Windows 7: Windows 7 Compatible CD/DVD Optical Drive

I'm getting ready to build a new computer for Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and am looking for a CD/DVD reader/writer/burner optical SATA drive.

Generally optical drives are not affected by the operating system version. When I read some of the comments on a couple of optical drives on NewEgg, I was surprised to see that many people had trouble getting Windows 7 to recognize an optical disk. Some also reported having problems getting the system to recognize the Win 7 installation disk.

A few people also mentioned needing to update the optical disk firmware before starting the Windows 7 installation. That's OK with me as long as I can find the correct firmware update files.

I usually buy Plextor optical drives, but I've heard a lot about their latest drives being poor quality. I'm now planning to buy an Asus 24x optical drive.
Newegg.com - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

Anyone have good luck with this drive on Windows 7? Anything better? I figure this is the best place to ask.


-jb

I go based on the customer reviews. I find the reviews themselves generally uninformative, but the bar graphs do tell a lot.

Here's a similar burner for 3 bucks less including shipping: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

Good luck!
~JK

I've not experienced much trouble with whatever optical drive a computer had and Windows 7. I've installed 7 on some custom builds and some Dell laptops and Dell desktops and all have been fine.

I've got a Samsung burner at home. I bought it from a review at Maximum PC which showed how a simple firmware hack allowed this particular drive to rip DVD's in about 8 minutes flat, by disabling the rip lock. So, that is the drive that I use and the reason that I went that route. The drive has worked very well for me.

Amazing that Samsung would code firmware to interfere with a device that consumers pay for, just for the movie industry... Anyway...

Thanks for the information...