What is a good cheap CD-RW?

[Aexoden]

I want to buy a CD-RW for the computer I'm building, but I really can't spare much for the CD drive, so I'm looking to keep it under $150 if possible. I was looking at the HP 9340i. Does anybody know anything about it? Otherwise, I'm looking for other recommendations for cheap, reliable (as in lasts a couple of years) CD-RW drives.

[Best4x4]

Ricoh MP7125A 12x10x32 with JustLink Technology

Aopen CRW1232A (Rebadged Ricoh MP7125A) with JustLink Technology

TDK Vortex 12x10x32 (Rebadged Ricoh MP7125A) once again with JustLink Technology

Yamaha 2100E 16x10x40 (no burnproof or justlink technology and CD-RW performance is horrible, but if you use Nero it can burn CD-R's very quickly at 16x once you disable the option which a lot of people miss and end up burning at 12x) Large 8MB Buffer

I highly recommend Ricoh CD-RW drives and I always have. I still have my first Ricoh CD-RW drive which was a MP7040A 4x4x20 and it is still burning CD-R's to this day. I also like Sony aka HP CD-RW drives, but they're rather pricey vs other CD-RW drive makers.

I don't recommend Plextor IDE CD-RW drives, however their SCSI CD-ROM/CD-RW drives are excellent.

Sincerely,

Best4x4

[Viper222]

Panasonic 8x4x32 CD-RW is also a good drive at about $85USD.

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"Stay Frosty"

[Bink]

Plextor if you can afford it.
Ricoh if you can't.

http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/wink.gif

Matter of fact, all the models Best4x4 mentioned are top notch. Take his advice http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/biggrin.gif

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[lwa]

Office Max has a HP 9510i 12x8x32 for$99.99 after a $30.00 rebate, in todays sale paper. I have a 9310i 10x4x32 and in works great with Roxio Easy CD Creato5. www.officemax.com (http://www.officemax.com) if you don't have a store local.

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Abit KT7A-Raid MB
Windows ME
AMD 1.2 Athlon 266
Western Digital 20 Gig 7200 rpm 100 ATA
Golden Orb Fan
384 Mg PC133 Ram
Sound Blaster X-Gamer
Live 5.1
Voodoo 5 5500
H.P. 9350I CD Writer
Pioneer DVD-106s
US Robotics 56k Modem
KDS AV-195TF 19" Monitor
Soon to be running Raid

[This message has been edited by lwa (edited 06-24-2001).]

[cmx3]

The Panasonic 8x4x32 is a very good and cheap drive. Haven't come across any media it couldn't burn.

[Aexoden]

Thanks to all who gave me suggestions. I finally went with the Aopen, since I'm kind of on a budget and it was $100 delivered at newegg. Can't beat that.

Aexoden

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When its delivered: (and I successfully put it together :D)
MSI K7 Master
T-Bird 1200/266
Antec SX1030B
Crucial 256MB PC2100 ECC
IBM Deskstar 65GXP 20GB 7200rpm
Aopen CRW1232A
Mitsumi 1.44MB Floppy
Leadtek Geforce 2 GTS Enhanced 64MB (5.5ns)
Viewsonic G75F
Logitech Freedom Pro

[Anitdaisu]

I like my panasonic RW because it's buffer consistency during burns was better than a lot of my friends' burners

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my specs:
AMD T-BIRD 750MHz
256MB RAM
IBM 46 GB 7200 RPM
SAMSUNG 2GB
SONY CD ROM 48X
PANASONIC 8X4X32
REALTEK 10/100 ETHERNET
SOUND BLASTER LIVE VALUE
Leadtek GF2 Pro
300W SUPPLY
CAMBRIDGE FPS 1000
17 " GEMSTAR
PROMISE TECHNOLOGY ULTRA 66 CARD
ABIT KT7
WINDOWS 2000 W/ SP 1

[Cashis]

I've had good experience with the HP line. I used to have the 9300 series and now i have a 9500 series. They're not that expensive either if you search for a rebate.

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Iwill KK266
TBird 850@1008 (6.5x155)
Crucial PC133 256MB cas2
Tt VolcanoII
ATi Radeon LE@190
Maxtor DiamondMax+ 40GB 7200/ATA100
HP 9550i 12x8x32 CD-RW
BTC 16x CDROM
Actiontec 56k PCI Lite
D-Link PCI 2xUSB Port
Envision EN780 17"
Labtec LCS-2418 Flatpanels
MS Intellimouse Trackball