Reliable Athlon 64 motherboards -- LG GSA-4167B (sub-$40)

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Tue, 2006-03-21 at 22:57 -0500, Robert L Cochran wrote:
> At the last check, this motherboard doesn't support my Plextor PX-716SA 
> dual layer DVD writer. I think Plextor (and Outpost.com, the reseller) 
> were at the very least a bit dishonest by not saying clearly at the top 
> of the product description, "This optical device only works on certain 
> motherboards. The list of compatible boards is here ----." In fairness, 
> Outpost.com did agree to RMA the device for me. I missed the deadline 
> for returning the drive, so it is still here with me. I'm using my old 
> Sony DVD writer -- which is slower than an arthritic sloth, but it works.

The sub-$40 LG GSA-4167B is the _ultimate_ in features and
compatibility.  AnandTech found its predecessor (2Gen back), the
GSA-4163B, to be the fastest in 16x DVD-R and 16x DVD+R -- sans one DVD
+R brand disc incompatibility that he liked.

They do 5x DVD-RAM, 16x DVD-R/+R, 8x DVD+R-DL/DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW.
They also do 48x CD-R and 32x CD-RW.

The DVD-RAM works with the kernel driver.
The DVD-R works flawlessly with cdrecord+DVDpatch (GPL, in FC/RHEL).
The DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/-RW also works with dvd+rwtools.

If you buy from NewEgg.COM, they even include Nero 6.6 OEM, which can be
upgraded for _free_ to Nero 6.6 Ultra Edition with updates from Nero.COM
(in case you're using it under Windows).


-- 
Bryan J. Smith             Professional, technical annoyance
mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org       http://thebs413.blogspot.com
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****** Speed doesn't kill.  Difference in speed does! ******