Plextor or Plextor-inside ?

[CHHAS]

I'm considering buying a new CD burner, a Memorex version of the Plextor 121032A, is there any good reason to get the Plextor version which is 40% more expensive ?

[xortam]

OEM versions are rarely as good as the original. I haven't looked at this particular model.

[Wombat]

I wasn't aware that Plextor did OEM sales. Anyway, find out if this Memorex drive is any different from a Plextor. Software? Firmware?

[Rags]

Plextor has, for a long time, done OEM sales. I have seen some Plextor drives end up as Iomegas, IO Magics, Memorex, and TDK. You just have to watch to get them. They work and behave the same, just come with a diff subsys id, and have different software.

Rags

[xortam]

When I say "OEM versions are rarely as good as the original" I'm making a sweeping generalization about anyone's OEM HW and SW. OEM HW may get marginal parts after the manufacturer skims off the best parts. OEM versions (HW and SW) don't always contain the latest mods. An OEM vendor may modify the manufacturer's product or sell it as is. The OEM vendor usually will get a product version after the manufacturer has already started selling the original. If an OEM vendor modifies the product, they might not accept every version coming from the manufacturer due to the time and expense in reimplementing their mods to the latest version. That said, its possible for an OEM version at a given point in time to perform and maintain as well as the original ... just don't know about this particular case.

[Gurm]

Go ask over at CloneClinic (address at end of message) and make sure that you can hack this drive to have a genuine Plextor BIOS. If you can, GET IT. Very simple. The folks at CloneClinic ought to be able to tell you if it's hackable. Oh, and make sure it has burn-proof, all Plextor 12x10 and up should.

http://welcome.to/cloneclinic

- Gurm

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