The new comp building has begun. I can get a new Mitsumi CD burner, 24x12x40, for 99 bucks. Would you guys recommend it? Anyone know of a better deal?
Don't get any CD Burner without "Burn-Proof" technology. I recommend Plextor over all. What Burn-Proof allows you to do is burn disks without fear of buffer under-runs. What has that meant for me? It means that I never have to do that silly test and burn cycle. Also, if I need to, I can do stuff on my pc while it is burning CDs. My 12x10x40 burner burns CDs in about 5 minutes. I bet the 24x you're looking at won't burn them in much under 3 minutes - it'll probably be over 3 including initializing and finalizing the disk. You should keep in mind that you also have to pump the data fast enough to do the 24x - that may or may not be likely considering your system.
If you want value, the Lite-On 24x has gotten great reviews. The TDK 24x is also a great value, but its burn buffer is too small. Your 2 best (but not best value, just best performing) are the: Plextor 24x and Yamaha 24x The Yamaha is more expensive, however according to all the reviews I read, it is a little bit better. You won't notice a difference between the two unless you do some benchmarking and are very particular about your burn quality. I have the Yamaha 24x and I love it. It was extremely expensive though. (almost 200 bucks) If you wait just a bit, you'll find 40x burners coming out very soon.
