[mitchell_pgh]

I'm going to be buying a CD-RW for the office. I need to know what others have purchased, and which is the best for the money.

I will be connecting it to an iMac SE via Firewire (unless others say USB) It needs to be fast, yet easy to use. I'm thinking Sony, but I hear Le... Has a new one out...

Please help

[sniffer]

Considering buying one to..
Go for a firewire cd-rw.. (Guess you allready know that )
I am waiting for the "Predator" from Iomega with firewire. It loocks great. Good design an all! It's around the corner jan 2000...

...

[Cipher13]

Check the Peripherals thread... there is already a rather lengthy discussion on this topic there.
I personally recommend anything made by Yamaha - not a LaCie or anything else with a Yamaha mechanism, but a Yamaha with a Yamaha mechanism.
I have the CRW8424SXVK and it is freaking awesome...
You'll never be disappointed with a Yamaha.
I also strongly recommend you get Toast Deluxe.
http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/Forum4/HTML/001862.html

Cipher13

[This message has been edited by Cipher13 (edited 12-15-2000).]

[mitchell_pgh]

Cipher13, people seem to hate you on this forum, but I'm one of those people that really like seeing another point of view. Thanks, I think that I was going that way as well... Too bad you don't like Aqua... Oh well...

I am new to the Mac and was advised to get a LaCie (USB) Cd re-write, BAD chose the drive I got is the slowest and does not rate well at all (not because of the USB) in any of the mags I have since read, it is surpostst to a re-write drive but NO software supports it as a re-write drive.

[austeros]

i use a que usb drive, and i love the thing. i think it uses a misumi drive. It workes wonderfully, ever since i upgraded to toast 4.1. The new que fire drives are quite fast, and not much more then i paid for this one.

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Cipher13, people seem to hate you on this forum, but I'm one of those people that really like seeing another point of view. Thanks, I think that I was going that way as well... Too bad you don't like Aqua... Oh well...

How subtle.
Its funny actually, the only ones that do hate me, have never talked to me.
Ever...
They hate me because my opinion conflicts with theirs and support mine with better arguments than theirs, or because they don't like my sense of humour (in other words, they don't have one), or they don't like the way I get my points across.
They don't see that I don't start the fights... just state my opinion, then someone flames ME, and I retaliate...
And they don't like that in my arguments, I am right most of the time...
Hell, I wouldn't argue if I didn't think I was (well I would for entertainment purposes, but you know what I mean)...
If you talked to me you'd realise I'm not the prick I come off as on here

Cipher13

Well I like you Cipher13. I'm new to MacNN forum and you've already tried to hep me out.

CD/RW, yep, I think anyone who's anyone is getting a CD/RW Drive. I've looked at the Predator from Iomega on their site, looks great. 8x4x32 for USB 2.0 and Firwire. 4x4x32 for USB 1.0. Apple doesn't support USB 2.0 at this stage, they are concentrating on their baby Firewire.

That's one thing that impresses me, I don't have Firewire, but may soon, so straight away I just get a new cable and faster write speed when I do have Firewire.

I plan to buy one in January, I hope there are some reviews out by that stage.

Jawa

[Chimpmaster]

Depends what you are looking for and how much you want to spend. Iomega have a very good value usb drive, but it is substantially slower than the available firewire options. its 4x4x6 - but still a solid drive.

LaCie firewire 8x4x32 is excellent value at the moment, its a sanyo design and Ive read good reviews for it.

Id go with firewire personally - when i get the cash together Ill be buying the Lacie 8x4x32 which is currently $679 AUS or about $350 US. There are faster drives out there but there seems to be a big price jump - youd have to be burning lots of cds to justify it if you ask me.

eg LaCie do a 12x10x32 firewire drive which is just lightning fast, but its an extra $240 AUS or about $120 US which is a fair bit more. Damn fast though.

[Misha]

I'm moving this to the Peripherals forum where, if you do a search for CD-RW, you'll probably turn up about a dozen threads with maybe 100 combined posts on the matter.

[Cipher13]

Thanks Jawa

Bsaically here is the go...
For CD RW you want Yamaha. They are the best, and there are no compromises. Quality, performance. The Que! drives may look better according to some, but not to me... (LOL, same person who loves the design of the 9600 )
Anyway, here are the best options:

If you want real speed and have money to burn, then there is the Yamaha 16*10*40 burner, and that thing is like second to none.
I believe it is available in SCSI & IDE, but I'm not sure, as I can't read Japanese.
Anyone who can...
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/computer/index.html

Then there is the 8*8*24 Yamaha burner, which you can get in FireWire, SCSI and IDE.
This is, IMO, their best burner. Price/Performance ratio on this baby rocks...

So now FireWire, SCSI, and IDE are covered.

Left is USB, and all I have to say on that matter, is if USB is your only option... well, get an IDE burner or another type, put it in a housing that has, say, FireWire and USB output, so you can use it on your USB Mac, but aren't stuck with a measly 12Mb/s, when you DO upgrade...
USB wasn't designed for high throughput devices such as CD-R's and hard drives...

