Price Guides, October 2005: Storage
by Jarred Walton & Haider Farhan on October 15, 2005 6:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
DVDR
We'll conclude with some coverage of the optical drives. DVDRs have become extremely cheap now and are one of the best ways to back up your data. The NEC ND-3540A [RTPE: ND-3540A] continues to top the price charts, going for just under $39.00 shipped. You can also see that this DVDR is being sold at the lowest price that we've yet seen, although week-to-week and even day-to-day fluctuations can be $5 or more.
Besides the BenQ and NEC drives, Pioneer, LG, Toshiba, and Lite-On all have competing products, but features and performance are so close that there's little reason to spend even $5 more. The only drive that stands out from the list with something extra is the LG [RTPE: LGA-4163B], as it supports 5X DVD-RAM. We don't use it, but some of you might need the feature. Plextor is often regarded as the king of optical drives, and they have a price to match. The PX-740A [RTPE: PX-740A] is really just a rebadged BenQ DW1540, but at a $35 premium. The PX-716A [RTPE: PX-716A], on the other hand, costs nearly three times as much as the NEC, so unless you have overwhelming brand loyalty to Plextor, you should save your money.
We'll conclude with some coverage of the optical drives. DVDRs have become extremely cheap now and are one of the best ways to back up your data. The NEC ND-3540A [RTPE: ND-3540A] continues to top the price charts, going for just under $39.00 shipped. You can also see that this DVDR is being sold at the lowest price that we've yet seen, although week-to-week and even day-to-day fluctuations can be $5 or more.
NEC 16X ND-3540A
Besides the BenQ and NEC drives, Pioneer, LG, Toshiba, and Lite-On all have competing products, but features and performance are so close that there's little reason to spend even $5 more. The only drive that stands out from the list with something extra is the LG [RTPE: LGA-4163B], as it supports 5X DVD-RAM. We don't use it, but some of you might need the feature. Plextor is often regarded as the king of optical drives, and they have a price to match. The PX-740A [RTPE: PX-740A] is really just a rebadged BenQ DW1540, but at a $35 premium. The PX-716A [RTPE: PX-716A], on the other hand, costs nearly three times as much as the NEC, so unless you have overwhelming brand loyalty to Plextor, you should save your money.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
17 Comments
View All Comments
JarredWalton - Saturday, October 15, 2005 - link
Smaller cables, and on many chipsets slightly faster performance. Overall, it's not enough that I'd really upgrade to SATA (i.e. get rid of a PATA drive for an SATA). However, I'd purchase SATA if buying new, unless there was an awesome deal on a PATA drive. Many intel motherboards, for example, only come with one PATA connection, so you'd max out at a DVDR and a single HDD.mongoosesRawesome - Sunday, October 16, 2005 - link
another reason I am hesitant to go with SATA with a new build is that you need a floppy drive to install the SATA drivers.I've heard of using USB keys or CDs to install the drivers. Anyone have a link on how to do this?
Whenever I recommend new systems to people, I always suggest PATA, because its cheaper and they don't have to worry about obtaining a floppy drive in the future if they ever have to reformat.
While the cables are nice and thin, ive also heard of cables falling out, because the attachment system isn't very secure.
PrinceGaz - Monday, October 17, 2005 - link
I didn't need any SATA drivers to install Windows XP SP2 on my SATA drive connected to an nForce4 SATA channel. The box doesn't even have a floppy drive.mongoosesRawesome - Monday, October 17, 2005 - link
oh. somehow i was under the impression that all SATA controllers required drivers from a floppy.btw, I've already gotten my rebates. i purchased the drive sometime in early september.
bob661 - Sunday, October 16, 2005 - link
Both of my computers run SATA with no floppy drives. Whether or not you need a floppy to install drivers depends on the the SATA controller.photoguy99 - Sunday, October 16, 2005 - link
Most motherboards do not need a special driver for SATA.There is no reason not to use it in a new system. Less cable mass, simpler configuration, etc.
ProviaFan - Saturday, October 15, 2005 - link
I've been under the impression that it's best not to run an optical drive and a hard disk on the same IDE channel, as well. Maybe it isn't the case with newer optical drives, but if true, it's definitely another reason to prefer SATA drives on a mainboard with only one IDE connection.