CD/DVD-ROM

CD/DVD-ROM

Contents

Description
What To Look For
Recommendations

Description:

• CD-ROM drives are necessary today for most programs. A single CD can store up to 650 MB of data (newer CD-Rs allow for 700 MB of data, perhaps more with "overburn"). Fast CD-ROM drives have been a big topic in the past, but all of today's CD-ROM drives are sufficiently fast. Of course, it's nice to have the little bits of extra speed. However, when you consider CD-ROM drives are generally used just to install a program or copy CDs, both of which are usually done rarely on most users' computers, the extra speed isn't usually very important. The speed can play a big role if you do a lot of CD burning at high speeds or some audio extraction from audio CDs (i.e. converting CDs to MP3s).
• CD-R/RW (which stands for Recordable / ReWritable) drives (aka burners, writers) allow a user to create their own CDs of audio and/or data. These drives are great for backup purposes (backup your computer's hard drive or backup your purchased CDs) and for creating your own audio CD compilations (not to mention other things like home movies, multimedia presentations, etc.).
• DVD-ROM drives can store up to 4 GB of data or about 6 times the size of a regular CD (not sure on the exact size, but suffice to say it's a very large storage medium). DVDs look about the same and are the same size as a CD-ROM. DVD drives can also read CD-ROM drives, so you don't usually need a separate CD-ROM drive. DVD drives have become low enough inprice that there isn't much point in purchasing a CD-ROM drive instead of a DVD-ROM drive. Some companies even make CD burner drives that will also read DVDs (all in one). DVD's most practical use is movies. The DVD format allows for much higher resolution digital recording that looks much clearer than VCR recordings.
• DVD recordable drives are available in a couple of different formats - DVD-R or DVD+R with a RW version of each. These are slightly different discs and drives (although some drives support writing to both formats). One is not much better than the other, so it really boils down to price of the media (and also availability of the media).

What To Look For:

• SCSI CD-ROM drives and burners used to be a good choice, but now there are so few available that IDE is the best option.
• Transfer rates are quite important, but it is not a good idea to just go by the 32X, , 48x, 52x, etc. ratings as they are usually not very accurate. These numbers are supposed to indicate how many times faster the drive is than if it were being played at its default speed (the speed at which you listen to an audio CD). Usually, these numbers only represent the maximum speed these drives can reach. Thus, it is better to compare average sustained transfer rates (not always reported).
• For CD-ROM burners, it is mainly important to look at the X rating. Look for a burner that writes at 48X or 52X as they are not much more expensive than the older, slower writers (but are a little faster). The law of diminishing returns starts to come into play with these faster drives though, so don't be concerned about the difference between 48x and 52x (it's only going to be a few seconds). The RW (rewrite) speed is how fast it can write to CD-RW discs. This is usually lower than the write speed, and is only important if you plan to use rewritables (which you can write to, erase, then write to again). Look for 24x rewritable speed.
• The access time is also very important. This is usually measured in milliseconds and an access time of 85 ms is sufficient for a CD-ROM drive. These numbers are usually a lot higher for burners.
• Like hard drives, the amount of cache is also important. This can range from 64k to 512k, all the way up to 8 MB for CD Burners. 256k is a good number to look for, but 512k is preferred. For CD-ROM burners, look for at least 2 MB of cache as this cache is VERY important in avoiding bad burns (wasted CDs). 2 MB cache buffers should prevent this from happening often. Of course, the higher the better!
• rpms are also important, but usually are not given.
• In general, there is not much price difference between the slower and higher speed CD-ROM drives. Anything around 50x is sufficient, and I still think the older 32x drives are sufficient since CD-ROM drives aren't used for large transfers very often. One thing to consider is that the higher speed drives spin faster, which causes them to vibrate and make more noise, and also makes them more prone to failure. It may be a good idea to get a slower speed drive just so that it will last longer and be quieter!
• Brand can also be important. There are two brands of CD-ROM drive (and burner) that clearly stands out from the rest, and they are Plextor (a pricey brand) and Lite-On (a very inexpensive but surprisingly high quality brand). These drives are much faster and much more reliable than other brands. The X ratings of their drives are also more accurate (a Plextor UltraMAX is rated at 40X, but is actually faster than the so-called "72X" drives). Plextor's drives are superior quality throughout, but they're pricey and harder to find these days.

