I heard that the sony DRW 810UL burner is really a benq 1640. Any truth to this?? Is there a link where I can't find out more about what is ben q and what isn't?
... the Plextor PX740 is also a BenQ DW1640 while the Sony DRW820 is a BenQ DW1670 You're really better off getting the BenQ drives ... they cost less and you can use the QSuite utilities
Yeah, I'll probably get the External Benq drive. I believe it's a 162I. However, if I did get the Sony Burner, would I still be able to do the firmware updates, or are there any limitations?
Is your Sony an OEM or a retail drive? Some Sony OEM drives have problems with updates ... the retail are better, but the BenQ's utility package makes me shy away from the rebadges ...
Hi, The BenQ 162I is a external version of the 1620 (so no SolidBurn etc). The 164B is the external version of the 1640. The Sony 810UL can be crossflashed to the 164B giving you the QSuite goodies. The Sony 820 & BenQ 1670 do not & probably won't have access to facilities such as can be obtained via QSuite.
That's because the DW1670 and the 820 use a crappy Panasonic (ughhh) chipset, while BenQ uses the excellent Philips chipset in the DW1620/1625/1640/1650/1655 series ... The Philips DVDR1648 is another excellent unit with utilities nearly the same as BenQ's
So the Benq seems like the better choice over the sony. Here's link to the sony external: http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10067496&catid=20236 Does this look any good? Also, anyone know where I can get the external Benq in Canada?
Hi catfreak, I realise the difference between 1620/1640 etc & Sony 820/BenQ 1670. My reason for mentioning that the Sony 820 & BenQ 1670 don't have access to 'QSuite' like facilities is that although they don't have Philips chipsets, BenQ realise the attraction that these features have. As a result something similar could be considered for the DQ60/1670. Of course if this should happen then via crossflash this would also work for the Sony.
Hi lube99 The Sony is slightly better than the BenQ. Firstly the Sony gives you both USB & Firewire. The BenQ only offers USB. The Sony is of sturdier build than the BenQ. So whilst normally a BenQ disciple & slightly anti-Sony (due to often overpriced products) I find myself actually recommending the Sony. But the first thing I'd do is crossflash to BenQ BEFB f/w. For Sony see http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=313878&view=detailed For BenQ see http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=314950&view=detailed
As far as an external drive, yes the Sony is better ... However, if you are a 'died in the wool' internal user ... Go BenQ or Plextor ... and the reason that the drives without the Philips chipset don't have access to the wonderful utes ... well it's because Philips developed 'em, not BenQ
So go with the Sony 810UL external over th BenQ external? And crossflash the Sony to which firmware? It's just that the external BenQ are soooooo hard to come by here in Toronto. And I just so happened to find one.
Hi catfreak, Apart from SolidBurn (& of course the chip)which follows along lines laid out by Plextors autostrategy, all utilities (QScan/OverSpeed/TestWrite/)developed by BenQ,[WOPC & Bitsetting also supported by BenQ]. Hence QSuite gives control of these facilities to the user of BenQs' drives. Philips are notorious for great research/initial product,but failure to fully develope. BenQ on the other hand have been quite aggressive in developement in the last couple of years. As developers of QSuite it would not take that much to adapt or release something similar for other drives that appear to be entering the BenQ stable.(excluding SB of course).
Hi lube99, To ensure speeds of upto 16x BenQ BE** series f/w is best. Get it from here. http://support.benq.com/front/BenqM...langu=null&ops=null&GenMenu=&RootId=undefined
Does any one know what ATA speed the Benq dw1640 is? Is it ATA 66, ATA 100, or ATA 133? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
