what mod chip to get?

[BJer]

i have a V5/6 ps2. i have the tendency to scratch games, so i want to make backups. ive been looking into gettin a mod chip to save some money from ruining games. just need some info on what i should be gettin. was thinkin bout the magic 3.6 or something along the lines of that. my friends tell me to get the flip top case. that seems like a hastle to me. just figured i would do it right. i also have read through some other posts & nobody has mentioned anything about HP dvd writers. any reason for that? i have an HP 300n, & the program it uses for burning is Record Now. will this prog let me burn the games i have? if not what should i get? it uses DVD+R, if that matters.