I myself have the Yamaha 8*4*24 SCSI burner (could have got FireWire version, but opted for SCSI with a PCI card... SCSI rules). I have NEVER had a problem with this burner, ever.
I use Toast 4 Deluxe with it, and I recommend anyone who has a burner get Toast Deluxe.
All of the above drives I have used... I wouldn't recommend one if I hadn't used it.
Take this as you will...

Cipher13

[This message has been edited by Cipher13 (edited 12-20-2000).]

What if you need an external firewire drive - is the Laciew 16x10x40 worth going with??

[Cipher13]

No. Get the Yamaha.

Cipher13

[the gelding]

i received the Yamaha 8824FXZ for christmas, loaded toast (which is easy and great) and my system profile recognized the drive and all seemed good, but it would never recognize that a disc was in it. tried four different blank discs and music cds...but nothing...everytime i tried to burn a cd the drive would open, take the cd and then proceed to ask for a blank cd to be inserted. couldn't get it to work so i sent it back to computers4sure for a replacement. now i find out that they are no longer stocking this drive so they can not send me a replacement...they are crediting the credit card and i am looking to get a replacement....should i try the Yamaha again and just assume that i got a defective drive? should i try a different drive? or should i look harder at it being a software or extension problem?? any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. thanks g

ps. have a imacdv 400, blueberry with 192 mb, os 9.04, firewire 2.5.

[This message has been edited by the gelding (edited 01-08-2001).]

[Cipher13]

Definately go the Yamaha again.
If it doesn't work again it is a problem on your side (software, damaged port... something).
I've never seen a prob like that with a Yamaha...

Cipher13

[pml589]

I have Que Fire 8x4x32x and it has not made a bad CD yet and plus it only takes about 8 minutes to burn the entire CD - and that is awesome considering it costs as low as $250 (after rebates and whatnot)

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www.geocities.com/stxbomber5/mainlinks.html

[tjcrebs]

Hey Ciph, ordering a Yamaha CDRW is not easy right now.

I ordered the last CRW8824FXZ in stock from Amazon yesterday for $299.99--they're almost as rare as hen's teeth. Outpost, Zone, Mall, Connection, etc. all have the Yamaha CDRWs on back order; BUT, I found a few Firewire-8824's at globalcomputer.com and CompUSA for $349.99.

Good Luck, T.
Lakewood, Colorado

[Cipher13]

Wow, we've got plenty of 'em down here... goes to show doesn't it

Cipher13

[the gelding]

hey---they are getting hard to find---none at best buy, or macmall or buy.com etc---just two questions---

1. does anybody know what cd-rw drive is in the new G-4??
2. and, has anybody used the new firewire from yamaha--think it is 16/10/40
fast, baby, fast---only (!?!) 399 at mac connection, but backordered also thanks g

[This message has been edited by the gelding (edited 01-09-2001).]

Tried several Que USB drives on an iMac, with very limited success. Finally bought a Sony and haven't made a coaster yet.

Good luck.

[BikeRidinMan]

I have Que Fire 8x4x32 hooked up to a Graphite 500. I'm using the Adaptec Toast 4.1 software. I've been running this setup for about 3 months and haven't had any problems. Although, I have read several posts on this forum with folks having problems with similar configurations. I paid $219 for the drive from Outpost.com after the rebate. It takes ~8-10 minutes to burn a CD at 8x. I hope this helps. Good luck.

[CoachSimp]

I have read most of Cipher13's posts and i thought he worked in this forum i like you cipher... as far as cdrw goes i have a Fantom Firewire CDRW that came with toast. it has been flawless. Also, a little secret...Westwood Computers and Networking. http://www.wcn.com Sandy is awesome. their website stinks and they are hard to get a hold of on the phone but their prices and service rule. i called applestore/outpost/compusa and got all the great prices and she beat it just because she could. i have a fantom firewire 45 gig hd also and have been extremely satisfied. i use both drives on G4 at work and take them home to imac dvse and experience no problems going back and forth. it really is hot swappable and plug and play at its finest.

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"For he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother."

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

[tjcrebs]

Got my Yahama CRW8824FXZ yesterday. You're right on, Ciph--it's awesome with Firewire-1394. I also find the included Toast 4.1 to be great, easy to use and fast too. No coasters yet.

So why the recommendation to upgrade to Toast Deluxe? My main use is backing up iMovie videos, digital photos, and GIS-map images, and reports; it would appear Toast-4.1 handles my present needs very well.

Thanx for the Yahama recommendations.

Regards, T.

[suprz]

i to would like to buy a yamaha but alas they do not make a usb burner (yet?) so if i want a burner (without using an enclosure ie: ide to usb) what are the recommendations for which type? anyone got opinions?

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" I think,
therefore....IMAC