Help me choose a DVD RW for a Dell computer...

[coadman]

My son and I were going to build him a computer, but todays special deal from Dell may be too good to pass up!(free LCD 17" monitor, and $100 MIR after already getting $100 off retail price(small business). Anyway, we will order it with just the stock CD or DVD drive, and he wants to put in a DVD burner. His budget is in the $55-75 range, so anybody have any recommendations that will match his Dell black color? FYI I am currantly using an old LiteOn 411s, and it's working fine in my present computer.
thanks,
coadman

I found the NEC 3520A for $62.99 shipped at NewEgg. Is this a pretty good one for the money? And since its a OEM, does it mean it doesnt come with any cables? If so, not a problem, as I have some old computers I can rob the appropriate cables off of. Any other unexpected stumbling blocks I might run into with an OEM?
thanks,
coadman

[shaun]

That burner would be a good choice (or a black version of the Pioneer 108 or 109).

OEM is the same as Retail (most of the time...firmware may differ in some manufacturers)...you should have both IDE cables in your DELL, unless they are cheap and put the DVD and HD on the same channel.

[VEFF]

The Benq DW1620 is another popular, well-reviewed 16X DVD burner.
Currently available for $68 or $69 shipped.

If you don't mind the hassle of mail-in rebates, 16X DVD burners based on the nEC ND-3500A have been available for $42 to $44 after rebate and/or coupon including tax and/or shipping.
$74 before rebate.

[CowboySlim]

Build it Coadman. You will end up with a far more robust machine as Dell squeezes every penny by buying the cheapest parts possible parts. For example, the hard drives that they use are crap compared to Seagate. It also provides a great father-som bonding experience. Thirty years ago I used to build Heathkits with my son just to build them.

Go here to see what else to buy.

Slim

[Gen-An]

Dell sometimes uses Seagate HDDs. WD, Seagate, Maxtor, Hitachi, all the usual suspects.