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I am starting grad school next semester and I need a CD-RW. I would also like DVD capabilities as I do not plan to lug my DVD player with me.

I know there aren't a ton of them out there. I'm not an overly picky person. I know there will always be a feature or features that is a bit of a letdown. I'm just looking for suggestions.

There's only a couple of things I specifically prefer. First, I'm not looking for a drive that only accepts media from 2-3 manufacturers. Also, I'm not looking for super-quiet, but out of respect of my roommates, I'd rather not have something that sounds like a 747 at takeoff. Last, I saw a Samsung drive on NewEgg that was fairly priced. Since grad student = poor, please don't include $200 drives or anything like that.

I currently have a CD-RW, but I'm having problems with it. Mainly the above mentioned media compatibility and noise problems.

Thanks!

I highly recommend the Samsung SM-348B. I bought one and I love it. Read the review here. I have burned Memorex, Maxell, Sony, Phillips, and other media no problem. It's at Newegg for $60 if that's where you're gonna buy it.

Welcome to CDRLabs, Feyd and Hard Drive!

You might also consider the Lite-On LTC-48161H combo drive. It seems to be a good drive, judging from the review at CDFreaks.

In addition to Samsung and Lite-On, I would recommend LG. Read the Reviews here to find out which you like best between the various Samsung and LG models. Compare those reviews to the review(s) you can find about the Lite-On, as CDRecorder pointed out. While the Lite-On is noisier than the Samsung and LG, I don't think it is noisy enough to disturb your roommate. College life is never that quiet to begin with; there is always at least a soft buzz going on.

All I got is the LG 48/24/48/16. I had the LG 32/10/40/16

It's pretty quiet, but I know my 52x LiteON burner will have more media compatibility.

Don't sell LG short on media compatibility. It ranks right up there with Lite-On, even better with some comparable models.