Buslink External 48X12X48 UII-RW48E = Liteon?

[taxman150]

I noticed that Best Buy has this Buslink external drive for 79.99 after mail in rebates. Other threads on this forum indicated that Buslink drives at Best Buy are made by Liteon and are really 24X. Does anyone know if this also applies to this Buslink external drive?

Assuming this drive is a Liteon, I'm assuming that I would be better off buying this drive for 79.99 rather than the TDK external 48X16X48 at 149.99 after rebate. Any other thoughts would be appreciated though.

Thank you and happy holidays,

Mike

[coolestnitish]

I'm not sure if this drive is a LiteOn or not. On LiteOn's site there is no 48x External drive http://www.liteonit.com/english/english-product.htm#LXR The one you are talking about could be the one by Lacie, but I'm not sure if Lacie even makes their own drives.
I know the TDK one is just exactly the same internal one put in a nice case.

[Ian]

Actually, TDK's external 48x looks just like ASUS's external drives. While it hasn't been confirmed, I do not think its a Lite-On.

As far as Buslink goes, they just take other peoples drives and put them in their own external case. They have used internal Lite-On drives before. Not sure if they still are.

[taxman150]

Thanks very much for the info. I assumed the Buslink external was a Liteon from the other posts on the forum. Plus, I noticed that the features for the drive mention that it comes with SmartBurn buffer underun protection, which I thought was indicative of a Liteon drive.

I'll probably just try to find an open box or open one myself at Best Buy to make sure that it comes with a Liteon number or sticker on the back.

Also, if anyone has any other info as to who makes TDK's 48X16X48 external drive, it would be appreciated as I was planning on getting this drive if the Buslink did not turn out to be a Liteon.

Thank you very much.

Mike

[taxman150]

I purchased the Buslink external yesterday from Best Buy yesterday for 79.99 after 50.00 of rebates and found that it contained Aopen's 48X12X50 internal drive in the Buslink external case. I'm thinking of returning it as I have read some negative comments about this drive.

My issue is that I don't want to deal with opening my tower to put in a new internal drive as its not very user friendly and I have many available USB 2.0 ports. I guess I'm down to choosing between TDK's 48X16X48 external (presumably an ASUS based on Ian's comments) or a Plexwriter 48X24X48 external. I'm primarily concerned with audio writing quality as opposed to speed and shouldn't have any problems with Plextor's recommended media as I took advantage of Best Buy's special on Fuji (TY) 100 pack cd-r's yesterday.

I guess my best bet is to go with the Plextor, but any other comments privately or to the list would be appreciated as I am a newbie.

Thanks,

Mike
taxman150@hotmail.com

[coolestnitish]

Weren't TDK's external drives the same internal ones in fancy cases? They look like they are, that would make them LiteOn wouldn't it?

[Ian]

No, I think they changed it. For awhile, their externals were Sanyo's.

[taxman150]

I received a response from Buslink Support indicating that their 48X12X48 external drive can either be an Aopen or Liteon, but that there is no way of knowing until you install the cd-rw.

Based on my limited knowledge, it would seem that you could tell based on looking at the design of the cd-rw drawer. I noticed that the Aopens have a slightly oval shape to the drawer while the Liteon drawer is a straight rectangle.

None of the boxes that I have seen at Best Buy indicate the type of buffer underrun protection employed on them, so its not as easy to just for the boxes that say SmartBurn on them to know that you have a Liteon.

If anyone knows another way to tell without actually opening the box, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Dirty Harry]

Just opened a Buslink 48x12x48 yesterday. It is an Aopen. The bad news is it was DOA. Picked up a TDK 48x12x48 today, have not had time to install yet. Hope to have better luck with this.

[hoxlund]

hey taxman150, what part of WI are you from, i was born and raised there