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How low would you have to go in order for the combo drives to be quiet while they operate but have high speeds? 48x24x48x16? or lower? I hope I wouldn't have to go lower. That new Lite-On 48x24x48x16x combo looks good. Or should I wait on Lite-On's 52x24x52x16x combo? Would that be noisier? The Lite-On's look good because the 48x24x48x16x only requiers a regular Pentium 133 processor. I wonder how that is when other 16x DVD-Rom drives require a Pentium II 350-400? I am assuming Lite-On's 52x24x52x16x combo wouldn't be much more in processor power? Plus it has Mt. Rainier right? I guess NewEgg.Com would willl have that one soon? I hope I am not bugging you guys two much on this subject. I'll stop if you want me to. I just can't seem to make up my mind, sorry. I can't stand the constant change in speeds. Thanks, Craig.

I think that the noise level depends greatly on the manufacturer. I have heard that Samsung is quieter than Lite-On, but I have also heard that Samsung is less reliable than Lite-On. My personal preference would be Lite-On. I guess my nickname gives that away.

I know how frustrating it is that the drives have been changing so fast. I remember when my 32x12x40 seemed like something pretty fast (and I was thrilled at the deal I got on it too; it cost more on sale than some 52x drives on sale do now).

All I can say is that my LG combo drive is a lot quieter than my LiteON tornado....

craiger, the reason why most combo drives require so much CPU power is because of the software that come with them. While the Lite-On might work fine with a Pentium 133, I doubt you'll be able to play back any DVD movies with it if you're using a software based decoder.