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General discussion

Buying a DVD burner with a P-III CPU

Feb 25, 2005 2:35AM PST

I am trying to decide the best DVD-R/+R/&RW,CDR,CDRW burner for my Dell Dimension 4100 running Win XP Pro. I have a 800 MHz CPU and 256 RAM.
The DVDs that I see on various product reviews all expect/require a Pentium IV around 1.4 GHz or better.

Question No.1 Will there be a compatibility problem if I install any one of these DVD drives to a slower CPU (other than burning at a slower rate). I was thinking of a Plexstor PX-716 or PX-712 or equivalent.

Question No.2 If the above has a serious compatibility problem. Would anybody reccomend a reliable DVD unit for around $100 suitable for a Pentium III

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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I don't see...
Feb 25, 2005 3:46AM PST

Any issue with the DVD recording since my p3-600 (MHz) laptop can do this fine. Just have to be patient.

About "reliable". Define "reliable". These drives are not that reliable and will last from 1 to a few years. None I know of are going to exceed that timespan. If you can live with replacing an under 99 buck drive in 2 years there are dozens of DVD recorders you can choose from.

Bob

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Buying a DVD burner with a P-III CPU
Feb 25, 2005 2:19PM PST

Thanks Bob
Would you reccomend a brand name which would be around the $100 range?
I found that Plextor PX 716SA is available for $90 after rebate. It requires a 1.4 Ghz CPU and has all the bells and whistles including double sided recording (which I don't need at this beginning stage). Surprisingly earlier models with a little less speed capabilities and more modest specs are quoted at between $200 and $300 -- does'nt make sense !!!

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I have the Plextor 716SA
Feb 25, 2005 8:32PM PST

and other Plextor drives. I have yet to experience any problems with these but time will tell. One thing of note is that this is an SATA drive and not an IDE. Can your system support SATA? I know of no P-III boards that do. They do have an IDE version.

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No I can't.
Feb 25, 2005 10:39PM PST

A little over a year ago we stopped buying by brand name. The DVD recorders apparently became a commodity item so we have Teac, Liteon, and the list goes on and on. We now just toss in the 49 to 69 dollar units.

Bob