[i3lu3fun]

hello, i need a guide on buying an external dvd rw (burner). For example which brand is good? What is the difference between 8X or 16X? And if we buy an external drive like this do we need casing?
For example:- BenQ 16X +/- , what does +/- means? Usually how long does it take to burn a full dvd-r, around how many mins? I'm really confused, so it will really be helpful if u guys could help me out. Extra infos on external dvd rw are welcome!

Thanx in advance!

[awdark]

FUll DVD 1x 40 minutes. 2x 20 minutes... after that its about 5 minutes per disk.. to get 16x you must buy 16x dvds... which are expensive... so assume you will burn at 8x or so because those are cheap.

+/- came as a result of philips and sony and a few other companies working against each other trying to create teh next format. Kinda like blueray and HDdvds of today. +/- just means that it supports both and you can just buy whatever media is cheapest.

In terms of external and internal if its not too expensvie buy it external.
Otherwise go to newegg and order a NEC dvd burner (~$40) and a 5.25" enclosure for it (~$25-30) put those together and I can guarantee it would give quality burns.

edit:
did a real world test
14 minutes 4gb dvd at 4x

[i3lu3fun]

thanx for the info!
just one more Q, is the 5.25" enclosure that u mentioned above is the casing for the external burner? because i thought the burner will have a usb connector.

[awdark]

Eh I was thinking in terms of an internal drive and a seperate case for it.
Both ways works, one will look much nicer tho.

[demogoblin65]

if you go to tiger-direct.com it has a media drive guide to buying what you need.

[i3lu3fun]

alright, i get it awdark!
thanx for the url demogoblin65!
thanx again to both of you!