HELP ! Need a CD-RW for my PII-300mhz

Computer Hardware
#1

Hi all…

 Glad I found this place.

 Current system consists of a PII-300mhz with 256mb RAM,  a 10gb SCSI HD, USB 1.1, Adaptec SCSI card,  and NO Firewire.  

 Up til now it's served me well,  however I'll be dumping the PC in favor of a G4 (used) in the next few months.  Circumstances force me to purchase a cd-rw to be used on my current PC before I get the MAC.

 Ideally,  I would like a speedy external  CD- RW that not only works well with my current system,  but one that also compliments a G4.  Maybe that's asking too much.

 I realize a large portion of G4's come with a cd-rw anyway,  but let's assume it does not for a moment.

 The drive would only be used to store files.  NO AUDIO (at present) and NO GAMES.  Speed is NOT a big deal to me.  HOWEVER,  I don't want to make a lot of coasters with an old outdated drive.

 Also,  can someone tell me if there is an advantage of burning audio cd's?  I currently dub to a minidisc and am very pleased.

 Will ordinary cd players(both car and home audio ) have a problem reading a cd-r?

Your suggestions and comments are appreciated.
Let me know if I left anything out.

Derek

#2

why not use an IDE drive? you can always put it in an external enclosure later if your wish.
Any of the LiteOn models will serve you very well, and have the advantage of being quite inexpensive.
Most current CD players will handle CDR’s very well, but some still cannot handle more than 74min on a CD.

#3

…almost the same set-up and a Plextor 48x´s.Working like a charm! :bigsmile:

#4

I agree with rdgrimes, IDEs are much cheaper, but if you prefer having an external drive for portability, ability to backup other people’s machines, etc., get a BackPack, which is essentially a standard IDE drive with a power supply and a small IDE to firewire, parallel port or USB converter PCB in a nice plastic case. Get the model with USB and Firewire for best compatibility and performance.

Then when a faster burner comes out you can simply yank the old drive out and put the new one in. It’s a very easy, 5 minute install just like in a computer case.

HTH…