Recommendations (for CD-ROM, CD-RW drives, DVD drives, DVD burners, and Combo Drives):

CD-ROM:

• In all honesty, just about any CD-ROM drive will do. In fact, there isn't much need for them at all since you will likely want DVD drives instead. However, there are some that stand out above others in speed, but the extra speed isn't usually very necessary except for the rare times you are installing games or extracting audio. Having said that, I recommend Lite-On's 52x. Lite-On has recently built an excellent reputation in optical drives, and I can now highly recommend them. The best part is that their drives are very cheap! Lite-On is my number one pick in CD-ROM drives.
• For SCSI, the Plextor UltraPlex 40x MAX is the best you can get, but it carries a pretty big price tag too. Their older version (the UltraPlex) is also great, but a little cheaper. It does extremely fast digital audio extraction, it spins at 6890 rpms, has a 512k buffer, is capable of burst transfer rates up to 20 MB/sec, and has an access time of 85 ms.
  The UltraPlex Wide will run on a 68 pin UW connector, but I advise against it unless you won't be using a burner or any other Narrow devices.

CD-ROM Burner:

• Soon, CD-Burners won't even be necessary, but right now, they're still somewhat cheaper than DVD burners (which also burn CDs). I highly recommend Lite-On's line of burners, particularly their 52x32x52x (model LTR-52327S) drive (52x write, 32x rewrite, and 52x read). Lite-On also makes some similar burners that are able to read DVDs. These have worked well for me and are a good way to get an all-in-one drive (except for DVD writing).
• Plextor makes an even better "PlexWriter Premium," but it's about twice the cost of the Lite-On above. It's a 52x32x52x drive with 8 MB cache.

DVD-ROM:

• Lite-On makes a great DVD drive as well as great CD-ROM and CD-RW drives. Their LTD-163 is a 16x DVD drive like the Pioneer below, but it's a little faster with CD-ROMs and audio CDs at 48x. It's also less expensive than the Pioneer.
• Pioneer's 16x DVD (model DVD-120) is my 2nd choice for speed and reliability. The optional slotted interface is also a nice change of pace! The price isn't overly expensive either. I highly recommend Pioneer's DVD drives. This one reads DVDs at 16x and reads CDs at 40x.
• Toshiba also makes good DVD drives, and their 16x DVD would be a good choice.

DVD Burners:

• Before I get into specific recommendations, be aware that today's burners are mostly single layer, and dual layer burners will be available soon. These burners will be able to hold twice the amount of data on a single disc (from about 4.7 GB to about 9.4 GB). If you don't have a DVD burner yet, it may be worth waiting for one of these. For now, there are plenty of good 8x single layer DVD burners to choose from. Here are just a few of the many good choices:
• The Lite-On DVD burners have all worked well for me. Their current best burner is the SOHW-812S. I can highly recommend this burner as I've used it personally.
• The Toshiba SD-R5272 is an 8x dual format drive (records DVD-R and DVD+R at 8x) that's also able to properly backup copyright protected games. It's inexpensive to boot.
• NuTech DDW-082 is also a great choice. It's a great performer, it's inexpensive, and what sets it apart from other drives is that can burn at 8x on 4x media!
• Pioneer's DVR-A08 is a great dual format drive, but it's a little on the pricey side. The rumor is that this Pioneer's drives may also be able to be upgraded to dual-layer when dual-layer drives and media come out. That's just speculation though, and it may never happen...
• Plextor's PX-708A is another good drive that's also a great CD burner. Like the Pioneer, it's also very pricey.
• Another drive to consider is the Optorite DD0405. It's a burner I don't know a whole lot about personally, but it has a unique feature in that it can burn HD CDs (twice the data on a single CD-R disc). That's kind of a moot point since DVD holds much more, but CD-Rs are so much cheaper...

