Yamaha CRW-F1ZEN - Thoughts

[Dogbert]

Buddman, get a Liteon. I own a Plextor and think they're great, but the price difference is too big to justify. If I had bought my computer a week later, it would have been equipped with a Liteon (the store started to get them a week after I got my computer). Liteon is the way to go.

[Gurm]

Yamaha is a grab bag. I know people that have had them for years with no problem. My personal experience is that they die an early death, and have "issues" prior to that. Yamaha has worked hard to reduce the number of "issues", but you can always bet that some new media or protection will come out - liteon and plextor will handle it fine and yamaha will barf.

Just the way things go.

If you can't afford a Plextor, get a Liteon for half the price.

The liteons are so cheap, even if it burns out in a year you only spent half the money... so get another!

- Gurm

[GNEP]

I'm happy with my Liteon. So is my brother with his. So is my mate with his.

Cheap and reliable...

[William]

Originally posted by Ribbit
I've had a Yamaha 4416S for ages, it's worked flawlessly until recently, when it's started to have problems burning to newer media at 1x speed. (Can CD-R media have a minimum burning speed?)

Yes, CD-R media can have a minimum burning speed....

But if it's a 4416, then it's more likely that the laser is dying.

[William]

Originally posted by Gurm
Yamaha is a grab bag. I know people that have had them for years with no problem. My personal experience is that they die an early death, and have "issues" prior to that. Yamaha has worked hard to reduce the number of "issues", but you can always bet that some new media or protection will come out - liteon and plextor will handle it fine and yamaha will barf.

- Gurm

Gurm, Yamaha have worked hard to make the newer drives good. Plex have gone the other way, (cheap & cheerful) (until recentley anyway -it looks like they are no longer ignoring the enthusiast section of the market)

[BuddMan]

Well what do you guys think of me getting an older model (black) and flashing it to the new 52x speed? I have done some research and found that some older models of Lite On that will do it. It's just that I'm wondering if it will decrease it's life span because of the overclock. I'd be saving like 20 bucks. But I'd be able to get a black one. Worth it?

[Dogbert]

Who cares about x52 ??? Seriously, burning @ x24 and x32 is good enough for any home user.

[BuddMan]

Well remember, I'm thinking long term here. This computer has to last me 4 years at least without any upgrades (or very minor ones at that).

[Dogbert]

Still, x32 is sufficient. Higher speed also means more tear and wear.

[thop]

the problem with higher speed is that cheap cd players (especially car cd players) have more trouble to read them.

[BuddMan]

Ugh...ok, let's say this then. I have 140 dollars to spend on a CD-RW drive (and the drive can be less than that, and in fact I'd rather it be less). What's the best to get within that price range if I burn a lot of music CDs and software CDs. Some games are over 700MB so I'd like it to overburn without a problem up to at least 800MB so I don't have to worry about any future problems.

[Ribbit]

BTW, here's the page I referred to earlier: http://www.medeainternational.com/info/90min.htm

Thanks for the 4416 tip William, it makes some sense given the symptoms I'm having.

Gurm, was your Yamaha experience a CDR400, or was it just in general? CDR400s developed problems quickly if they weren't very well cooled. (And who is that in your avatar? I assumed it was Neo from the Matrix, but now you've enlarged it I'm not so sure.)

[DGhost]

most games that have .bin's that are 750mb in size still fit on a 700mb disk... there is some extra overhead in the .bin/.cue format (and even .iso's) that results in slightly larger file sizes

the only thing i can think of that wouldn't burn onto a 700mb disk is the first release of the leaked soldier of fortune 2 beta that was floating around... and thats cause they messed up the image...

[Taz]

Originally posted by Ribbit
BTW, here's the page I referred to earlier: http://www.medeainternational.com/info/90min.htm

Could have just looked at the fourth post of this thread to save you looking

[BuddMan]

Well, I guess no one can answer my question, so I'll just get the Lite On 52x burner.