Great Drive, but....
Written: Dec 28 '00 (Updated Jul 03 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, tough, BURN-PROOF really works, great software.
Cons: Needs a fast PC with Windows Me
The Bottom Line: Great drive, but you need a fast PC - and use the data cable that comes with it!
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| samdavidowicz's Full Review: Plextor PlexWriter 12/10/32 |
I was looking for a CD burner for a long time (actually, until I got enough money) until I stumbled on a PC Magazine rewiew of the plextor Plexwriter 12/10/32A. I ordered it from buy.com (great prices!) and within a week it was in my home.
Well, after setting it up (which was very easy, thank you) and I was ready. I already had a data cable, so I did not feel that I had to use the included one. Well, I had the drive sence the begining of September, and here is my epinion: Get this drive only if you have a fast PC! Even with 192 MB of RAM, my AMD K6-2 @380 MHz could not hold the 12x speed without either crashing or freezing, which ate at my supply of Ricoh CD-Rs (using Adaptec EasyCD creator). It would work fine on 8x, though. Remember the cable? Well, I installed it a couple of days before upgrading to Windows Me (before, I had 98SE), and the crashing/freezing lessened, but not stop. Strangly, using Discdupe2000 (a CD duplication program) and Adaptec's DirectCD would always go on fine.
I went to a small computer shop and asked the guy there (whose been in the business for some 20 years, mind you) if the pitfalls would stop if I put it in a computer that had an Epox EP-8KTA+ motherboard and an 800 MHz AMD Duron CPU, and he said yes they surely would.
OK, hers's my final say - the Plexwriter is fast and easy to use, the BURN-PROOF really works (Windows Me crashed, and when I got out of the blue screen, the drive just kept recording as if nothing happened), plus includes good software, but if you have a slow PC (like my soon-to-be replaced PC), forget it, otherwise you'll be throwing out CD-R after CD-R. The reason I put in a 4/5 rating here is because I'm assuming it will work just fine in a case that will have the above mentioned motherboard and CPU.
Follow up: I now have a PC that has an EPOX EP-8KTA3 mainboard, and AMD Athlon 1200, and 256 MB RAM. The 12/10/32A seems to work just fine.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
samdavidowicz
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Member: Sam Davidowicz
Location: Tamarac
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I work tech support and also do freelance tech work.
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