Combo Drives:

• I don't normally recommend combo drives because of the additional moving parts (more likely to fail), but they can be convenient, particularly if you have limited space in your case. Also, they're usually more expensive and have slower speeds, but I've found that Lite-On makes a great combo drive that costs little more than their regular CD burners. This drive reads DVDs as well as CDs and burning CDs. The drive's model number is SOHC-5232K, and it reads CDs at 52x, reads DVDs at 16x, writes at 52x, and rewrites at 32x. With no speed or price tradeoffs, why not? :)

Memory

Description:

All programs, instructions, and data must be stored in system memory before the computer can use it. It will hold recently used programs, instructions, and data in memory if there is room. This provides quick access (much faster than hard drives) to information. The more memory you have, the more information you will have fast access to and the better your computer will perform.

Memory is much like the short term memory in your brain. It holds your most recent information for quick access. Just as you want to accurately remember this information in your head, you want your computer's memory to have the correct information as well, or problems will obviously occur. Bad memory is one of the more common causes of computer crashes, and also the most difficult problem to diagnose. Because of this, making sure you get good RAM the first time around is very important. My Recommendations will help you get the fastest, highest quality RAM you can.

There are many, many different types of memory for different tasks. The main ones today are DDR PCxx00 SDRAM DIMMs (this includes PC2700, PC3200, etc.) and Direct RDRAM RIMMs.

What To Look For:

In the following discussion I will focus on memory for motherboards (main system memory).

First you need to know the type of memory you need. RDRAM RIMMs are only used in some Pentium IV motherboards. They have a higher bandwidth than other types of memory, but surprisingly enough they don't usually perform much better than regular DDR SDRAM (it also costs a lot more). DDR SDRAM is what's used in AMD Athlon XP motherboards (and many Pentium IV motherboards now too).

The type of RAM can usually be determined just by the motherboard's chipset. Below is a simple table of what RAM type (max speed RAM) should be used for each motherboard chipset (only recent chipsets are listed and I have bolded the chipsets I recommend):

Intel i875 (P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Intel i865 (P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Intel i850 (P4) PC1066 RDRAM Intel i848 (P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Intel i845 (P4) PC2100 (DDR 333) Via KT600 (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400) Via KT400A (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400) Via KT400, KT333 (AMD Athlon XP) PC2700 (DDR 333) Via KT266A (AMD Athlon Thunderbird) PC2100 (DDR 266) Via P4X400 (Intel P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Via P4X266 (Intel P4) PC2100 (DDR 266) NVIDIA nForce 2 Ultra 400 (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400) SiS 748 (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400)

RAM speeds are also something to consider. Here's a table of the actual speeds of common types of DDR memory (with my recommendation in bold):

Memory type: Actual Speed: DDR Speed: PC3200 (DDR400) 200 MHz 400 MHz PC2700 (DDR333) 166 MHz 333 MHz PC2100 (DDR266) 133 MHz 266 MHz

CAS 2 or CAS 3 is a very important consideration with SDRAM for speed reasons. Getting CAS 2 can speed up your computer and also allow for higher overclocking speeds.

Many other timing numbers are important, but they are often misrepresented and confusing so I won't get into them too much.

Unbuffered and Non-Parity are words you generally want to hear. Don't worry if your memory says this.

The brand of the RAM chips as well as the brand of the PCB (the memory board) are both very important. Low quality chips or low quality PCBs can both cause problems. Good chips on bad PCBs is just the same as getting bad chips. It would be a good idea to buy memory from the manufacturer so you can be sure the chips and PCB are by the same manufacturer.

Recommendations:

Today's motherboards use DDR SDRAM or RDRAM (on some Intel motherboards only). RDRAM is expensive and the performance isn't much better in general use. Please note, for dual channel DDR RAM, you need two sticks of memory.

