, and paying the price differential and getting a 52327S.

Which city are you from, bimbla?

[dolphinius_rex]

As for quality burns, neither LiteON nor Plextor are perfect. I've been comparing quite a number of different media (plural) on both my LiteON 48125W and my Plextor Premium, and I have noticed that quite often if one drive does not like the media, then the other will!

And *yes* that means that sometimes my liteON 48125W has higher burn quality then the Plextor Premium, but the opposite is also true...

*MY* recommendation: By both! LOL!

[bimbla]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will buy a Lite-on(52-32-52). I was not 'inclined' towards Plextor. I am happy to be a

small part of the forum where every attempt is made to let truth prevail....not brand names. I am happy for BahiravP for his

eagerness to be helping an Indian (I am from Kolhapur, Maharashtra).

Thank you all over again! See you in the software section to discusss the changing shades of Nero!!

With warm regards,

bimbla.

[Bhairav]

Nice choice bimbla. I got my 52327S today, and it's burning well on a variety of media. What kind of blanks are available in Kolhapur?