Suddenly, I found myself looking for a new DVD/CD burner because I physically broke the one I had. I kicked the tray when it was open. My attempt to fix it manually failed, so I needed to get its replacement. The one I broke was Plextor. I don’t remember how long I had it but I loved it because of its reliability. I have been a fan of Plextor for over 10 years, I think. The first-ever CD burner I bought was a crap, which was good at making CD coasters. So, I paid a premium (at the time) and switched to Plextor. That was a good decision. No more coasters.

Now the time has changed, so we use DVD burners. Naturally my first DVD burner was also Plextor. I don’t remember its price except that it was higher than other brand’s. When I searched for a new DVD/CD burner this time around, I was amazed at the prices. Most of them are very very cheap these days. Since I’m rather impatient, I went to a small local computer store and got a cheap one. I was going to get Toshiba but I got LITE ON instead mostly because of the price and the store clerk’s recommendation.

$24.98 at Amazon.com
Lite On IHAP122-04 DVD Burner – 22x DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 22x DVD-R, 6x DVD-RW, 16X DVD ROM, 48x CD-ROM, 32x CD-RW, IDE

Installation was very easy and there was no glitches. I did pick IDE, by the way. I burned several DVDs and no problem there. I did feel that this unit was a bit noisy but it was not annoying. This came with a newer version of Nero. The new version of Nero is really bloated and a bit sluggish. Overall, I like this product and I recommend it, especially at this price.