CD-RW recommendations

[clearlysuperior]

I am looking for a CD-RW in the $150-$200 range. Can anyone tell me about the experiences, both good and bad. I am also interested in the ease of installation, use, software, etc. Please help. Thanks!

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JD Steele
jdsteele@fireform.com

[bassvax]

Sony CRX 140E 8/4/32 is a good choice. HP's are said to be good, but a little pricey. Plextor gets rave reviews at techtv. Check out review sites like www.tomshardware.com (http://www.tomshardware.com) and www.dansdata.com (http://www.dansdata.com) or www.anandtech.com (http://www.anandtech.com)
Happy Hunting http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Jerry

[Samantha]

If I can tag on here, I've been reading a lot of complaints about Adaptec's CD-RW software, which every PC maker under the sun seems to install along with a CD-RW drive. What alternatives are there? I've seen little information in the usual places.

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S~~

[scada]

There are a few out there. Do a search on "overburning a CD" and you should get back a few hits. ( I can't remember off the top of my head what the names of these other programs are). I've never had any problems with the Adaptec stuff, but beware that older versions will not work with Windows 2000.

[bassvax]

Samantha, I would be interested in hearing what some of the specific complaints have evolved surrounding the Adaptec software. I have it installed on a few machines and have not had any problems with it. Of course, I bought the full-boxed software package with the latest updates. I found this web site that discusses some of the alternatives http://www.cdrecordingsoftware.com/ When I bought the Sony CDRW drive it came with it's own(I can't remember the name) cd burning software which was a very lean version that could be upgraded for a price. The HP CDRW drive came with Musicmatch software here again a lean version that could be upgraded for a price.

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Jerry

[ebaker]

Adaptec burning software is OK, but is generally not compatible with other burning programs. Other good programs are Nero (Ahead software), Fireburner, CDRwin, DiskJuggler, CeQuadrat, and CloneCD.
Don't be afraid of "off-brand" burners if the price is right, they are relabeled name brand units. For instance a Cendyne 8x4x32 burner could have been a Plextor, Ricoh, or Acer.
Many new units have BurnProof technology which allows the burner to stop and precisely re-start if a buffer underrun occurs. This allows you to stress the computer while burning. However the best value is looking for discontinued models on sale.

[zomster]

I recently bought a HP 8x4x32 I love it works great no probs with it so far and no costers with about 100 burns other then 2 done by my own stupidity. Cost me $270 CND which is about $175 US and they have a $30US rebate right now

I heard Yamaha makes a really good line of Burners as well though from most places they are fair bit more costly