Pioneer Internal Double Layer DVD/CD Writer. 16X Speed! Pioneer’s continues to blaze ingenious new trails in high-performance electronics!
1 Great Product, Great Burner
Just recently purchased the A09XL (first dvd player/writer for my PC) and it's great. It runs so quiet, the fan in my tower actually makes more noise. No trouble whatsoever in reading/writing, very fast at that (using 8x DVD+R at this moment).
The one problem I ran into, and you may want to check into this first, is that it didn't quite fit in my case. The way that the tray is setup on the writer (width is the entire width of the writer itself instead of leaving 1/4" or so on each side), my case wouldn't allow the tray to clear each side of the face on my case. When I had the writer in the top bay of my case, it wouldn't clear the top either (the tray is at the top of the writer). So I had to move it down to the second bay and also use my Dremel to make some "modifications" to my case so that it would clear the sides. The actual width of the tray (and the unit itself) is 5-27/32", so make sure your case can handle this unless you plan on doing some "modifications" of your own.
No stars taken away since I think it's a Dell thing, this model probably really isn't meant for upgrading.
FYI, the PC I'm referencing is a Dell Dimension 2400, so your results may vary depending how your case is setup.
After that was all cleared up though, it's been smooth sailing.
2 Very nice indeed
I have owned this drive for five weeks now and have been very pleased with it. I have burned dozens of DVDs so far, and the only coasters (ruined discs) I have turned out I would attribute to using inferior media. I ordered what I thought was 16x premium brand DVD-Rs from another online store and I received some generic 4x media. I tried the discs anyway and the results were poor.
However, I have had 100% success with Verbatim, Memorex, and Staples store brand 16x and 8x media. The 8x Memorex discs even burn at 12x.
I have not found a 16x disc yet that will actually burn at 16x speed. Pioneer recently released another firmware update, though, and I am hopeful that support for this speed will begin to become more common. That said, this drive is fast. I have burned full DVDs (single layer) in five minutes.
I also appreciate how quiet this drive is. My machine also has a 52x Samsung CD-RW drive in it, but I find I am not using it anymore because the new Pioneer drive's motor is so much quieter.
Anyway, I do recommend this drive. My hope now is that it lasts a long problem free life.
