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Ok, i need a DVD RW 16x, which one to buy. my budget is under 80$. Please recomend a good one. And yes from where to buy also if possible.

I think LG 4163 is a good all around choice. The burn quality is very good for both -R and +R media and it does automatic bitsetting for +R.

The other good choices are NEC 3520 and BenQ 1620. The later prefers +R media.

I can not recommend the new Pioneer 109 at this time 'cause most people seem to have problems with it at this early stage of its release. Perhaps it'll get better with susequent firmware releases.

I forgot to mention a good place to start checking prices is www.newegg.com

The writing quality is not so good on that LG drive.
We are talking about firmware 1.02 and lower and why LG allready fixed some stuff they still have some work to do. Still it's possible that 1.03 firmware might solve a lot of issues. With Plextor PX-716 the 1.04 firmware also fixed most of the annoying issues for that one. So it's possible. So I wouldn't buy the LG at this time.

Most home testing drive give low errors back on the burned disc's.
However the jitter and the beta are sometimes quite problematic. In other words good change that some cheaper dvd drives or old ps2 will not playback the stuff nice.
For this reason the drive came not so good out of C't tests. (check also that topic to see what media was used and which the newer firmware fixed.)

My personall votes at this time go to the benq 1620 (PRO) or it's Philips twin brother.

Benq vs LG
- Better overall writing quality.
- Better support. (Firmwares /Tools/ Guarantee /flashing does fall under the waranty.)
- Benq can be used as a tester. (ERRORS and jitter !)
- Supports more media.

Other nice drives which might be interresting.
Like allready said here above NEC has some nice drives.

I have the Plextor 708A, 712A and am looking at the 716A. Plextor's 716A
has gone through two hardware revisions, and has developed firmware 1.04; so it is establishing itself as the premiere burner with its many amenities. I have seen it as low as $74.99 at buy.com, but am waiting for the President's Day sales to pick one up. I have owned Plextor DVD drives for about 16 months now and am quite pleased with their performance. Actually, I bought all my Plextor drives due to CDRlab reviews and the satisfaction of their products that are posted in the various forums!

Yes~ Wait 5 days! Check Newegg,BB,Staples, and BUY.COM.

PS/NEC 3500/3520 does consistant burns at 16X with TY+R 8X media MIJ.
LG/NEC/BQ/NU/PLEX/AOPEN are ok! ASUS and Toshiba are a little slower for good burns. 109 with hacked FW is ok. Same goes for 3520.
As low as $55 at newegg.com!

much thanks for your kind reply guys. From wot i read i feel NEC 3520 will be good choice. Now let me hunt for it , And also u said wait 5 day. can i know why ? Any price drop forseen ?

In seven days (2-21-05) their is the President day holiday; in five days its
President Day holiday weekend and the advertised sales begin!
By the way, the Plextor 716A is emerging as the premiers dual layer writer: Just read all the cuurent reviews. Try Toms Hardware.com, CDfreaks or here at CDRlabs for some good testing and conclusions!

chetansha wrote:much thanks for your kind reply guys. From wot i read i feel NEC 3520 will be good choice. Now let me hunt for it , And also u said wait 5 day. can i know why ? Any price drop forseen ?

Chetan, hey. No NECs available in India, unfortunately. Get the LG4163B or Benq 1620, both are about 4400-4500 rupees.

All the rest of you... Newegg, Staples etc. are of no use to us here in India

err, me plannin to pick it up from US.

steelly wrote:In seven days (2-21-05) their is the President day holiday; in five days its
President Day holiday weekend and the advertised sales begin!
By the way, the Plextor 716A is emerging as the premiers dual layer writer: Just read all the cuurent reviews. Try Toms Hardware.com, CDfreaks or here at CDRlabs for some good testing and conclusions!

Plex below 80 $?

Yes, the Plextor 716A was just $84.99 at Buy.com after $30 rebate. This site also had a online $10.00 instant coupon, so the final cost was $74.99.
Look for deals next weekend: There are always deals. I paid $79.99 for my Plextor 712A after $30 rebate, and it was was worth every penny. Plextor makes trouble free DVD drives; at least that has been my experience with both the Plextor 708A and the Plextor 712A. By the way, they are both going strong still with no problems!

All I can say is your a lucky person steelly.

And to Bhairav
You only will miss the plextor drive when it comes to second tester and excellent dual layer burner in all other situations be glad that you at least can get the Benq 1620 PRO.

RJW wrote::D
All I can say is your a lucky person steelly.

And to Bhairav
You only will miss the plextor drive when it comes to second tester and excellent dual layer burner in all other situations be glad that you at least can get the Benq 1620 PRO.

Thanks, RJW.We do get the Plextor drives here, but they are too expensive for my taste. The Benq and LG drives are well priced and supported, worth buying,IMO.

Well the LG 4163 is still in a bit rought state but I have good hope that LG will fix it then again I don't like there policiy that flashing a drive doesn't fall under it's warantee or did they finally fix that one ?
It just looks to be rushed compared to the older models who allways performed good.