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I have gotten my hands on a CDRW External Drive, and have decided to not buy an internal.

But I believe I need a quicker CD drive, what would be the best for today's games?

MITSUMI CD-ROM FX4821T!A is what I have.

Here is what I could find out about it.

Firmware ISRC CDDA SIA Speed Buffer Lock Eject Method 2

vF01M TRUE TRUE TRUE 44x 128KB TRUE TRUE TRUE

That model is a 48X CD-ROM. That should be more than fast enough for any game out there.

Thanks for the reply Mr Flibble.

Side note: Install the software from the CD writer.

Originally posted by Mr Sleep
Side note: Install the software from the CD writer.

Thanks Mr.Sleep

I did read the directions first this time.

And I'm glad I did, the software has to be installed before hooking up the CD writer.

Keep your eye on it, though. I have had bad experiances with external burners. They don't seem to be as stable, or reliable as internal ones.

We have an external USB CD-RW and it burns a lot of coasters. I don't know why but it is far less reliable than the IDE CD-RWs that we have in a couple of the other machines. Make sure that you have the most current drivers and good luck!

If you just want an IDE CD-ROM, you can get good drives in the 52X-56X range for about $40-50 retail, and many places will often have a $10-20 rebate to make the price even cheaper. However, as our friend Mr Flibble says, if you already have a 48X CD-ROM, it is fast enough to run almost any game currently available.

Originally posted by HighLordDave
We have an external USB CD-RW and it burns a lot of coasters. I don't know why but it is far less reliable than the IDE CD-RWs that we have in a couple of the other machines. Make sure that you have the most current drivers and good luck!

The trouble with external CD writers is they generally can't recieve data fast enough and end up with buffer underflow errors. If you have any trouble with it, try recording at a slower rate, and make sure to defrag your hard disk frequently.

Originally posted by Mr Flibble
The trouble with external CD writers is they generally can't recieve data fast enough and end up with buffer underflow errors. If you have any trouble with it, try recording at a slower rate, and make sure to defrag your hard disk frequently.

We tried cutting back to 4X and 2X (it's an 8X max), but still ended up with a coaster about half of the time. Do you know if USB 2.0 or Firewire CD-RWs are having the same buffer problems or if they're any more reliable?

Originally posted by HighLordDave


We tried cutting back to 4X and 2X (it's an 8X max), but still ended up with a coaster about half of the time. Do you know if USB 2.0 or Firewire CD-RWs are having the same buffer problems or if they're any more reliable?

I haven't seen any USB 2.0 drives yet, but I'd expect them to work much better. USB 1.1 has a maximum bandwidth of 12mbps and USB 2.0 has 480mbps. At that rate you should be able to run DVD movies through it and not drop a frame!

It depends greatly on the quality of your CD-RW, a friend of mine had a 300 squids worth of CD-RW (sony don't you know) and it apparently burns exactly the same as a normal internal CDRW

And also the software you're using to write with. Some of the stuff that comes bundled with CD-RW drives these days is really a joke.

Originally posted by Mr Flibble
And also the software you're using to write with. Some of the stuff that comes bundled with CD-RW drives these days is really a joke.

Always go with Nero IMO, Adaptec stuff is okay, but Nero is the best

Originally posted by Mr Sleep


Always go with Nero IMO, Adaptec stuff is okay, but Nero is the best

Absolutely. I've never had a single problem with Nero.

Originally posted by Mr Sleep
It depends greatly on the quality of your CD-RW, a friend of mine had a 300 squids worth of CD-RW (sony don't you know) and it apparently burns exactly the same as a normal internal CDRW

Here is what I got,

___________________________________________________


Technical Specifications

Description: HP CD-WRITER CD4CE 4X4X6X USB W/SW


Manufacturer: HP


Lowest Price:
$119.95

Detailed Specifications
Type of Drive: CD Rewritable (CD-RW) Drive


Compatible Formats: CD-ROM


Interface: USB


Internal/External: External


Load Type: Top


Multisession Compatibility: Disk-at-Once(DAO)
Packet Write
Track-at-Once (TAO)


System Type: PC


CD Rewrite Speed: 4 X (CD,CD-R)


CD Write Speed: 4 X (CD,CD-R)


CD-ROM Read Speed: 6 X (CD,CD-R)


Cache Size: 2 MB

_____________________________________________

My price $40.00 US Dollars. Someone owed me money ($50.00) and I just forgot the money owed. So I guess $90.00 altogether.

Bad deal?

I used to have one of those! It was a very good and reliable drive, albeit a bit slow. If you haven't already got some software to run it, get a copy of Nero Burning ROM. Easily the best CD writing software around.

I remember them being around NZ$600 new (about US$250-300), so that is certainly a good deal.

Originally posted by Weasel
Bad deal?

For an external, yes definately

Originally posted by Mr Flibble
I used to have one of those! It was a very good and reliable drive, albeit a bit slow. If you haven't already got some software to run it, get a copy of Nero Burning ROM. Easily the best CD writing software around.

I remember them being around NZ$600 new (about US$250-300), so that is certainly a good deal.

Let me get this straight, don't use the software that came with it. Use this other software. Will the drivers been the same..(I mean will it work with them?)

Originally posted by Mr Sleep


For an external, yes definately

Good because I figured I would never get my $50.00 back and this was my only way of getting something back. The person claims to have paid $210.00 for it about 5 weeks ago. (This from someone who doesn't pay back a loan. )

You will probably have to install the USB drivers for the writer to work but you actually use Nero to write the CDs.

I actually meant it was a good deal, sorrry if i wasn't clear, i hadn't had my morning coffee when i wrote that

How about this CDRW

I think £50 is good, but what about the rest of you?