I am looking into buying new drives, but I have some questions first:

What is the difference between DVD/CD+RW, DVD/CD-RW, and DVD/CD+-RW?

I dont know what the difference is, and i couldnt find much on google, and I dont want to end up buying the wrong thing, please help me pimps!

The + and - are 2 different formats, the +/- drives are dual-layer and will support both formats.

Get this. It'll burn anything you throw at it as fast as possible.

Hmm... that looks pretty good, is that the best only for DVD stuff or for CD as well? I really need 2 drives, as I always have a game disk and would like another drive (i.e. minimum of a CD RW as one, and a DVD as the other).

Quote: Originally Posted by keat320 Hmm... that looks pretty good, is that the best only for DVD stuff or for CD as well? I really need 2 drives, as I always have a game disk and would like another drive (i.e. minimum of a CD RW as one, and a DVD as the other).

It'll burn any DVD format at 16x and it'll burn CD-Rs at 48x. I'd reccomend that DVD burner and a DVD-ROM for your primary optical drive. I'll be upgrading to that drive once i get some cash, right now i have a similar model, but only 8x DVD burning and 32x CD burning. Great drive with the upgraded firmware, hasn't turned out a coaster yet.

Edit: This is probably the most future proof red laser drive on the market. The safe max for CDs is 48x (arguably 52x, but i wouldn't trust cheap cds at that speed), and the max for DVDs is 16x. Also this drive has dual layer capability, although that media is still quite expensive.

I'll heartily second Cyno's recommendation. I'll probably be buying that drive myself here soon (or putting it on my Christmas list).

By the way, it comes in black, beige, and silver. Just be sure that the description specifically says "with software".

godfoot - I thought that +/- meant it would write both formats not Dual Layer? I have an NEC 2510a which I think is damn good, expecially for the price! It is dual layer (DVD-9) and both formats however its predecessor the 2500 is only rated (I'll explain rated in a sec) for both formats on single layer DVD-5 discs. Its rated at DVD-9 because NEC will not guarentee through a firware upgrade that the drive will write to DVD-9 but in the majority of cases it will quite easily.

My only advice is to stay away from DVD-RAM, purely from a support position. I have read that the + media is slightly superior to the - (buts costs slightly more) however I have only used the - format and I have no complaints.

I also have the NEC 3500a - in fact I have 3 of them and regularly burn 3 copies at a time in Nero. I have had NO problems with these drive and recommend them 100 percent. Those drives will allow you to burn anything you will need without worry. You buy it and it will burn it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Human Traffic godfoot - I thought that +/- meant it would write both formats not Dual Layer? I have an NEC 2510a which I think is damn good, expecially for the price! It is dual layer (DVD-9) and both formats however its predecessor the 2500 is only rated (I'll explain rated in a sec) for both formats on single layer DVD-5 discs. Its rated at DVD-9 because NEC will not guarentee through a firware upgrade that the drive will write to DVD-9 but in the majority of cases it will quite easily. My only advice is to stay away from DVD-RAM, purely from a support position. I have read that the + media is slightly superior to the - (buts costs slightly more) however I have only used the - format and I have no complaints.

I have the 2500 with the firmware update. I dont plan on burning any dual layer discs with it because i'll have the 3500 long before DL DVD comes down in price. However, i did flash the firmware because nero wouldn't burn above 4x. With the upgrade it still burns like a champ at 8x, still no coasters. The original firmware of the 2500 has enough problems that the upgrade is warranted, dual layer capability is just a nice bonus.

Actually the +/- are two different formats. +R and +RW are different from -R and -RW. Most newer DVD players read the +R/W format while older dvd players can read the -R/W format. Don't want to get into the technical differences between the two formats, just stating there is infact a difference.

~Yeoman

Quote: Originally Posted by Cyno01 It'll burn any DVD format at 16x and it'll burn CD-Rs at 48x. I'd reccomend that DVD burner and a DVD-ROM for your primary optical drive. I'll be upgrading to that drive once i get some cash, right now i have a similar model, but only 8x DVD burning and 32x CD burning. Great drive with the upgraded firmware, hasn't turned out a coaster yet. Edit: This is probably the most future proof red laser drive on the market. The safe max for CDs is 48x (arguably 52x, but i wouldn't trust cheap cds at that speed), and the max for DVDs is 16x. Also this drive has dual layer capability, although that media is still quite expensive.

Wait, so you would recommend that I get this drive, and then that I get another, seperate DVD-ROM as my primary drive with games and such? Which DVD drive would you recommend. BTW, are any of those programs that take a mirror of a CD for a game, so that you dont have to put in you CD every time you want to play, are those programs legal? I might just do that so that I don't have to worry about my game CD's. Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by keat320 Wait, so you would recommend that I get this drive, and then that I get another, seperate DVD-ROM as my primary drive with games and such? Which DVD drive would you recommend. BTW, are any of those programs that take a mirror of a CD for a game, so that you dont have to put in you CD every time you want to play, are those programs legal? I might just do that so that I don't have to worry about my game CD's. Thanks!

Any 16x DVD-ROM drive'll do, i have a Samsung, and thats also what i put in my roomates computer. I think because it was the cheapest name brand on newegg. Imaging software is legal AFAIK. Its covered under fair use IIRC, but it may still violate the DMCA. Dont quote me on this though, IANAL. Not sure if fair use trumps the DMCA yet... But yeah, i get no-cd cracks for all my games. Its a PITA to keep track of all those discs. Hmm, how many more acronyms can i use...

This is the program i use to make legal copies of programs I have. It has options that allow you to burn almost anything, as well as create a virtual drive. Thus allowing you to mount a image to the virtual drive to run the applications without using the physical CD. Use the 120% one, It is the better deal. Drop me a line if you got any questions.

www.alcohol-soft.com

~Yeoman