I just recently pulled the sheet over my Plextor 716A. She was a great lady, but I overworked her. Another like that will be a bit more than I care to spend right now, especially with only a one year warranty. I am now using a BenQ1655 external (love it by the way), and I'm looking to add another internal burner. I can get the NEC 3550A for $37 plus a 10% coupon if it still is valid, and free shipping over at Shop[*]Tech. Should I opt for another BenQ 1655, should I go ahead with the NEC 3550A, or should I hold out for another Plextor 716A? Are there any other drives that are top performers? Bottom line, how does the NEC 3550A perform?
Excellent. Hardly any coasters in probably close to 1000 burns. It's reasonably quiet, reasonably fast-loading, not riplocked, I love it. My one and only gripe is that it does not bitset single-layer DVD+Rs, though it does DLs. This has never been a problem for me as I use DVD-R for my productions and +R DL on the rare occasion I need a DL. You can always update the firmware with the Liggy's and Dee's "Bitsetting Firmware 1.06" ad that'll solve the single-layer bitsetting problem. $38 even with a coupon seems a bit high though - I'd check Tigerdirect, Mwave.com. You can often find it for less and/or with free shipping to boot.
