Optical Drives Leaderboard

[StarTraveller]

I apologize if this has been posted before, but a quick search through this forum gave no such indication.

I think you should add a leaderboard to the website listing the very best optical drives for various segments right now. Much like StorageReview.com has a leaderboard listing the best drives in various categories.

I'm not sure exactly which categories would be most useful, but I'm sure a collective brain storming could come up with some great ideas!

If you're completely blank on what to get then a leaderboard would really be a good place to start compared to the overwhelming and almost infinite list of reviews.

JMHO

[aviationwiz]

Overall, I'd have to say yes. It could even limit the number of people that come in here and ask which drive to get, without looking at the main sites and the reviews and news on it.

[TheWizard]

Leaderboard or not, I still think people will ask which drive to get. I don't think the leaderboard is an entirely bad idea, but it may promote arguments. For example, if someone disagrees with a leaderboard selection, you can bet we'll hear about it here on the forums. It may also promote a bias toward a certain brand, and then the issue of playing favorites will surface here on the forums. Case in point, not everyone needs a Lite-On or Plextor or LG. What happens to drives that finish in second place? They are forgotten about. Leaderboards are merely a matter of opinion, then again, so are the responses here when someone asks which drive he/she should buy.

[StarTraveller]

I like the way they handle those issues at StorageReview.com. They of course pick a current king of the hill, but past leaders as well as current runner ups are also mentioned. Then people can check out the reviews of the runner ups as well and decide if that's a more appropriate choice.

For categories the obvious ones to me are CD-ROM drives, CD-RW drives, DVD-ROM drives, and DVD recordable drives. Then in each category the leader would be the current speed champion, but drives could also be mentioned for exceptional quality, numerous or special features, lowest noise level etc. The drive currently offering "best value" should also always be mentioned in my opinion.

E.g. I've just looked into DVD recordable drives. The speed champion appears to Plextor 708A, but the LG (I forgot the model - 4081 maybe?) could be mentioned both as excellent value and as offering DVD-RAM. The Plextor was surpassed in certain speed tests so the drive coming out on top in those tests would be mentioned as a runner up since it excels in areas that might be more important to some people.

That should give some idea of what I'm thinking about .

[Ian]

I'm not a big fan of top 10 lists. What might work well for me, might not be the best choice for someone else. I'd prefer that people take a little time and look at the postivie and negative points of each drive and decide for themselves, instead of just buying the drive that's #1 on our list. Unfortunately, most people are too lazy to do such a thing.

[StarTraveller]

Still, no one has voted against the idea yet . But OK. You're the boss around here (or one of them - I'm too new here to tell exactly).

How about an alternative layout of the review section then? You can keep the current listing sorted by brand, but you could also make one sorted by type of drive (like those four I suggested in my last post). If each category is sorted by date in descending order then that could really help people find what they're looking for as well.

Instead of having to go all the way through that immense list then you could go to the category, e.g. DVD recordable, and then check out the newest reviews (which probably matches the newest drives).

You have a wealth of information at this site, but it's easy to miss a current review even if you're careful.

Oh, and it might not be because people are too lazy. Not everyone needs to know why some specific drive is the best for them. Some people only need to know that they have a need for a certain feature and now they want a drive that's not going to be a complete waste of money. So they skip to the conclusions and see which drive gets the most "editor's choice" or "best value" awards and then buys that.

Those who want (or need) to know more will go through the reviews still and apply whatever preference they have. A leaderboard won't hide any information - it will just provide another point of entry to the information you have.