I wanted to get a BenQ DVD writer to replace my LITE-ON CD-RW unit and was wondering what you guys think about BenQ devices in general. The customer support guy from the store I went to today said that he doesn't recommend BenQ since a lot of people brought their units back because of failures. He told me that I should get an LG DVD writer, but according to some reviews I found on the Internet, the LG GSA-4166B is a pretty bad reader when compared to the BenQ DW-1655.
Now, I don't know if the guy told me that the BenQ units suck just because they are about 30 € cheaper than the LG he wanted me to buy or if he really is right. So, what's you experience with BenQ writers?
Full Version: BenQ DVD Writers
I've had my DW1640 for a month or two... no problems.
I can say that I installed a BenQ (DW 1620) on a friend's PC last August and it was December when the drive started to fail in DVD+-R burning.
In my opinion LG is more reliable than BenQ. Even if, in your case, BenQ DW-1655 has greater features (Solid Burn, Write Right Technology, Tilt Control, WOPC) than LG GSA-4166B.
In my opinion LG is more reliable than BenQ. Even if, in your case, BenQ DW-1655 has greater features (Solid Burn, Write Right Technology, Tilt Control, WOPC) than LG GSA-4166B.
I've had a DW1620 for several months. No problems ripping CDs or burning single and dual layer DVDs.
I have a 1640 and have had no issues for the few months I've had, and I've put it through a fair amount of work.
QUOTE(Oge_user @ Jan 30 2006, 01:37 PM)
I can say that I installed a BenQ (DW 1620) on a friend's PC last August and it was December when the drive started to fail in DVD+-R burning.
In my opinion LG is more reliable than BenQ. Even if, in your case, BenQ DW-1655 has greater features (Solid Burn, Write Right Technology, Tilt Control, WOPC) than LG GSA-4166B.
In my opinion LG is more reliable than BenQ. Even if, in your case, BenQ DW-1655 has greater features (Solid Burn, Write Right Technology, Tilt Control, WOPC) than LG GSA-4166B.
Every manufacturer produces the occasional duds, even LG.
http://www.vso-software.fr/articles/burnin...media-brand.php
Not exactly LG, but Hitachi-LG (HL-blabla... in HWinfo)
One minus nevertheless, one of the most noisy :-)
Not exactly LG, but Hitachi-LG (HL-blabla... in HWinfo)
One minus nevertheless, one of the most noisy :-)
I've happily had my 1620 for about 14 months now with no problems. Will be upgrading to a 1650 when Newegg has them for a reasonable price. There was a short run a little over a year ago when BenQ had some QA problems but that was cleared up quickly.
There's a good reason that Plextor has even rebadged BenQs. Great burn quality, well above average reader, excellent scanning abilities. With BenQ firmware you get frequent updates and additional utilities. Also, with a firmware hack, riplock can be removed.
There's a good reason that Plextor has even rebadged BenQs. Great burn quality, well above average reader, excellent scanning abilities. With BenQ firmware you get frequent updates and additional utilities. Also, with a firmware hack, riplock can be removed.
QUOTE(dreamliner77 @ Jan 30 2006, 11:27 PM)
Also, with a firmware hack, riplock can be removed.
If you look at the bottom of this page, the BenQ DW-1655 reported an average of 12.559 kb/s with the original firmware.
Lite-On drives are usually quite good. Especially reading some tougher copy protections. So you might consider adding and not replacing that drive. 
As far as BenQ is concerned, I think they are the most reliable for that price. In fact, for the price I think they are great. I also own a Lite-On drive but wanted to add a DVD-RW drive (not replace), so I searched a lot in Google and from what I've read on different websites, BenQ are one of the best choice one can make. So I made it as well, I bought a BenQ DW-1655. Of course Plextor produce great drives as well but are a bit expensive. LG also produce some pretty nice drives (the LG GSA-4163B was a very good drive).
I know it could be a bit outdated but take a look here as CDFreaks is the website dedicated to CD and DVD drives I respect a lot:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=135828
There is some general info about most brands. It may not be 100% accurate but it will give you a pretty good idea what each brand is capable of.
I hope I was able to help.
As far as BenQ is concerned, I think they are the most reliable for that price. In fact, for the price I think they are great. I also own a Lite-On drive but wanted to add a DVD-RW drive (not replace), so I searched a lot in Google and from what I've read on different websites, BenQ are one of the best choice one can make. So I made it as well, I bought a BenQ DW-1655. Of course Plextor produce great drives as well but are a bit expensive. LG also produce some pretty nice drives (the LG GSA-4163B was a very good drive).I know it could be a bit outdated but take a look here as CDFreaks is the website dedicated to CD and DVD drives I respect a lot:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=135828
There is some general info about most brands. It may not be 100% accurate but it will give you a pretty good idea what each brand is capable of.
I hope I was able to help.
I have a BenQ DW1620 and no problems so far. At least 8 months old. Before that, i had a BenQ DW-800A, and after 2 or 3 months using it, it always aborted the burn with several Verbatim media i had, even different batches. After a battle with the store (MIX) that lasted 1 month (during which i was without a burner), they replaced it with a BenQ DW-822A. That still works well in a friend's PC now, and my 1620 that replaced it works well too. I must add that i burn at 8x maximum to get the best burn quality.
I would recommend a DW1640 without hesitation. 1640 because they updated the firmware more often, i think the 1655 wasn't even updated yet.
I would recommend a DW1640 without hesitation. 1640 because they updated the firmware more often, i think the 1655 wasn't even updated yet.
QUOTE(CiTay @ Jan 31 2006, 12:24 AM)
I have a BenQ DW1620 and no problems so far. At least 8 months old. Before that, i had a BenQ DW-800A, and after 2 or 3 months using it, it always aborted the burn with several Verbatim media i had, even different batches. After a battle with the store (MIX) that lasted 1 month (during which i was without a burner), they replaced it with a BenQ DW-822A. That still works well in a friend's PC now, and my 1620 that replaced it works well too. I must add that i burn at 8x maximum to get the best burn quality.
I would recommend a DW1640 without hesitation. 1640 because they updated the firmware more often, i think the 1655 wasn't even updated yet.
I would recommend a DW1640 without hesitation. 1640 because they updated the firmware more often, i think the 1655 wasn't even updated yet.
Thanks for the info. The 1655 is pretty new, so that might be a reason why no firmware update is available yet. The major stores in Karlsruhe (Media Markt, Saturn, Arlt, K&M...) don't even have it. I found the 1655 as black, bulk version on the ProMarkt online shop for 57 € which is a reasonable price.
RE: BenQ DVD Writers, Reliable?
Most definitely!
I'm a very happy owner of a nice DW1640, but don't take my world for it, just browse the CDFreaks.com forums: http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92.
It's also been awarded their editor's chioce: http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/226/11.
EDIT: Editor's chioce part.
Most definitely!
I'm a very happy owner of a nice DW1640, but don't take my world for it, just browse the CDFreaks.com forums: http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92.
It's also been awarded their editor's chioce: http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/226/11.
EDIT: Editor's chioce part.
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