Help finding a SATA desktop drive please

solution19 2011-07-04 15:44:28 UTC #1

Hi everyone,
I'm new here and am looking to replace my SATA desktop drive which was an okay drive but failed.

The drive does not have to be great at reading, but I do a lot of burning on mostly DVD so it needs to be able to withstand heavy use. I typically burn on Memorex DVD+R (Ritek F16), HP DVD-R (CMC MAG AM3), Sony DVD-R and DVD+R, Verbatim DVD+R DL, and Maxell DVD-R (RITEK F1). I do have some Taiyo Yudens (TYG02), but I save those for really important things because they are pricey. I also want it to be able to change booktypes which the one I used was not able to do.

I'd also like it to be able to burn CDs decently, because I like to burn Dreamcast games for it (Yes I still play that ) and it is a picky system. For that I typically burn on HP and TDK discs.

Although the discs I listed are what I burn on currently, I would like a drive that is not picky about what type of media it burns on. I tend to use whatever media I can get, as long as it is not total crap. I do not care about the speed of a drive and often burn at lower speeds anyways like 4x, but I am not sure if that gives better or worse quality results.

Sorry to sound like a noob but I tried searching and am not sure of the drive to best fit my needs. I'd rather purchase this on Newegg, because they are cheap and have free or very cheap shipping. Here's a link to the Newegg page: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007589+600003707&IsNodeId=1&name=SATA&Page=1. Thanks for the help!

solution19 2011-07-04 22:27:32 UTC #2

Ok so I looked and found some possibilities.
Here’s a Samsung SH-222AB

The LG is cheaper (free shipping) and it’s a GH22NS70.

Now my question is the GH24NS70 a better drive? It has a higher model number so I assume it is newer. I’m not interested in speed, noise; what I want it is high media compatibility and good quality burns. I’m not opposed to other brands, I found these three and am not sure what to get.

chef 2011-07-05 10:31:11 UTC #3

Get the Samsung.

solution19 2011-07-05 18:28:29 UTC #4

Is the Samsung good at changing booktypes? One of the reviews said that it couldn’t do that but I never really trust the reviews because a lot of the times their problems are due to user errors.

chef 2011-07-06 01:22:55 UTC #5

For what do you need bitsetting?

mciahel 2011-07-06 11:31:14 UTC #6

[QUOTE=solution19;2595048]Is the Samsung good at changing booktypes?[/QUOTE]
You might have a look at these threads if they are useful for you:

Michael

solution19 2011-07-06 20:12:57 UTC #7

So from what I read it appears to be a good drive, but some media has to be burnt on different speeds, and that 4x is not always the best choice for various types of media. This is fine though, because I am interested in good burns, not speed.

Changing the booktype is important for me because a lot of DVD players, especially older ones will play DVD-R at best and certainly not DVD+R, but if you change the booktype to DVD-ROM the player will never know the difference and play it, assuming it is a good burn.

DrageMester 2011-07-07 02:51:17 UTC #8

Changing BookType to DVD-ROM works for me using ImgBurn and the Samsung SH-222AB, but I haven’t tried any other burning programs with this drive, so I’m not sure if the BookType DVD-ROM setting is permanently applied to the drive or just temporarily set by ImgBurn for each disc.

EDIT: I just burned a DVD+R using Nero CD-DVD Speed, and the booktype is set to DVD+R, so it seems that ImgBurn is explicitly setting the BookType to DVD-ROM for each disc it burns.

It may or may not be able to change the BookType setting permanently - I haven’t investigated it, since this computer/drive is only used for burning data discs (not DVD Video discs).

solution19 2011-07-07 11:55:14 UTC #9

I mostly use Imgburn and I’m fine with having to manually change it each time. Unless anyone else has another recommendation I think I will be buying this drive. Thanks!