My setup has two DVD drives, a 16X burner with dual-layer capability and a DVD-ROM. I finding that my DVD-ROM (a COMPAQ GD-2000), which is the older drive, has become less and less capable as time goes by. I have been wondering whether I need to replace it, and if so what I should replace it with. Are there fast DVD-ROM drives vailable at good prices, or is a second burner a better option? I mainly use the second drive as a source drive while directly copying non-protected data disks.
Price of 2nd burner option has gotten so low that it almost doesn't pay to get another DVD-ROM. WWW.newegg.com has the NEC 3550 burner for under $40 + modest shipping. This burner is rumoured to be the first NEC without factory riplock, so it should function fine as a ripper and would have up to date burning capabilities as well.
Yeah, I saw that. It just so happens that while i was in the process of trying to figure this out my PC DIED, and I am using a backup Pentium III until I can get a better replacement system. I looked up the NEC drive and it looks good, but the question now becomes whether a P3 has enough processor power to run a DVD burner or the related software?
One of my computers is an AMD 1300 running WinME. Burner runs fine. Nero, Shrink, Decryptor, AnyDVD all are no problem.
