Sources for BenQ writers

[bill]

Because the BenQ DW1640, DW1650 and DW1655 drives are scarce, or may become scarce, I thought it would be informative to list possible sources for those drives.


@ Weetoots

I think you have a CompUSA on the island..

You could try a Norwood drive. In the past they packaged the 1640 and 1650. The BenQ model number is listed just above the SKU.

I/O magic and HI-VAL are two additional options but you will have to open the box to be certain of what's inside.


Can anyone add sources?

[Ian]

This should probably be in the DVD writer section of the forum but I'll leave it here for now as long as its good deals on BenQ drives.

I believe Norwood drives are still BenQ. CompUSA's own brand were too but I've noticed that the last few shipments have been Lite-On. You can also check these by looking above the SKU.

Does Circuit City still carry BenQ drives? If I remember right, they were one of the few stores selling retail BenQ drives.

[MonsterMan]

Because the BenQ DW1640, DW1650 and DW1655 drives are scarce, or may become scarce

Huh? What!!

Why?

I love my 1655 & 1620. Do I need to order a couple for "backup" in case they die?

Edit:
Aw, crap...newegg doesn't even have the 1650

[dolphinius_rex]

I believe BenQ plans to move away from the Optical Disc Drive market

[bill]

This should probably be in the DVD writer section of the forum but I'll leave it here for now as long as its good deals on BenQ drives.

Hah! With the way it's going, any deal on a BenQ ( for scanning purposes alone) is going to be a good deal.

[bill]

NCIX has the BenQ DW1650 for $43 US. Let's clean the Canadians out of their stock first.

ZipZoomFly has the
BenQ DW1650 for $39.25 with free shipping.

If you're looking for the Plextor PX-740A, TigerDirect has some in stock. $50 after $30 rebate.

[Spazmogen]

NCIX has the BenQ DW1650 for $43 US. Let's clean the Canadians out of their stock first.

ZipZoomFly has the
BenQ DW1650 for $39.25 with free shipping.

If you're looking for the Plextor PX-740A, TigerDirect has some in stock. $50 after $30 rebate.

Lets not forget about DIRECTCANADA.COM.

They stock 5 versions of Benq right now.

The DW1650 is $39.42 + shipping in CDN funds.

DirectCanada.com is a sister site of ncix.com, but usually has cheaper prices. Retail box of AMD X2 3800+ socket AM2 is going for $159 CDN right now from them. Dirt cheap...

[bill]

Hadn't heard of DirectCanada before, nice pricing! Thanks for the tip


FWIW, I just checked stock at ZipZoom, twelve DW1650s are remaining.

[bill]

Excaliber has a few 1625's remaining in stock. I bought a 1640 from them about two weeks ago and the transaction went well but shipping is a little slow.

[XeoNoX]

were can i find one of these rupees??

[XeoNoX]

wow, happened to find a benq 1655 drive and bought it today, cost me $54 total, i guess its not too bad, about $17 more than the cheapest price i ever saw.

thanks guys for all the info in the thread

[ParatoOptimal]

Boxes can often be opened from the bottom and resealed without causing any damage.

Many rebadged BenQ’s can be cross-flashed with BenQ firmware.
Cross-flashing voids the rebadger’s warranty.

I think it’s I/O Magic who uses a pink bag and a clear bag.
One is for rebadged BenQ’s and the other is for rebadged Lite-On’s.
I forget which is which.

AVAILABLE AT CUSA
CompUSA Brand = BenQ or LiteOn
Connect Computers = DW1650, DW1655 or LiteOn
I saw a black and green box “Connect Brand” rather than “Connect Computers” that I couldn’t open.
They recently had a 2-day sale for $8 US but of course there where none on the shelf late Saturday night (2nd/last day of sale) just before they closed. They teased me with a prepay to get the instant sale price AND to qualify for the rebate but then said they had already done 5 prepays which was more than they were allowed to do. Of course there were plenty available first thing Sunday afternoon when they opened.

Norwood Micro = BenQ DW1640, DW1650, DW1655
(DW# above UPC on back of box AND on the drive.)
Newer ones could be LG
I got a Norwood Micro that is a DW1650.
It comes with a tan bezzle attached and a black bezel in the box.
It also includes the analog sound cable, a "key" to open the draw anually and Nero OEM Suite.

Norwood Micro (External) = ???


AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE
Hi-Val = BenQ and other
I/O Magic = BenQ or LiteOn
[b]MadDog = LiteOn, older ones could BenQ
NEC = new boxes are Optiarc
Pacific Digital = BenQ or LiteOn (not sure)
Phillips = older ones are BenQ, not sure of newer boxes
Sony = up to mid/late 2006 are BenQ, late 2006 are Optiarc

[ItalianJob]

In Europe/France, some Philips DVDR1660/1668 in box and BenQ are still available in local stores (Auchan, Darty, Boulanger...).

The Philips DVDR1660 is a rebadged BenQ 1650 (crossflash with Quikee BQFlasher and maybe with fw from rpc1.org). The Philips DVDR1668 can be crossflashed to BenQ 1655 (just done it fine on my new Philips 1668).

[ItalianJob]

Phillips = older ones are BenQ, not sure of newer boxes

Older = Philips/BenQ
Newer = Philips/Liteon