BenQ DVD Writer Are Vanishing

[SkaarjMaster]

Great. Now that I can't have one, I want one and the f-ing Internet is slow as f-ck in Tampa right now! eXcaliberPC site and monarch come up fine, but newegg, zzf and pricewatch won't even come up complete enough and quick enough to see anything.

EDIT: probably some local internet glitch. The only place I found a 1655 in-stock was Meritline.com, so I checked their reseller ratings and went ahead and ordered one! It's a little more than I wanted to pay, but I figure I needed an upgrade anyway. It will also give me an excuse to get back into DVD burning.

[TCAS]

The I/O Magic on sale this Week @ Staples have been confirmed by some members that is repackage of BenQ 1655 and 1670 also Norwood and Compusa have been spoted to be BenQ 1640 or 1650.

[SkaarjMaster]

I got the initial e-mail stating they received my order, but nothing since. I sent them a WTF e-mail, so we'll see what happens. If no word by Friday, I'm cancelling my order and trying to order from someplace else. I'm thinking they don't have it in-stock and are just jerking me around.

EDIT: I went to the web site and they said my order is being processes and I will be notified when it is shipped. What the heck does that mean? Does it mean they're not even going to let me know that they ran out of them? I checked and they are out of the DW1655, but still have the DW1670. Is the DW1670 better?

EDIT AGAIN: Well, I can't find it or the DW1670 anywhere else, so I really hope they send it to me tomorrow. I think I'll call them tomorrow.

FURTHER EDIT: I just got an e-mail response from Meritline and this is what they said:

"After we checked, your order had released and later our system will send the tracking number to you automatically. Please wait for it patiently. Thanks."

I guess this means they sent the package out............I think.

[SkaarjMaster]

Just went to the web site and checked on my order through the tracking system and got this:

"Your order is being processed, we will update you the tracking information as soon as item shipped out."

I have no idea what's going on, but I'll check my e-mail when I get home tonight.

[dodecahedron]

good luck!

[Scour]

Philips DVD-writers are mostly from benq, can u get one?

[SkaarjMaster]

OK, I'll stop spamming up this thread. I finally decided to call them on the phone and they said they ran out over the weekend and a new order came in yesterday and that one DW1655 was given to my order or whatever. My order will be mailed out today or tomorrow.

Also, I just found out Performance-PCs has some DW1655s!
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=4037

EDIT: just found out over the weekend, the DW1655 should be arriving on Thursday this week. This is 13 regular days from the time I ordered it (9 business days). I don't recommend ordering from Meritline.

[TCAS]

you could easily gone to Staples for I/O Magic or Compusa for Norwood, HI-VA or even their own brand Compusa and find BenQ 1655 on any of these said brand as they all are repackaged of Benq 1655 rather than going thru this dilemma.

[SkaarjMaster]

I realize that but I didn't want to mess with any rebadged or repackaged brand. Maybe they're the same and maybe not. Someone would have to let me open the box and check and they wouldn't let me do that. I got what I wanted and that's all that matters.

EDIT: also, I would like to add that I do appreciate people pointing out all my options though. Thank you everyone!:)

[XeoNoX]

am i too late to find one of these gems?

[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

[Ian]

MadDog is using a lot of Samsung drives these days. I believe all of their 18x drives are Samsung.