ASUS - 48x Write/24x Rewrite/48x Read CD - 24x Write DVD Internal DVD-Writer Drive - Black

It turns out that modular power supply cables are not standardized. Even though they use the same plugs on both ends, there is a good chance that they are wired differently and that can result in catastrophic failure of a drive, or component. There is even concern for cables from the same product family that aren't the same model. And that's why power cables don't come included with components, at least generally. For what it's worth, the Asus CD/DVD R/W didn't spark, fizzle, crackle, or release any toxic fumes, it just quietly died. The old SSD I swapped in among my attempts to isolate why the drive wasn't working was not so, auspiciously inclined. There are much worse, and expensive, ways I could have learned this lesson: Only use the cables that come with your PSU, and keep them separated from any others you might have, instead of dumping them all into a tote and using the first one you find. Otherwise, pretty standard and solid construction. Caught the drive on a sale for $25 USD or so, which seems like a pretty good price to me. Manufacturing label says the drive was made in China during January 2021, which as a pleasant surprise was a lot more recent than I would have expected. Importantly, at this time, the front panel shown as the official image of the drive does not match the actual drive being sold as another reviewer pointed out, it seems to be for a fancier model. I knew what I was getting into, but it is deceptive, though an easy enough mistake to make, and hopefully fix.

I needed a new burner with the re-build of my gaming computer because my new Motherboard does not have an old IDE interface, only SATA connections. My old burner, while still working, has an IDE interface. My only other option was to purchase a PC card with an IDE adapter on it to connect my old burner to the new motherboard. Not only is this a pricey get around way to use the old burner, it takes up a PC slot that you may not want to use. Also, the data transfer rate is much slower using this back door type connection. For the price, this was a much better solution. I have a new burner to run my re-built computer with fast data transfer with ease of installation. Definitely worth every penny, especially considering what I spent on all the new components. Great burner for the price.

My DVR writer died after 8 years. I found this one at a really good price. Install and OS recognition was seamless. The drive worked perfectly. Since nowadays these drives are not used often, it does not get allot of heavy use. The only thing I noticed is that it is a little slower opening and closing than my last drive. Which really is not an issue, but I wanted to point out this observation. I would recommend this drive.