Stylish & Speedy @ 10x4x32
Written: Jul 04 '00 (Updated Jul 22 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, 4MB Buffer, looks cool, many uses
Cons: (Adaptec) Software isn't that great
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| NightShift8's Full Review: HP CD-Writer Plus 9300i Series |
I was finally sucked into the craze of CD burners. I thought of all the benefits and different uses of them and I all of a sudden just wanted to get one so bad. So after hours of research on all the different models and brands, I was set on the HP brand. They have been a known brand I have trusted, been satisfied and familiar with. Their prices weren’t too expensive either compared to the other brands. So after looking at all the comparison charts, reading some "ePinions", and searching all through the net, I was set to go buy one the very next day. I'm not the kind of person that likes to wait.
The next morning, I decided to check out a new price club right by me to see if they had the model I wanted. I had my eyes set on the 8x write speed, 4x re-write internal drive. Well, they didn’t exactly have the model I wanted. The store carried the 10x write, 4x re-write, 32x read drive (9300i model). It was (and at the time still is) the fastest HP brand CD burner. It went for about $270.00. A little more than I intended to spend, but as I said before, I just had to have one right away. I figured altogether, it would be better to have the faster drive so I would be more up-to-date and show off. I decided to pick that one up; I could always return it if I found a better deal. I just had to have one in my hands! The box looked very tempting. I called a few places to see if they carried either model I was looking for, but no luck. So I couldn’t wait any longer. I unpacked everything, took a quick look at the directions and diagram (poster). It seemed easy enough...mostly common sense. I took a look at the nifty setup video on the CD that showed a woman installing the CD burner herself step by step, even though I didnt need it.
The installation was extremely simple...just slip it in, attach the cable, power and audio wires, and secure 2 screws. The color of the drive is like a dark gray, which doesn’t match my cream-colored tower at all, but that’s cool because that makes it stand out and say "HEY, look at me!...Yea, I’m one of those cool cd-writers!" So its easy to distinguish, and looks good anyway. The software installation was also quick and painless. The adaptec easy cd creator that comes bundled with it, isn’t all the best. Right now I’m settled with Nero. But I'm not rating the software. Anyway, it does take a while to get used to the software and understand the rules and terms of burning a cd. For example, when creating an audio cd, once you END a "session" on a cd, that’s it...no sense putting any more songs on by opening a second session. The only player that will pick further sessions up, is a computer cd-rom, cuz they're more versatile. Your cd player will only read the first session.
By learning and MY personal error, i have made one or two "coasters," but to this day, I haven’t had any problems. The drive contains a massive 4MB buffer, which to this day prevented any "buffer underruns." A decently fast computer is probably also recommended. I have a pretty new Dell computer (Pentium III 600, 256MB ram, 13.6GB HD, 48X cd-rom).
The drive has two LED lights on the front. One light is the read (green/red), the other is write (green). When you insert a cd, the read light stays lit. This is useful so then you know when you have (left) a cd in the drive. When writing, the write light blinks, and sometimes the read light joins in. If you made a boo-boo, and your CD is not ready to be taken out when you press the eject button, or the software takes your CD hostage, the read light turns from green to red and you may get a message. Sometimes it claims an application is using the CD when its not. So then u can take back control and click the "Eject NOW" button.
The drive is great though. I have one cd-rw which holds all of my MP3's, another cd-rw which stores all of my backup files and have created useful installation cd's. Whenever I download a setup or installation file (especially if its huge), when I'm done installing it, I move it on to my backup CD-RW in the "installation files" folder. Then if I have to format, I can have everything installed in no time. Thats another reason to keep your collection of MP3's on CD...in case you gotta format. Another good thing about cd-rw's is that you can store huge amounts of files on them, always being able to edit them. And any "multi-read" cd-rom drive can read these cd's. So you can write all your files to cd, and take them to school or wherever to transfer or read off the disc. Another great use from this cd burner was that I just got a car and it has a cd player. So throughout the school year, I have created many custom audio cd's (taking requests from all my friends) and we listened to them almost everyday on the way to school and home.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
NightShift8
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Member: Frank
Location: NY
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 1 member
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