Need Help Buying a Burner!

[Da Terminator]

I narrow it down to two burner that's might be best for my tasks (making custom cd of my cluter cd collections, backing up game such as Half Life {Probally going to be protected games} and other protected softwares. At TDK they advertise a 16/10/40 VeloCD Rewriter for $329, at Plextor they also have a new 16/10/40A for $279. Checking back on TDK, now old 12/10/32 is $279.99 and Plextor 12/10/32A is $239, which one is the better burner to go for to do the tasks i post before people?

[backitup]

Plextor 12/10/32A

[Da Terminator]

Thanks backitup, does anyone have any other opinion for me on this post cause it'll reallly help if i get alot of opinions.

[Da Terminator]

Okay i was looking in plextorshop.com to shop for the 12/10/32A when i notice there is a 12/10/32S with SCSI Reading for $329, can any one tell me what is does SCSI and ATAPI (E-IDE) mean and which one is better for the task i list above?

[Da Terminator]

Oh i forgot to post that i also need help with the kind of media & software to use for either the 12/10/32A or the 12/10/32S in order to do the tasks. Also question the one time writable media is cdr right? while the rewritable media are cdrw, correct? Is the Plextor media okay or is there better one that i should use? Please help if you know, thanks!

[owl]

Da Terminator (02-04-2001 03:44):
Thanks backitup, does anyone have any other opinion for me on this post cause it'll reallly help if i get alot of opinions.

do not bother with a plex read my last post

[Da Terminator]

Alright after browsing the bulletin board i came across a post saying that a philips based cdrw would do a better job backing up sd2 protected games, is this true? if so in then would a philips be a better buy in order to complete my tasks.

[Wayniac]

CD media. Basically any good brand will do - but some brands work better than others, so it's best to try a few out.

Verbatim are very good and you can store them without worries. Also worthy of note are the Philips, TDK Reflex, Sony brands. Despite the bewildering aray of disc manufacturer's, there's only about 17-20 factories that actually make cd's - hence you can by a disc by either Mirror, Nudgen or Dischouse and practically guarantee you're getting discs from the same factory! A program that's compatible with SOME cd-writers called CDR-Identifier, will even tell you where the discs came from and what they're made of.

Beware of unbraneded discs with no labels. They're cheap and many are nasty in quality - especially after a year or two when they've been left around the house and the surface starts to flake off. Some manufacturers sell these "unbranded" discs under their own name, but if you visit a computer fair you'll see for yourself - the price difference is so small that it isn't worth taking the risk.

For backing up PSX stuff, I use Traxdata silver and Verbatim. For audio I use Traxdata 80min audio or TDK audio (but you can use normal cd-r discs; you won't really hear any difference). For PC stuff that must stand the test of time I only use Verbatim or TDK, Sony etc.

Now the trouble starts when choosing a brand of cd media for DVD players; some machines have trouble with certain brands - it varies widely. Iv'e had no success at all using Samsung discs, and many people in the know recommend Sirius or Mirror. With my machine I can play films with no jumps using Verbatim or Mirror, but I personally hate Mirror discs.

As for software, depends what you want to backup. Nero's good for PC files and most PSX games. CloneCD and Disc Juggler are great for Dreamcast and PSX, but your writer needs specific support. If you have trouble copying your original pc game, you could ##### if there is a "patch" available off the internet, to apply to the image of the disc you have built up on the hard-drive. Patch the image, burn the cd and hey presto you're on a home run. Note: Totally forget Adaptec software for backing up PSX games etc - won't budge!

With regards to your question on which writer to get, I think there's still a lot of confusion as to which writer will actually do a SD2 copy; some people claim the older 8x Philips writers will do it, and that the latest 16x Plextor models have been "fixed" no to! I can only recommend even more research I'm afraid.

As long as your writer can do a full RAW read/write, you're pretty much guaranteed of being able to backup the majority of discs you have. My writer won't do a full RAW read, so I use an old 24x Toshiba model to do this and I can backup my titles with little fuss.

CloneCD's help file has extremely useful info on which writers to use, in a table format.

Hope this helps ya out

[Da Terminator]

Thanks alot for all your posts, i just order Plextor 12/10/32A with ATAPI IDE support. i read your warning owl but i decide to risk it since i know it's a great burner otherwise. I'll keep you guys up to date as far as how it's working for me, thanks again.

[^Homer]

just so u know the TDK is a rebadged Plextor drive

[Green Pepper]

Da Terminator (03-04-2001 23:26):
Okay i was looking in plextorshop.com to shop for the 12/10/32A when i notice there is a 12/10/32S with SCSI Reading for $329, can any one tell me what is does SCSI and ATAPI (E-IDE) mean and which one is better for the task i list above?

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