Plextor 716A or the BenQ dw1620

CD, DVD and (Ultra HD) Blu-ray Writers
#1

I know this is the plextor forum ubt be fair… thanks in advance

OK… there is a conspiracy and I need your help uncovering it fast. I can’t find a good plextor 716A review but the drive has been at best buy or a while now.

I need to know which to buy… the benQ dw1620 for 49.99 (with rebate) white box from tiger direct… 79.99 with software (I missed the rebate was 59.99) or the Plextor 716A from pcconnection 69.95 after 80 dollar rebate plus a free 50 pk of dvd-r media with purchase of a burner after rebate

everyone says the benq is good but I can’t find plextor reviews…

I need to order before the 31st to get the rebates… HELP!!

This is my first dvd burner. I am familiar with tech and not afraid of upgrades and teh whatnots.

#2

IMHO, the BenQ 1620 will give you trouble free, 100% quality burns, even at the highest speeds (16x).
If you’d go for the Benq, it’s plug in and never have to look back… one can’ say this about the Plextor 716A !!!

#3

How about buying both the px-716A for $69.99 and the Benq1620 49.99, that’s what I did, and can’t go wrong! In all seriousness, the Benq is the best drive available right now from everything I’ve read and seen, and the firmware updates have been amazing.

However, I am confident the PX-716A will be heads and tails above the rest . . . with time.

It has so many great features plus the 8 meg buffer, it’s pretty revolutionary technologically. But it’s just a matter of time till Plextor gets all the gears working.

Question is, are you willing to pay a premium? And are you patient?

#4

I own both, and I wish I could combine them into a single drive. I would love a drive that could burn DVD media as flawlessly as the BenQ, yet burn CD-Rs and rip CDs/DVDs as quickly as the Plex. I’m another guy hoping the PX-716A gets better as time passes.

#5

I’m not willing to pay premium… i want the best bang for the buck but if the difference is 20 bucks i will pay that for a much better drive.

If there is a good chance the drive will improve i have no prob fiddling to get it perfect. I am patient but would like to use the drive while i wait fot plex to get their act together.

Do you think plextor firm updates will be as good? Will prolly have this drive for a few years so i want it to stand the test of time.

Hmmmm buy both… that’s not a bad idea if i can find someone to take one off my hands after i play with both drives.

Is it tru the benQ drive now supports 4x DL burning?

#6

Yes, it supports 4X DL burning per recent firmware updates. The Benq is an outstanding overall drive and its manufacturers are dedicated to making it better and better.

However, Plextor has a proven reputation for producing quality drives. People on this forum sometimes knock the PX-712A, but most every professional reviewer still maintains that it is one of the highest quality burners, not to mention audio reader, of any drive available. I think the reason no one was reviewed the PX-716A yet is not because there is a conspiracy, but just very high expectations that Plextor has yet to unleash the full potential of the drive.

ImBAD

#7

Probably true… but I hate the “ship now, fix later” policy Plextor’s been using with its DVD writers. I expected the PX-716A to redeem Plextor’s name in the DVD-RW market, but it has been their biggest lemon. Maybe reviewers feel guilty kicking a lame dog.

#8

Agreed, “ship now, fix later” is a bad policy no doubt. Though you have to admit, the PX-716A has introduced new technologies that have never been used in a DVD burner before, like autostrategy. What other burner have you heard of that actually teaches itself how to burn better? What other drive has an 8mb buffer (other than 712)?

New technologies oftentimes take a while to iron out. We the consumer are taking the brunt of the learning curve, but the more feedback Plextor gets from customers using the product I suppose the better they can make the product work. So I suppose this drive is a bit of a work in progress, but I imagine it will work out to our benefit.

#9

where di dyou get benq1620A?? or 1620 pro ? for 49.99?
is it a OEM benq? or the retail version?

#10

the deal for the Benq1620 is on Tigerdirect.com, it’s 49.99 after a $20 rebate. Note, this drive does not come with software. They are also selling the one with software for $79. Bananapc.com carries the retail Benq drive for $85. You can follow the links below to each deal, respectively.

Benq OEM deal $49.99 after MIR
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1112576&Sku=B145-8003

Benq Retail $85
http://www.bananapc.com/products/productInfo.aspx?category_id=1331&product_id=13624

#11

BTW, I recently heard from PCConnection regarding the backordered PX-716A for $69.99 after the MIR. I had sent them an email expressing expressing concern regarding the rebate and this was the response I received from customer service. It is either heartening or discouraging depending on your viewpoint. I personally believe it is encouraging and suggest other people take advantage of this deal while it is available. Even if you think PX-716A has been a lemon, it’s still a great deal at $69.99.

From PCConnection Customer Service:

“Hello, and thank you for your e-mail. I apologize for the wait on this backordered item. While we expect to receive some stock around 12/29/04, it will not be enough to cover our newest backorders, and I do not have any ETA yet for stock for your order.
Because you placed your order within the elgible time-frame, you will be able to claim the rebate one way or another - at this time, however, we do not know if the rebate will be extended or if it will be handled in another way. Please contact us about this once you have received your drive.
Thank you.”

#12

Despite everything: Px716a, but only if I didn’t already have a Px712a. I actually use some of Plextor’s “special features” like EFM, CD-Text and GigaRec, and I believe Plextools is more accurate and infinitely better than CDSpeed or KProbe. I’ve haven’t seen anything about the 1620 CD capabilities, other than it’s not as fast as the Px712 or Px716 at either reading or writing.

DL and 16x burning don’t matter much to me.

As a second burner, though: the BenQ 1620.

#13

Who on Earth is burning CDs nowadays? Especially wit GigaRec. :confused:
Burn DVDs, that’s the main feature of a DVD burner. And the BenQ just does that better and faster.

#14

Ah, the retail BenQ model, that’s my choice.

The Plextor’s auto-strategy technology gets automatically off-the-beam and stuck that way.

The BenQ is a better value and troubles, if any, can be undone with a quick firmware flash. If it acts nuts (very rare), just flash it again with the same firmware.

The value of the retail box is usually overlooked. It’s an optical drive, and that box will protect it from rough shipping on its trip halfway across the earth. It also comes with an 80 wire cable, extra ease of updating, better support and some other goodies. In the long run you will see no noticable difference between the cost of the retail or generic models (when buying for personal use). But your odds of satisfaction are greater with the retail product because you’re not paying for a single thing that you don’t need.

#15

in reference to the 716A getting better with time and plextors great name in the industry. That is what makes it so hard. Everything in me says get plextor (experience) everything else says benQ… (research and gut) I am seriously considering both now.

There was a rebate on the retail tigerdirect a few weeks ago making it like 50 but I missed it… Arrrgh!

Does anyone here know what the benQ can do that the 716A can’t or won’t probably be able to do in the near future and vice versa. I’d love to be able to do DL when media prices are good. Backing up dvd’s would be a good thing (maybe ps2 too). I make cd’s and that text to cd thing sounds interesting.

Even though I haven’t decided yet the help from this forum has been great!! Thanks a lot.

#16

if you get a PX716, try and make sure it’s a TLA 0202 (newest hardware revision). also, i have heard nothing but bad things about TigerDirect if that affects your decision at all.

#17

BenQ Retail for $79.95 with no rebate. There isn’t a chance that it’ll be an OEM drive that way. If you get the white box it very well could be OEM and while it can still be cross-flashed to a real BenQ why not just get the retail drive with the warranty right from the start? :slight_smile:

#18

i would not even touch the plextor