With Benq Gone, what is another good burner?

With the Benq Drives just about gone, what is another good drive like it?

(please dont say plextor, they are over rated and expensive, i bought a plex 2yrs ago and was very disappointed and will probably never by one again)

Last time i checked with Benq DW1650/DW1655 were good drives, since then i know many burners have been released so im taking suggestions.

 

LiteOn
Pioneer


They are my two brands of choice (yes I have an LG - Don't start ;-P). Both very good, and reliable drives.

Pioneer 111D is one of the best drives I think is around at the mo.. No bitsetting, but hacked firmware is out to render that

As for LiteOns, there are soooo many models numbers, It is hard to think off the top of my head as I don't own one.

I'm sure someone will be able to give you some good info on LiteOns.

Also, what was wrong with your Plex? They may be expensive, but are good drive all the same, as long as they are actually Plextor made, not re-badged!!

 

NEC 3550 is pretty good too but not sure about 7170.

I agree with Ripper man.
whats up with your plexy man?? I have 3 PX716 and they were fantastic. I loved them to death. If you are willing to buy Benq Dw1650 I have some stock up and can sell to you if you offer a reasonable price. I have about 5 of them. I got a extra Dw1655 too. I personally like the Plextor much more then the Benq.

 

i had a plex 708a, and apart from paying $250 (twice the amount of a liton at the time) the darn burner only laster a year before it couldnt read or write cds but burner and wrote dvds fine. i missed the warranty by like 2 months and plextor said sorry its after warranty, i wast alone on that drive, many others complained when i went online to investigate, i told myself ill never buy one again. i think the 708/712 series plextors had that problem after about a year.

anyways back to my thread, lite on is "OK" in terms of quality, price is excellent, and its what i got now(sohw-1693s). I wanted something pretty good like plex quality for a cheap price that wasnt plex. I guess im going towards trying to find a benq 1655. if that fails i guess ill go with the 160/165 series liteon, this time around im looking for burn quality on a good array of different media as well as reading functionality.

 

I love my 3550. Especially since it's running Liggy's 106bt Bitsetting firmware.

 

i just ended up going out and buying the benq 1655 drive, thanks guys for the input.

 

Where did you find it, and how much???

 

Yeah, second that. Where?!!?

 

Dear Friends!!!

I believe that Meritline.com Has the BenQ 1670 Which is one of their newer & or Last Drives .I think the big new feature is DVD Ram @ 5X! New BENQ 1670 16X DVD Burner with free NERO Software, DVD multi Drive Supporting DVD-RAM Write, Model DW1670, Black Color

Item Code: 186-217-001


$32.99 QTY:



Availability: Usually ships the next business day.
of course this the price before shipping charges & the like ... In case anyone is interested the spec's are on meritlines site on the page about this model ! hope this helps ! good luck and happy shopping !

 

BIGTOXY69, its true they got the 1670, but that model is not based off of the philips chipset like the 1640,1650, and 1655. I did alot of researching yesterday before i went out and bought it, the 1650 and 1655 are just one of the best drives made along with the Philips model DVDR1668 / SPD6000 which is even harder to find than the benq 1650/1655.

Picked my benq 1655 up from my local comp usa, they have alot, most compusa stores should have them still in stock, catch to it is that i paid $70 for it, hoping a christmas sale will come within the next 30 days to get some money back, lol.

 

Benq really messed up when they changed the chipset in the 1670 imo. I got lucky and picked up a 1650 back when they were available. Awsome drive. I really like and recommend my litey too. Burns every bit as good as my benq but is a little slower ripping (although not much). I've always been a lite-on fanboy. They have served me well.

 

i think the same, the 1670 not as good from what ive been reading as the 1650/1655 benqs. As for liteon, ive had a couple liteons myself, including the burner i just replaced, they are "ok" burners and good for the price, however if you want quality burns the benq 1650/1655 is the way to go.

there are people that just want the job done and dont care about quality as long as it works then just get whatever is out there.

 

hey marty,
how is the lite on SHM-165H6S compare to the 1650?? i think you are the right person to ask since you have both of them right?? i always wanted to pick up the 165 even though i have 2 dw1655 already.

 

hey marty,
how is the lite on SHM-165H6S compare to the 1650?? i think you are the right person to ask since you have both of them right?? i always wanted to pick up the 165 even though i have 2 dw1655 already.

 

Yujenh,

I can't complain or say anything bad about my litey SHM-165H6S. I probably use it more for burning than my benq 1650 but like I stated previously I like my benq better for ripping since it is just a little faster on pressed DL dvd's. The litey is riplocked to 8x with pressed DL dvd's (no riplock for any other media) where the benq has no riplock period.

It's really not a big deal. The litey is still a good ripper but takes 1-2 minutes longer on pressed DL dvd's. They both do a superb job burning. They both have recognized all the media I have used. Keep in mind I only use primarily verbatim dvd+r's (8x and 16x) and some TY 8x dvd+r's.

 

Well I acquired two BenQ 1650s this year and they are excellent burners. I would recommend them highly, but my LG will out rip them on scratched discs. I would buy another 1650 if I could find it just to have as a spare but not for $70.

 

garmoon,
you are right on man. the only downside or problem i have with the 1650 is their ripping ability regarding the scratchy disc and stuff.
They dont do too well against those. I would like to know which burner does best for ripping. I felt guilty for having to use px716 to rip stuff. I only do it when i have to.

 

Thus is the Crux of the biscuit ! to paraphrase the late frank zappa ! The Good ol' benq's are either unavailable or if available they are really pricey ! Have a 1655 I bought about a year or so ago & use it on a majority of my burns !no complaints here ! Just wish someone like newegg had'em at a decent price now ! Santa are you listening? But I guess that's life one can dream though !Merry xmas everyone~

 

best chances of getting one is a rebadged one on sale at a local store that has a couple of rebates after or instantly. thats how i got mine, i paid 74 out the door but will be 54 after rebates, i figured thats only $17 more than what i could have gotten it for earlier in the year and the extra $17 is worth it to me, so its not too bad. thats just my point of view.

 

Does this mean you think LG drives are good? Well, that would make two of us, cos I am all for (certain) LG drives, but most on here hate them