DVD to replace cdrom?

[scourge]

I want to replace my 24x cdrom. I believe that it is the source of numerous problems in my sytem. (i.e. choppy video/crashes/etc.) Should I buy a new 32/40/50x cdrom or should I just buy a DVD drive. I want to one day play DVD on my computer. What besides the drive would I need. I see that some kits come with decoder cards, some have a "soft decoder". What do you really need to run DVD? I just don't want to spend money on a new cdrom when buying a DVD will cover it. Thanks.

[Roy]

DVD drives run as CD ROMs mostly 24x, some 32x. A hardware decoder is recommended for best performance. Some video cards include the decoder.

With the new generation of video cards being well ahead of the predecessors, you might want to upgrade there as well and get a bare DVD drive.

[AuraEdge]

online order?
if so where?
im intrested in gettin a DVD drive that would burn a whole in my thin wallet

[cobain1crt]

DVD is getting better, game srequireing several CDs are comming out on 1 DVD. The yare getting cheap too. You could most likely get a DVD drive for the price of 2 40X drives, and they run plenty fast too. If it does not come with decoding software, go to Xing.com, they have a program called XingDVD, and I love my copy.

[BBA]

I just bought a 6X DVD for $100, Its a Toshiba, and it does a whole lot better than my old CL DVDX2. Barely has to run with movies in, very fast CD-ROM read and not near as much spin up as most 24X cd-roms. It's a good thing to buy!

BBA

[Zonker]

I have a Creative Labs 5x DVD/24x CD and it works great as a CD-ROM as well. Reads the recorded CDs with out a hitch.

I also have a SCSI CDR, so no IDE CDROM for me. The CL DVD drive works fine for me.

I think the decoder cards, or even the video cards that do "some" hardware decoding are better than the soft decoders.

If you have a 350Mhz system or faster, the software decoders work OK from what I've been told.

[cobain1crt]

450mhz P3 works all my decoders real nice, but I still like XingDVD the most.

[LJE2]

I just today installed a Pioneer SCSI 6x DVD ROM and Real Magic Hollywood-2 Decoder card, CD ROM is as fast if not faster than the 32x I took out, and the Sound and Movie picture quality is FANTASTIC

[MrEd]

Has anyone had any dealings with, or bought a CDROM/DVD in one. I saw one at Best Buy the other day, it's made by Mitsumi I think. It has 8xDVD/36xCD-ROM. Eliminates having two different devices.

[LJE2]

MrEd
As far as I know all DVD ROM players designed to be used in a computer are a combination DVD/CD ROM, the Pioneer S303 model I spoke of above is a 6x DVD ROM and a 32x CD ROM, That is one of the reasons I purchased it, it is just as fast as the Toshiba 32x CD ROM drive this unit replaced and a lot quieter, and the DVD playback is just fantastic.

[Roy]

Aura Edge ~ Visit www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com) . They start at $60 plus shipping.

[scourge]

Roy mentioned that they start at $60 on pricewatch. I saw a Hitachi 2nd gen DVD kit for $68 ($81 w/ shipping). It has cables, soft decoder, and 2xDVD/20xcdrom. Does anyone know anything about this particular drive? Is it any good? It seems like the cheapest way to upgrade my computer to DVD and Zonker pointed out that a 350 (I have 392 or 429 if I need it) would run soft decoded DVD just fine. OR should I buy a 3rd gen DVD drive for that much and download xingdvd?

[LJE2]

A 3rd Generation drive will have better video (smoother, some 2nd gen can be choppy at times) than a 2nd Gen, especially if you are going to run a software decoder instead of a hardware decoder, I'd spend the extra and get a 3rd generation drive.

[Datura]

Hey, is there any program to check the true speed at what my CD-rom spins @?