[Ham-Computers] RE: Adding a DVD burner (questions)

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

Phil,

Someone earlier mentioned a UPS...definitely a worthwhile purchase!  I'm
partial to Tripplite products, though their line of UPS's isn't as well
known as their surge-suppressors.  The key thing to look for in a
quality UPS is whether or not it has a true sine-wave output.  Most SOHO
UPS' use a stepped squarewave - some are even an simple square wave!.
But true sinewave UPS' cost about double the stepped equivalent.  A PC
will tolerate a stepped sinewave, but it will be hard on the power
supply, so extended operation is not recommended.  Also, make sure any
other equipment plugged-into the UPS can tolerate a stepped-sinewave.
I'm currenty using an APC SmartUPS 1200 that was "retired" from a
datacenter.  Often, these are "tossed" after 3 to 5 years as they're out
of warranty.  The batteries need replacing, but that's often less than
1/3 the cost of the UPS itself.  I also have several smaller Tripplite
UPS' here and there.  One other thing to look for is "Buck/Boost" or
"AVR" (auto-voltage regulation).  These will boost or cut the voltage
during temporary low or high voltage events without switching to battery
power - cheaper UPS' will switch to battery power during high/low
voltage events.

Duane got lucky with his Toshiba drive.  Unfortunately, Toshiba stopped
manufacturing their own CD/DVD drives and teamed up with Samsung to form
Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation - TSST now manufactures
drives for both companies.  I haven't used any of the TSST writers, so I
can't comment on their quality.

Pioneer drives are common enough that you should be able to find them
just about anywhere (e.g. Best Buy).  You'll need to look a bit harder
for Plextor.  Many "mom and pop" shops should have Sony, LG, and BenQ
"OEM" drives.

Yes, MAM-A's are expensive and may not be worth it.  But many swear by
them and gold is more highly reflective than silver or aluminum (plus it
doesn't "rot" like aluminum).  Consistency is probably the best thing
here.  If anything, buy media from a "real" manufacturer, not a "brand
name" that just stamps their name on the spindle.  Mitsui and
Taiyo-Yuden are top tier manufacturers.  Verbatim no only manfactures
Dual-layer and hi-def media - they outsource the rest.  The "bulk"
manufacturers are Ritek, Prodisc, CMC, Lead Data, plus a about a dozen
others.  Ritek is the "largest" of these bulk companies and even "top
tier" companies have outsourced to them (such as Verbatim and Ricoh).
However, quality from Ritek varies quite a bit - some batches being as
good as "top tier" manufacturers and others being as low as you can get.
So the "consistent" MAM-A's don't look so bad at $1 each considering the
quality of some others.

And, I realize the explaination of PATA vs SATA was a confusing due to
the MBps vs Mbps nomenclature.  Capital "B" is the standard for "Bytes"
and lower-case "b" is standard for "bits".  Parallel transfer busses
(such as IDE/ATA, chipset logic, and PCI/AGP) are usually quantified in
"Bytes" and serial transfer busses (SATA, USB, Firewire, serial ports)
are quantified in "bits".  Makes things really confusing as 100MBps
definitely doesn't equal 100Mbps though both look alike!  So, with that
in mind:

In Bytes:
ATA/100  = 100MBps (ATA/133 is a Maxtor-only standard)
SATA(I)  = 187MBps
SATA(II) = 375MBps

In bits:
ATA/100  = 800Mbps (or 1Gbps for ATA/133)
SATA(I)  = 1,500Mbps
SATA(II) = 3,000Mbps


73 (neither "B" nor "b"),

  - Aaron, NN6O