Corsair XMS memory is my number one pick. However, it's expensive compared to other brands. This memory is great for overclocking and getting low latency speeds, helping your computer to run faster. I would suggest PC3200 CAS 2 memory (C2). The specific model number is CMX512-3200C2 which has timings of 2-3-2-5-T1. Corsair's regular memory (not the XMS line) is also good and cheaper.

I recently started using Kingston's Hyper-X memory, which is a high performance memory at a reasonable price. I've been very happy with it and think it would be a great choice.

Crucial makes high quality, reliable memory, but it isn't always the fastest. At the time of this writing, they don't even have PC3200 memory available that runs at CAS2. It can be a little pricey, but their support, return policies, and free shipping make them a good choice.

A couple of newer companies to consider are OCZ Technology and Geil. These are both manufacturers of high performance memory, but I haven't used it much myself. Many users have been very happy with these manufacturers, although some have had problems with Geil (while others have been very happy with it).

Modem

Description:

If you are at home, then you are most likely using a modem to view this page right now (dial-up modem, cable modem, or DSL modem). The modem is what hosts the communication between your computer and the computers you are connecting to over the Internet. If you're on a network, then you're using a network card (ethernet card most likely - and that may connect to your cable or DSL modem). A modem uses your phone line to transfer data to and from the other computers. Newer cable modems and DSL modems provide about 10 times the speed of a regular phone modem. These are usually external and plug into a network card in your computer.

Modem stands for "modulator / demodulator" and it encodes and decodes signals sent to and from the network servers. Good modems should be able to do all the encoding / decoding work on their own without having to rely on your computer's CPU to do the work.

What To Look For:

First of all, you need to consider what type of modem you would like, partially dictated by what is available in your area. For most rural areas, cable and DSL modems are not available. Since most cable and DSL services include a modem in the package, I am not going to focus on cable and DSL modems here; only dial up modems. However, I strongly suggest you go with cable or DSL service if it is available in your area and you can afford the expense. If you do a lot of Internet surfing, play online games, or do a lot of uploading / dowloading of files, then either of these services are appropriate for you. The reason I'm not discussing the modems here is that they are generally provided by your cable or DSL provider.

For dial up modems, look for modems that support either the K56 Flex protocol OR the 56K protocol AND fit the V.90 standard. I'll quickly define all these terms. K56Flex and 56K are two different formats for transferring data over a modem at high speeds. They were competing, but now the two companies have come to an agreement on a standard format, called V.90.
In general, you may want to get a modem that supports K56 Flex as it will work better if you don't have clear phone lines. My 56K modem won't connect at high speeds because my phone line is not very good. Of course, make sure it supports V.90 on top of that.

Internal modems are usually a little harder to configure than external modems, so you may want to consider that. Of course, external modems take up more space, cost more, etc. USB external modems are usually a good choice, particularly if you are low on PCI or ISA modem slots.

If you want it to be able to carry voice or speakerphone, look for one with those capabilities as well.

Make sure you do not get a "WinModem" as they are only compatible with Windows and they rely on the CPU for much of the work. If you plan to play Internet games, then the WinModem will slow down your Internet gaming. Non WinModems do the processing on their own. If a modem says that it is only for Windows operating systems, then it is probably a WinModem.

I would also advise avoiding most small name companies, since many of them will be low quality and unreliable (I know from experience).

Recommendations:

With all the movement towards Cable and ADSL, dial up modems have all but become a thing of the past. Thus, don't expect to see too many new products. Recommendations below still apply for those unable to get a faster connection type. Most Cable / DSL providors supply their own modems, so there is no reason for me to make recommendations...

In my opinion, the best modems are 3Com/US Robotics' Sportster modems, but they are somewhat expensive. Make sure the one you are getting is a V.90 capable modem and not a "WinModem."
The 3Com/USR FaxModem Pro External remains my best pick for modems. This one has always had good connection speeds for me and can be used as serial or USB. USB actually works faster for me too.

You could also consider some of the cheaper K56 Flex modems, but I don't have any recommendations, except one called ThunderLink that worked fine for me, but they're hard to find.

Most generic 56k modems will also get the job done!