Benq DW1650?

[soupnazi]

I noticed that the Benq DW1650 is now for sale in Canada. (actually on special for $45CAN right now) Is this basically a DW1655 with no lightscribe capability or a crappy DQ60? I'm wondering if this is a worthy successor to the highly acclaimed DW1640.

(I have a 1640 in my old PC and am thinking of the 1650 for my upcoming new pc) There aren't any reviews on the 1650 yet but a few on the 1655.

[Soul Assassin]

The 1650 the new 1640. I have a 1655, it's sweetness on a ribbon.

[I4one]

should be fine soup - here's a little info i found over at the club;

The 1650 or 1655 is better than the 1640, as the 1650 or 1655 fixed some 16x burn issues with 16x media the 1640 still has. In general, the 1650 has seemed to perform slightly better than the 1655 in burn quality scans, although the 1655 also got a newer firmware (f/w) just like the 1650

[soupnazi]

Thanks for the info guys! That's a good summary I4one. I actually just got back from the computer store with my new DW1650. Here's some more info from cdfreaks. (looks like good successor)
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=162151

[camaro]

I don't see the 1650 on newegg or zzf, only 1655. So I'm going to recommend my friend just get the 1655. What's on those CDs that come with the retail version? I always get OEM. Is there anything on them I can't download?

[Nemesys]

The BenQ Dw1650 is not available in the USA. Due to the dismal sales performance of BenQ's previous Lightscribe offering, DW1625, they are making an effort to force customers to buy their current Lightscribe model by witholding availability of the DW1650. As mentioned by I4One, the DW1655 is the Lightscribe version of the DW1650.

The DW1655 retail version comes with a disc that contains an OEM version of Nero Suite, the BenQ QSuite v2.1, Lightscribe drivers v1.4.44.1 (old), Adobe Acrobat reader, a blank Lightscribe CDR, a blank DVD+R disc and a blank DVD-R disc.

You can download a newer version of the Lightscribe drivers v1.4.67.1 from the Internet.

[dyne]

bah lightscribe. im so up in the air between the new benq and nec. i've had my nec for what seems like forever and it hasn't failed me, but i would like to get into bitsetting (since i tend to see more deals on +r media).

[a ronin]

Bah, did a search for the 1650 and this thread came up in Google!

Bah again, because it seems my Pioneer drive is acting up. I have left the tray open and I guess dust has accumulated inside. I'm getting long pauses on reading; and writing has all but died on me. If blowing it out with compressed air isn't going to help, then I may pick up the 1650.

Are DL media comparable in price to their single layered brethen, yet? I would love to backup some DVD9 movies.

[soupnazi]

Unfortunately dual layer is still close to $10 per disk.

After owning my DW1650 for a month, I highly recommend it.
+ Excellent burn quality (98% on 12x burns)
+ no PIF spikes when burning at 16X which the DW1640 was prone to
+ Low price
- Slightly noisier than the DW1640 which I own

[anubis44]

[QUOTE=soupnazi]Unfortunately dual layer is still close to $10 per disk.

Actually, I just bought a 10 pack of Dual Layer DVD +R 8X disks for $26.99 Canadian at Canada Computers on College St. in Toronto, which puts them at $2.70 each. Incidentally, I also went with the Pioneer DVR-111D, and it rocks. Just make sure you update the firmware to the latest rev. and use an 80pin IDE cable, not a 40pin.

[Soul Assassin]

Yeah dual layer discs should be around $2/disc (US$)if you look around.

That's still incredibly pricey given that you can get single layer discs for <$0.25 most of the time.