Need help purchasing new CD-ROM

[DIRTYcutFREAK]

my cd-rom drive has bit the dust and i need some help purchasing a new one. Can anyone recommend a cd-rom drive and if so how much? Money is a factor here so if there is a dependable cd-rom with a relatively low price i would be greatly interested. thanks

[Bovon]

If perhaps you could list a general price range you have to work with, somebody can give you a link or two. CD Rom drives come in all flavors, from sorry, fly by night vendors, to good dealers that will charge a bit more.

Do you want a new one?, or maybe a used one. Many of the forum sellers have drives from time to time.

Give the memebrs here something to go on.

[DIRTYcutFREAK]

i'm sorry its just that i'm new here. used would be fine as long as the drive is in good condition and i'd be willing up to $50, perhaps a bit more. sorry again

[rlpos]

I have switched to Artec CDroms they ar fast and read cd that are in bad shape. You can find them on Ebay for under $50.00

[DanU]

The cheap afreey 56X drives seem to score well on benchmarks, especially when ripping audio CDs. I believe it's also sold under the Delta label.

Check out http://www.come.to/cdspeed and click on "test results".

[Richard_Cranium72]

CDROM BLASTER 52X W/AUDIOACCEL TECHNOLOGY

CD-ROM Blaster® 52X features AudioAccel™ technology for high-speed digital audio extraction rates when reading CDs, which are ideal for creating digital audio files such as MP3s or WAVs. Blaster 52X reaches a maximum of 7,800KB/second (52X) data transfer rate


Rip CDs at 20X maximum rate with AudioAccel™ technology
Compile clear and crisp digital music from favorite CD tracks
Transfer CD-ROM data at up to 7,800KB/second (52X)
Maximum digital audio extraction (DAE) rate of 3,000KB/second (20X)*
85ms average random access time
128KB cache
Front-loading, motorized tray design
Internal design
Enhanced IDE interface for increased performance


$43.47
http://www.us.buy.com/retail/computers/product.asp?sku=10259344&loc=2062

[elroy]

I've had several of the Afreey drives go bad.

[ragtop]

If money is an issue, and you just need a CDROM for general use - I always watch the sales at Best Buy, Office Max, Staples, CompUSA, etc. They often have generic drives that you can buy with prices after rebate ranging from free to $20. They aren't always the best quality, but the price is right and they are usually adequate for general use. The last one I got was free after rebate from Office Max - it was an Afreey 50X drive being sold under the "Prime Peripherals" label. It works great.

If you want top quality (for high speed ripping, etc.), then take some of the other's suggestions about name brand drives.

[Barney]

I've had a Cyberdrive 40x and an Afreey 50x in the past 2 years. Both were POS. The Afreey went bad (my father's Afreey went bad too). I think the CD's went out of balance, it made a terrible noise.

So I bought an Asus 500s. It costs a bit more (about 60 bucks), but you get more too.

Here is are a few reviews: http://www.pcinsight.com/reviews/asus50x/ http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/asus_50x/

The best things about it are:
-Better quality and better warranty;
-70ms access time, which makes the Asus much faster than other 50x drives;
-It's much less noisy than other 50x drives because it uses a special suspension system that reduces vibration.

[DIRTYcutFREAK]

thanks alot guys, i appreciate all the help

[Figline]

Teac 540-E...the best cdrom out there...check out user reviews here and around the net, you'll find the Teac540-E very highly regarded....got mine for about $55 direct from www.shopteac.com (http://www.shopteac.com)

[Comage]

Personally, I'd recommend Teac CD-ROM drives. Or you could try the Sony 48X. Stay away from Acer CD-ROM drives and Creative Infra CD-ROM drives.

Sorry if the brands are "out of place", but over here in Singapore, these drives are recommended by users.

Hope it helps. Cheers. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Comage (edited 05-22-2001).]

[madfish]

I have two I/O magic's at 56x and you can pick one up for around $50.00 at circutcity right now..