Well I already have a DVDRW & a CDRW Drive on my computer. I was wondering is it worth getting a DVDRom DRive to replace my CDRW. Is the DVDRom read speed faster than the Pioneer 105 Drive? I know most DVDRom Drive are 16x, will it rip a 2x DVDR at 16x speed? I was thinking of getting one since most of my stuff are now on DVDR and don't wear out the 105 laser on reading data, I rather use it to burn. Also what's the best DVDRom drive to get that's very cheap, around 20 to 40 dollar. Any imput would be nice.

I recently did the same thing as you. I would highly recommend the Lite On. I picked it up for $45 shipped from Computer Geeks. You won't find another DVD-ROM drive that comes more highly recommended for the price. I would really recommend doing it to reduce wear and tear on your 105. I am wondering if one of the reasons why my first 105 died early was because I was using it for everything. It won't rip a 2x DVD-R at 16x however. A 2x DVD-R will never rip at more than 2x no matter what drive you have. Yes the read speed is a little bit faster (in general). With the hacked firmware the 105 should rip at up to 12x whereas the Lite-On will rip at up to 16x. Not that much of a difference but the big issue is reducing wear and tear on your more expensive DVD Burner.

You have to remember,you will not get 16x rips often.If you are "decrypting" a protected title,you may be lucky to get 8x.The drive will read at 16x a nonprotected DVD5 disc.That said I go along with the Liteon 166 dvd-rom as the best way to go.