My burner died, which new one to get?

[dens]

Hi,
My Liteon dvd writer just died today.
So now I want to get a new one tomorrow.

I have these 3 options:

1. BenQ DW-1620
2. NEC ND-3540
3. Pioneer DVR-109

So which one of these should I get tomorrow?

I will use mainly Prodisc DVD-Rs, Ricoh/Ritek DVD+Rs, and maybe some TY DVD+/-R from time to time.
The burning speed is not that important, but around 8x with good quality writing is good enough for me.
So, basically I really looking for good quality burns on variety of DVD+/-R media.

PS.
I won't do any DL disc burning.
Also, the BenQ DW-1640 is not yet available where I live.

TIA.

[JethroXP]

I just purchased the NEC 3540A from Newegg.com for only $43.99. I'm quite happy with it. I have a brushed Aluminum case, so I bought the silver model and it looks nice. I burned a movie last night on Imation branded (CMC MAG AE1) 8x DVD-R media and it burned perfectly at 12x in 7 minutes. I also flashed it to the 1.W5 firmware from Liggy and Dee to remove the riplock and allow bitsetting.

For $43.99, this thing was a steal.

[zevia]

NEC ND-3540A is a good all around burner, it can burn most quality media with good to very good quality. Compare to BenQ 1620 it writes DL faster because of the spec. I also would like to point out that NEC-3540 is fairly new thus firmware improvements are still wide open.

BenQ DW-1620A is also a good burner. The firmwares are quite mature and it burns most of my media with good to excellent quality. It is also a faster DL ripper with speed patch; and will produce Quality Scan report complete with jitter.

I don't have a Pioneer 109 so I can't comment.

All drives have strong points and weakness but in my opinion and for my own purpose, the way you rank your option is about right.

I have these 3 options:

1. BenQ DW-1620
2. NEC ND-3540
3. Pioneer DVR-109

[zebadee]

Hi
I would suggest subject to availability
BenQ 1640
NEC 3540
Pioneer 109XL
Now you've already said the 1640 is not available to you So as you use both + & - media the 3540 is probably the logical choice because with Liggy & Dee's f/w (1.W5) you have bitsetting avioding any problems with stand alone players The Pioneer whilst good (particularly in XL guise) lacks the versatality of the other two
I have all three & find it almost impossible to seperate the 1640 & 3540 but feel sure that the 3540 won't leave you feeling that you've made the wrong choice

[chas0039]

I have seen many scans from the 3540, I own a 3500, a 3520, a 1620, and a 109. By far, given your options, the BenQ1620 will give the best quality burns. While the others in your selection are good, the BenQ is better. The only concern I would have is the Ritek and Prodisc media. Now that TDK and TY and Verbatim are all down around $30-$40 per 100 it is hard to justify taking shortcuts for anything else unless your location does not allow you to buy at Rima or one of the other online stores in the US. I used a lot of G05, S03, and R03 and the quality stuff just clobbers it in scan quality.

BTW, be prepared for the possibility of an RMA on the BenQ. They have a significant batch still out there that die in a few weeks. The warranty service is very good, though.
Just my two cents.

[etp]

Just bought some Ritek 005 on sale and you are correct in that 8X is the best speed for that media.My 3500 and 109 tried to burn them at 12X and the 109 was fair but the 3500 produced its first bad burn. All the drives in my sig block plus the 3530/3540 work great. The Nec has a consistant quality about it and is easy to install on all systems. The Aopen 1616 is a Cheap, slow, steady, reliable burner. With the new 102 FW it will burn at 12X ty002.
If you are in the states I would get one at newegg.com(buy the cheapest one and get a second burner later)

[dens]

Thanks for the replies guys!
After reading your responses and reading some reviews I decided to get the BenQ.
I just hope I get a working one with the first purchase.

[chas0039]

The odds are with you. They should be through with the problem drives by now, although there was a poster who just got one that went bad. Good luck. They are worth the trouble.

[dens]

Got the drive with manufacturing date of march 2005.
Burned 4 dvds and so far so good.
I hope it keeps up that way.

[chas0039]

Got the drive with manufacturing date of march 2005.
Burned 4 dvds and so far so good.
I hope it keeps up that way.

I hope so as well. RMAs are no fun. BTW, with the B7V9 firmware I have had stellar burns with Burnmaster -R and +R TY from Allmediaoutlet and also with TDK -R 8X TTG02 from Newegg.

[ninbang]

@dens:

March 2005 date of manufacture sounds very promising!! Good luck with the new burner.