Hi, I'm interested in buying a Firewire CD-RW drive for my Powermac G4, AGP, w/9.0.4. Can everyone give me some ideas about which brand to get? I'm thinking of a Yamaha drive, but the Que drives also look pretty nice, and they are FAST! (12X!). I wanted to double-check on user-experiences before buying, because I've heard some horror stories about people buying $400 drives that burn nothing but coasters.

Thanks for your help,

Randall R.

[iPaul UK]

Oh no.. Not this question again! I take it you have not tried a search through the forum threads? Lots of info to be had. But i guess i'll add that my Que FireWire 8X 4X 32X works great..

[Paul S]

In this hotly debated topic, there seems to be a lot of different feelings on brands of drives. In my opinion Yamaha is the best by far. The most important other factor you should consider is software. Many of drives out there come with the basic version of Toast. Do yourself a favor and by the full version of Toast Deluxe and make sure you have it updated to 4.1.2 if you don't get it that way in the first place. Toast is so far and away better than any other burning software on the Mac that I'm surprised any other company still tries to compete in that market. You'd be amazed at how many burning problems are software related, not hardware related.

[jeffnudi]

I bought a Yamahy CRW8824FXZ over a month ago. I also bought Toast 4 Deluxe. I would recommend both to anyone looking for a firewire CD-RW.

[Fredo]

EZQuest Boa Pro-Mar 12x10x32 Firewire CD-RW. It has a Teac CD-W512E drive, and comes with Toast 4.1 Standard. I purchased Toast 4.1 Deluxe, and updated to 4.2. The drive is a little buggy, but burns audio and video files flawlessly. Also includes excellent tech support. I'd recommend it. They also make great Firewire harddrives.

[ussfolsom]

I can still see the topic below that covers the same topic, but anyway...

I have a QUE! 8x4x32 also and love it. Got it for a great price at outpost.com. No problems as long as you update toast to 4.1.2

[rambo47]

Yamaha all the way! I've got the 8824 FireWire and Toast. So simple even an ape like me can burn flawless CD's - no coasters. Plug and play, no software to install. You have to buy Toast seperately, however.

------------------
-bo47

"There is no spoon."
iDisk: rseijas
Homepage: homepage.mac.com/rseijas

[DanW]

G4/450 AGP, OS 9.0.4

I love my Que!Fire 12/10/32. With Toast OEM 4.1.2 I've had great results burning audio and data CDs.

[JeffO]

I recently purchased a Yamaha 8824 firewire form Outpost.com. I love it. It comes with Toast 4.1.2 and I am interested in upgrading to Toast Deluxe, but things are working so well right now I am reluctant to do so. Any thoughts on Toast Deluxe?

[FixItAllNow]

Toast Deluxe (and I don't work for Astarte ... I mean Adaptec ... no, i'm sorry, Roxio) offers writing CD-Rs in more formats. I believe OEM Toast is limited to certain formats: Mac OS Files & Folders and Audio CDs, for example.

[Storyboy]

Just to chime in...I bought the Que 8432 back when it was still around $400 and I have been quite pleased, though I suffer the usual buyer's remorse when I see that the 121032 is already about the same price. They tell me this is something I'll need to get over.

------------------
"The only consistant people I know are dead."

iMac DVSE 400/128/13
OS 9.0.4

[Fredo]

Toast Deluxe contains an application called CDSpinDoctor which allows one to burn CDs from Cassette and LP, and to add EQ, volume, and increase separation. There is also a feature for removal of "pops and clicks" from LP. Handy if you have a lot of old Cassete tapes or LPs you want to burn to CD. As far as I can tell, the normal application for burning audio CDs, copying files onto CD, and making bootable CDs of utilities, etc. is the same as Toast Standard.

[rjenkinson]

i picked up a lacie 8x4x32x burner a couple of months ago for CAN$499 (about US$325). price was alright and the performance has been great... only problem was a busted door after we left the tray open to switch blanks. my friend accidentally dropkicked the drive so i had to take it in for service. since there's an office in toronto (south of king on dufferin) i was able to take the drive in myself and talk with a tech. dropped the drive off in the morning and picked it up the very same afternoon. tech didn't have the part in stock so he just replaced the entire unit... sweet! service doesn't get any better than that.

-r.


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

[Cipher13]

When it comes to CD burners, Yamaha is the only way to go.
Get a Yamaha!
Search the fora, no one has had problems with them, unlike things like the Que! drives and so on.
They are second to none... and everyone that has gone with them on mine or others advice has been extremely happy.

Cipher13

[DanW]

Search the fora, no one has had problems with them, unlike things like the Que! drives and so on.

