Best DVD-ROM 16X Drive?

[swr]

 
Hi, i need a new dvdrom drive.

what would you say is the best make to go for that will have no problem reading all types of discs and that doesn't rattle and shake?

i was thinking a plextor?

swr.

[Mr Snatcher]

samsung 816, plextor have become crap, dunno why, but they have.

[iss]

Toshiba's are excellent readers.

[jesterrace777]

Yup, I speak from experience. The Plextor is NOT the way to go. The drive itself isn't bad but it has compatibility issues with software (ie errors with DVD Shrink everytime). I originally bought the Plextor as a replacement to my Lite-On LTD-165 (which is a POS BTW) and the old Lite-On actually performed better overall. My experience with Lite-On wasn't great but everyone else here seems to have great results with the 166. Mine was probably just a defective unit and I do think I remember hearing somewhere that the 166 is much better than the 165 model. Anyways if you don't go with the Lite-On 166 then my recommendation would be the Pioneer 120 (make sure it is the tray loading model and not the slot loader) as it seems to be a great drive overall. Also what do you plan on using your DVD-ROM drive for? I ask this because some drives are much noisier than others. The Lite-Ons sound like a 747 coming in to land when they fire up, so if you watch movies or would prefer a quieter drive then they are NOT the way to go.

[jase]

LiteOn 166 is a good drive, but:

1) it can be noisy, and makes funny swishing noises when you put in a CD/DVD

2) they're picky with media -- DON'T use cheap/scratched media in them

3) reports of longevity problems

apart from that they're fast, reliable and cheap.

I'd be inclined more toward the Pioneer tray-loading ROM drives if you're using it to read DVDs.

[NotAHacker]

Originally posted by jase
LiteOn 166 is a good drive, but:

1) it can be noisy, and makes funny swishing noises when you put in a CD/DVD

2) they're picky with media -- DON'T use cheap/scratched media in them

3) reports of longevity problems

apart from that they're fast, reliable and cheap.

I'd be inclined more toward the Pioneer tray-loading ROM drives if you're using it to read DVDs.

I totally disagree. Well maybe not totally he did say one thing I agree with LiteOn 166 is a good drive but I think I would say a great drive.
I'm on my second liteon DVD drive first one being LTD-163. Which died after many years of riping dvd, games and whatever else I needed to copy. Noisy I never know why people say that. I don't know how many I've installed and I don't find that! I mean I rip, play movies and burn cd or dvd to same. Some times the only way I even know its been on is when it ejects when my burning program is done. All I can say is I find my DVD (HD166S) to be a great drive and it does anything I need it to do.
One more thing is I recommend this drive to friends all the time. Well thats just my two cent.