hi

i have been thinking of getting a dvdrw drive for a little while now, and have just noticed that some places are sellign a new sony dvdrw, the DWU-14A which is priced about 150 OEM

as far as i can see if the only difference between the new sony and the previous is dvd+rw speed, but i assume there will be other imporvements like firmware and compatability, am i right?

i just wanted to see if anyone had any info on the new sony drive, and which out of the new sony, previous one (DWU10A) and the pioneer 106 is best to go for?

cheers

OEM is like cheap. Do you have a link to it?

OEM= no software or cables usually.

Being there aren't any 4x dvdrws, what would be the point of buying it?

I'm personally not a fan of the OEM Sonys because of the whole non-interchangable firmware issue. The Pioneer 106/A06 are completely interchangable with thier firmware upgrades. Don't get me wrong though, I think that the retail Sony is a very solid burner and I would recommend it over the retail Pioneer. However in terms of OEM drives I would go for the Pioneer. You can pick it up 130 pounds including VAT from SVP. BTW Handyman I would hazzard a guess that RZA is from the UK and so the 150 that he mentioned would be 150 pounds and not $150. I might be wrong but I don't know too many people from the US who would end thier posts with the expression "Cheers" ;)

yes jesterrace777, i am from the UK

my mate has the sony DWU-10A oem drive and seems to think the firmware is interchangeable, is this right or is he wrong?

what is the build quality of the actual drive for the pioneer, i used to a have a pioneer dvdrom and it was awful, both build quality and it was bad at reading discs and cds too.

i will buy an oem drive as i dont need the cables and stuff - have all that, and can't afford a retail

anymore advice anyone?

cheers

right

i just ordered an pioneer 106 oem, i think i have made the right choice

my last question is do i keep my 16x sony dvd-rom for reading dvds, or do i sell it, for about 20 quid, and use my dvdrw?

KEEP THE DVD-ROM DRIVE!!!! DVD Burners are known to go out pretty easily if you use them for everything. The other thing to consider is if nothing else it is much cheaper to replace your DVD-ROM drive than it is your DVD Burner. BTW your friend is wrong about the Sony firmware being interchangable with the retail version.

yeh thats what i was thinking

thanks jesterrace777 for your help

No problem.