Yep. No one has posted in this MacFixit thread. I like my Que. No problems a Toast update couldn't solve.

[Cipher13]

That is a LaCie drive. Not a Yamaha drive. It uses a Yamaha mechanism.
I am speaking of a pure Yamaha drive dude, like the CRW8824SXVK or whatever, not some LaCie using a Yamaha mechanism.
You have yet to show me a problem with a real Yamaha drive...
Not to mention that is a VERY old model, it is not using Toast but RETROSPECT, and there are other devices on the SCSI chain.
I notice you say "no problems a Toast update couldn't solve."
Couldn't or didn't? VERY big difference.
What you said infers that you still have those problems, and that THEORETICALLY updated software may fix it.
Just like theoretically an update to the MacOS could make it run a thousand times faster of something like that...

Cipher13

[DanW]

I assumed that the mechanisms were what you were talking about, not the complete drive, the way people seem to reference Plextor. Sorry about that, my mistake.

[i]I notice you say "no problems a Toast update couldn't solve."
Couldn't or didn't? VERY big difference.[\i]
What you said infers that you still have those problems, and that THEORETICALLY updated software may fix it.
Just like theoretically an update to the MacOS could make it run a thousand times faster of something like that...[\i]

There were problems. There are none now. Problems solved. Understand?

[Cipher13]

Ok, just making sure you weren't playing on words there.
Nah, I don't consider a LaCie with a Yamaha mechanism a Yamaha - its a LaCie.
I mean pure Yamaha drives... they are without a doubt the very best available.

Cipher13

[DanW]

I wish I could have played with words. I'm not that clever.

Is there a specific Yamaha model you can recommend? I have friends who are in the market and although I love my Que I'd like to give them some options. FireWire and fast speeds are key.

Thanks in advance.

[Cipher13]

I have the CRW8424SXVK which is an external SCSI burner, 8X write by 4X re-write by 24X read.
Yamaha have just come out with their new burner, I can't remember the name of it though - the lightspeed burner or something?
Which is 16X write by 10 or 12X re-write by 40X read.
I am not sure if that is firewire or SCSI though...
I suggest the CRW8824FXZ, which is an external FireWire burner, 8 X 8 X 24...
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/cHDR00007

for Yamaha CD-RW info, and
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi...0007CRW8824FXZ

for info on the CRW8824FXZ...

Cipher13

[DanW]

Cipher13-

Thanks for the info. I like to give more than one choice to my friends when they ask for buying advice. The more I involve them in the process, the better the final results.

Dan

[marka]

Love my Que!Fire 12x10x32x. Make sure you get the Toast 4.1.2 update. Flawless performance, safe and really, really fast.

[FixItAllNow]

I don't mean to stir the SH$%, but the LaCie drive example provided above is a good example.

If you notice it was a drive firmware update which fixed the problem. This fix only concerns the drive mechanism, not the supporting interface; power supply, SCSI interface, etc. provided by LaCie.

Generally, I have found that when the drives work people say they're "great," and when they don't people say "they're crap." A drive can work for years and be defined as "Great" only to be discarded as "crap" during its first failure after a software install. These vague descriptions are meaningless.

I have two Yamaha CD-R's (4x4x8x) and one Que (12x10x32x). I have had problems with all the above drives. The problems are typically solved by software or firmware updates (and a little patience).

I received one of my Yamaha drives from a company who was so fed up with problems associated with writing to a CD-R they threw the writer away. I got it and guess what, after a fireware update the writer worked perfectly. In similar fashion, with the latest software update from Adaptec/Roxio, the Que 12x problems, described in other posts, have gone away. (The only other problems with QUE drives have been associated with ensuring the proper drivers are loaded which is a User problem).

With proper software updates both the Yamaha and the Plextor (Que 12x) drive mechanisms work great. The question really is, Which drive mechanism has the best features?

I now exclusively use the Que drive because of it's speed. Also, the Que drive has the Burn-Proof� technology which enables intermittent communication between the computer and the drive without creating a "coaster." This is very cool. A computer user can work on other projects while a disc is being burned without the fear of the dreaded "buffer under-run" error. Additionally, get a FireWire drive. Apple has optimized the USE drivers and designed the USB interface on the mac for LOW SPEED devices such as keyboards, mice, serial devices, etc. You may have problems (as some of my friends do) trying to operate USB based burners. (I know you mentioned FireWire above, I just wanted to make the point for others).

If you must have a Yamaha mechanism (yes, branding is alive and well), I believe the latest burner (16x) now available has similar technology built into the device and I would recommend this drive. While the drive is a little more $, you will not be disappointed.