Sony DRX500ULX and DRX510UL

[KenL]

I just called the Sony store to order the DRX500ULX and was told that the DRX510UL is newer and better. Yet the DRX500ULX is more expensive. I didn't trust the salesman because he couldn't tell me why the DRX510UL was better.

They are both on back order for a week so I was hoping someone could tell me about these two USB DVD burners. Unfortunately I need a USB.

TIA

[Justin42]

Well, the 510 can do DVD+RW at 4x, which is faster than any other drive on the market at this time. The problem is there is no 4X DVD+RW media... (Not the same as DVD+R, obviously!)

So, it IS newer and "better" in specs. What was the price difference? Probably a fluke more than anything.

[tazdevl]

That isn't too bad of a deal for the external 510A. You could do it a bit cheaper yourself, but not much. I'd jump on that one before they realize their mistake.

510 has faster DVD+RW, CD Read, CDRW and DVD Read speeds versus the 500A/X.

I bought a internal 510A and a external firewire/USB 2.0 enclosure (Coolmax CD-510). Only reason why I went that route is I thought the external 510 was priced a bit higher (like near the 500ULX) and the enclosure I bought has active cooling via 40MM fan.

I don't think the Sony enclosure has a fan. Can anyone confirm?

[KenL]

Well I was all set to order the 510, but does the fan matter on an external drive. If it matters, then maybe that is why it is selling for less than the 500.

Ken

[tazdevl]

Sony's probably using the same enclosure for both drives, not terribly cost effective if things were otherwise. LOL it's a 40MM fan, have to stamp the case and mount it... adds all of $2 to the cost of the drive. I can't explain the difference in price, Product Manager must be screwed up on a SKU or maybe they worked out a deal with LiteOn since the 400D is a Sony 500A/X.

Fan isn't super important, but I personally prefer having one for my own piece of mind. Technically the enclosure acts like a big heatsink so as long as you don't keep it in a closed space it should be OK. It just helps if you're doing a massive burning session. Heat can cause some components to break down quicker, of course that's a relative term.

Also CompUSA, Circuit City and Sony have the internal for sale for $329, Best Buy has it priced @ $349/

[tazdevl]

FYI just got a response from someone @ CDFreaks. Doesn't have a fan.