Buying a CD/DVD drive - I need advice

[scratched]

Both of my CD drives have mysteriously died on me within the last week or 2 (They were pretty old...7 years). I'm looking to replace them, but given the troubles I've had in the past with generic brand hardware, I only want to go with brands I've heard of and seem to be reliable/reputable. I've found a couple of drives on newegg that are within my price range ($40ish). I was hoping some of the people here could help me make a choice that won't leave me wanting to throw a computer through a wall sometime in the next 2-5 years.

All of these are from newegg.com, and seem to have about the same specs. I just can't decide what is the best/most reliable:

LITE-ON (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106013)
NEC (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058)
Asus (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827135063)
Sony (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131267)
LG (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827136085)

[jlreich]

Hi Scratced and welcome to the PcGuide forums.

I personally have a NEC and a Lite-on that have served me well for over a year and a half. The only thing the others have on them is DVD-RAM capability. But I don't know anyone that uses DVD-RAM myself. I haven't checked for a long time but I think the disks are still very expensive.

I put a Sony in my friends computer last year and it has been fine as well.

Really any of them are fine I would say. But NEC and Lite-on have been some of the more recommended names around here.

Will any of them last 7 years like your old ones? Who knows, but considering DVD burners were in the $200 range just a couple of years ago, I wouldn't worry about it very much. At $40 they are approaching 'disposable' status. :p