Sony Optiarc High Speed DVD RW Drive 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model 5280S-CB-PLUS

Pros: Stock look and feel.

Cons: ~a little loud when on upper RPM numbers; but I know it's working, so I'm not too worried about it.
~a little on the 'robotic' feel when the door opens. I've got older models floating around the house that has a smoother open/close sound and feel. but aren't compatible with my current build.
~ Tray is a little flimsy.

Other Thoughts: Bottom line, I bought this ROM due to fund depletion on my build. It's the cheapest part in my rig, and I'm not upset about my choice. It does it's job, and I know it's doing it. So I'm happy with the purchase.
The 3 egg rating is based on the "robotic" feel the open/close ROM has.

I'm weird like that.

Pros: 1. Supposedly best
2. Fast
3. Great brand

Cons: 1. Strange

Other Thoughts: I'm unsure what to think but whenever I press eject the tray comes out normally, unless there is a disc in it that has been loaded. Then it will eject up to the edge of the tray, a few moments pass, and then it fully ejects. It's starting to get annoying.

Pros: This is the last of an extinct breed, as Sony has shuttered the doors on Optiarc. This drive with custom firmware from Liggy and Dee make burning DVDs an effortless process.

I've owned four Optiarc drives over the past decade and have never had any issues. My latest build had another brand drive (cheap garbage), but I quickly learned that lesson and ordered one of these to replace it.

This drive came with CD burning software and a red SATA cable with metal clips.

Cons: It's a bit pricey, but I'd rather pay $30 for a drive that works every time with all media than $15 for a drive I have to worry about.

Other Thoughts: Once this drive is out of stock, the only way to get your hands on an Optiarc drive will be used on the secondary market.

Pros: As with all the other Sony drives I've owned...it's solid and has been reliable so far.

Cons: It is loud when it first fires up..."Really Loud". Not an issue for me.

Pros: Optiarcs tend to be good drives. I've only ever had one go bad and have owned 20 or more.

Cons: I've bought at least a dozen of these for under twenty bucks from Newegg in the past. Suddenly the price goes up really high, unacceptably so. What gives with that nonsense?

Other Thoughts: 24X is a big gimmick. How many DVR blanks have YOU ever seen that burn at 24X? Answer: NONE

DVR's are 99.9% 16X speeds. Why waste money on something that says it will burn faster? DVD's almost always burn at way slower than 16X anyway (yes, I have several of these 24X burners doesn't matter at all, except that I paid 15-20 each for them, NOT 30 on "sale"!), on a GOOD day you will get an average of 12x burn on any DVD. And most of the time not over 10x.

Pros: A friend of mine owned this drive for a while and swears by it. Now I can co-sign and say this is one of the better drives I've used, even better if you consider the price

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: If you get a bad burn its most likely the media or you

Pros: Newegg blew my mind on shipping. I ordered this at 4PM and it arrived to me the following day! Drive works great for burning 8.7 gigs. It came with a sata cord but not a power cord which should be in your computer anyway. Also came with IMgburn software which you can get for free.

Cons: None

Pros: Capable of burning up to 8.7-GB with Verbatim (MKM) DVD+R9 media. Fast ripper with both DVD and CD media.

Cons: Noisy, but what drive isn't nowadays?

Other Thoughts: Sony/Optiarc/NEC will be out of the optical drive business at the end of March 2013, so this drive won't be available any longer down the line.

Pros: Built solidly. Tracks DVDs and CDs perfectly, clean or scratched. Burns perfectly every time. I haven't made a coaster yet.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I'm buying another for my other computer.

Pros: Its a decent price and a good name Sony enough said. Although see Con below

Cons: This drive is very loud when writing or burning until slows down for a little but definitely loud but its a good OEM drive.

Other Thoughts: I wander how blue ray burners compare in noise output compared to dvd drives?