This baby BURNS!
Written: Nov 28 '02 (Updated Nov 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: FAST, Reliable, Mt. Rainier Support
Cons: Limited tech support
The Bottom Line: Fast, quiet, simple to use, Mt. Rainier Support, all in a $19.99 package. What more to want?!?!?
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| midknight2k3's Full Review: CenDyne Lightning III 40x12x48 CD-RW Internal IDE... |
MY STORY
I am not a hardcore burner or anything. My 8x4x32 HP was fine. Until the prices started dropping. Ah, the story. Well, it goes something like this. I was beginning to think that my [8x4x32] CD-RW was just not going to cut it, with these new 40x12x40 and 52x24x52 burners. One time I saw a 40x12x48 burner in the salepaper for only $29.99. I made the stupid mistake of not even checking into it. It was a Samsung, a brand that has always served me well. In the end, I was left looking for a faster one. I saw a 40x12x40 in another paper for $40, a BusLink. Then, for $50, a Sony 48x12x48. After waiting "one more week", I saw this baby. CenDyne, 40x12x48, even beat the Plextor 40x12x48 by about 16 seconds [PC World, www.pcworld.com]. It was a very inexpensive $19.99. Well, I went and bought it. I did. And I must say, I am very pleased.
PROS
SCREAMING FAST
Very extensive manual
Nero Burning ROM included
Very inexpensive
Something like 'Mt. Rainier Support' (whatever that is)
CONS
Pretty limited Tech Support (7 hours, 5 days/week)
INSTALLATION
Installation was very easy, probably even a newbie to computers could do it. What you have to do is this:
--Set the drive to SLAVE, MASTER, or CABLE SELECT via the Jumper on the rear of the burner.
--Unplug all cables (including power) from the rear of your computer.
--Remove the cover from your computer.
--(BE SURE to ground yourself before working inside of your computer)
--Attach the drive mounts to the burner.
--Slide the burner into place.
--Connect the IDE and Power cables to the drive.
--You can now replace the computer cover, and all of the unplugged cables.
After these steps, you'll want to boot up your machine. Just to be sure that you set the Jumper correctly, press the OPEN button on your CD-RW drive, and any other drives you have installed, to make sure it ejects and closes.
Next you will install Nero Burning ROM. I would suggest that you install the software for the drive, and then download the latest drivers from www.nero.com. This way, you have the newest version without having to pay the 30 bucks or whatever it is, for the program. I am going to assume you know how to use Nero.
LOOKS/SOUNDS
The outside of this burner is very simplistic, exposing a headphone jack, headphone volume, multicolored LED, and an eject/close button. It also says 40x12x48 with the 48 being bigger than the rest of the numbers.
The LED can be one of three colors:
Off: Not reading or writing to a CD
Orange: Accessing disc (reading CD)
Red: Writing disc (burning CD)
This drive is very quiet, but when you open the disc tray, it is a little bit louder. When you are opening the tray, the drive mechanism sounds like it is struggling. It goes louder faster to quieter slower. Who knows, maybe it just needs to be broken in....?
BURNING
This little machine can RIP through CD's like no tomorrow. Between my old 8x Write (600 KB/SEC) and my 40x Write (3000 KB/SEC or 3MB/SEC), I can notice a BIG difference. I am sorry to say I do not have any actual write times, but they should be able to be found at www.pcworld.com or some place similar. Using this drive is as easy as it always is using a burner. You pop in the blank CD, get it laid out in Nero, and in under 4 minutes, Voila! Instant 700MB CD. Very impressive.
WHO'S IT FOR?
It could be for a number of people. First of all, if you have under a 20X Writer, you would like this drive no matter what. For hard-core burners, though, it might even be worth it if you have a 32X burner in your system. Of course, hard-core burners would probably opt for the 52x24x52 BusLink, around $59. In my situation, though, this drive works fine. Also, if you are interested, this drive is one of the few that supports something called Mount Rainier. I have no idea what it is, but if it is something that you want, it just ADDS to the value of this already-worth-it drive.
TECH SUPPORT
The tech support is very limited at around 7 hours per day, 5 days per week. The normal hours are around 10 AM - 4 PM or something like that. Very skimpy. I have no experiences with the tech support, and this drive is supposedly very reliable, so it may be years before I do have any experience. I will update my review when I have a chance to call in about this drive.
SO, OVERALL, I THINK THAT...
...this drive is good for almost anybody because of it's high value and low cost. Only if you already have a 24X writer or higher, and you do not burn CD's that much, this drive would probably not benefit you very much. It would only take off a minute or so of write times. Personally, I could live with that.
Well, I don't know what else to say. There is not very much to review about a CD burner without sinking so low as to review the sound of the drive opening and closing (LOL). This may be my shortest VH review I have ever made (hoping, of course, that it is VH). I really have nothing more to say.
Good-bye.
NEXT UP: PANASONIC SC-AK57
TITLE: [once again not sure, will give it some thought]
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
midknight2k3
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Member: Zakk
Location: Seattle, WA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
When there's new technology, check here for reviews.
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