Need new slim drive: AD-7540 any good? Or better alternative?

[Roughael]

Hi there,

currently I'm using a Toshiba SD-R6372 in my Notebook, but this piece of crap never worked right. Now it wont even read the dvds itself burnt...:a

However, I want to get a new drive. After some reading and checking some onlineshops I think of buying the SONY NEC AD-7540 or 7543.

Is this drive a good choice or do you think something else is better?
Like the SAMSUNG SN-S082 or the Pioneer DVR-K17 or a drive I havent found yet.

Thanks for all suggestions!!!!

Roughael

[Roughael]

Ok, Im down to the Nec 7543 or the Samsung 082.
What would you suggest?
The review bout the samsung tells me that it is a very good slim drive. But how does it compare to the NEC? Any major differences?

I need the drive mainly to back up my ps2 games so it should work well with DVD- media. Besides that I backup some DVD-Video and cd audio from time to time.
I think I wont use it much (if at all) for PC games backups.
Also it is important for me that it is reliable, since my toshiba wasnt at all…

Thanks for your help guys!

[mciahel]

Hi!

Notebook drives are “emergency” products, IMO. That means, they are too fragile for regular use.
If you don’t need portability, an external half-height DVD writer is the better option.

About your Nec-vs-Samsung question: The Nec drive looks slightly dated, but there [I]were [/I]firmware updates. Samsung still has only the initial firmware to offer They have more support for their OEM customers…

I think, the Nec isn’t a bad option.

Michael

[Roughael]

Thanks for the input Michael!

Notebook drives are “emergency” products, IMO.

I know but it needs to be an internal laptop drive, unfortunately:(

About your Nec-vs-Samsung question: The Nec drive looks slightly dated, but there [I]were [/I]firmware updates.
Samsung still has only the initial firmware to offer They have more support for their OEM customers…

Yeah, that is what I’m thinking about. Either taking a drive which is on the market for some time and has a lot of firmware options. Also I couldnt find any complaints about the drive, but also nothing about it being the hell of a drive.
On the other hand there is the samsung which is a newer product but less firmware, but a good test.

So I think I should be on the safe side with the NEC.
Since I’m not pro user

[mciahel]

Hi,[quote=Roughael;2031017]So I think I should be on the safe side with the NEC.[/quote]Good choice. I’d also prefer the Nec over the Samsung.

[Roughael]

Alright, just ordered a AD-7543A. 47,50€

When I was searching for the best deal on it I found a review on ciao.de. So if someone speaks german you can check this out. It basically says the reviewers drive didnt work well, so he bought a 7543 which works like a charm…

Concerning the installation of the drive:

Is it right that I can just plug out my toshi, then plug in the NEC and it should work?
Or do I need to uninstall the toshi first and then install the NEC?

[mciahel]

Hi,[quote=Roughael;2031271]
When I was searching for the best deal on it I found a review on ciao.de. So if someone speaks german you can check this out.[/quote]Link?
EDIT: okay, got it: http://www.ciao.de/NEC_7543A_DVD_RW_R_DL_DVD_RAM__Test_3184654

Concerning the installation of the drive:

Is it right that I can just plug out my toshi, then plug in the NEC and it should work?
Normally.

There might be one problem, that is slightly difficult to deal with: On some notebooks, the optical drive is configured as “Slave” (check device manager or similar tools), since this setting is controlled by firmware, not by jumpers, Windows (and any other OS) will act erratic then.
In case you have such troubles, check Liggy’s website, there is some tool available.
See here: http://club.cdfreaks.com/f86/nec-ad-7540-ad-7543-a-222943/

Michael

[Roughael]

Thanks for your help so far Michael, I really appreciate it!!!

I’m not exactly sure how to tell if its master or slave :o
I think I’m looking at the right place, but I dont know what the numbers mean…

When I open the drive in my device manager it just says:
Ort: Pfad 0(0)

Alc 120% tells me:
Adress: atapi, Port 1, Bus 0, Target 0, Lun 0

I think this means my actual drive runs as master…

Which means the NEC should work right out of the box since it comes as master too, right?

[Liggy]

Yes. Looks like your current drive is acting as a master device and the Optiarc should work out of the box.

[pinto2]

[QUOTE=Roughael;2030001]…
Is this drive a good choice or do you think something else is better?..[/QUOTE]
First of all, I don’t own the 7540 but I’ve a 6650 burner. I hope I’m qualifyed to post anyway.

My latest slimdrive is the LG GMA-4082N, a great burner.
[I]BTW[/I], in my Lenovo GM965 laptop this drive is running as “master”.

[Roughael]

Yes. Looks like your current drive is acting as a master device and the Optiarc should work out of the box.

Awesome, thats like it should be

I will let you guys know when I got the drive.