I want to make it clear that this is my first time considering to buy a DVD-RW drive. I have a notebook computer (HP ZT3000) with 3 USB2 & 1 Firewire port. I'm interested in either getting the NEC ND-3500A, Pioneer DVR-108, or Plextor 716A --> both external versions. I want to place the DVD drive into the BYTECC 5.25" enclosure. I've read really good things about them and wanted to use either DVD drive externally.

The thing that bothers me is the thread which involves the NEC drive with the ADS Pyro 1394 external enclosure (http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=108420&page=1 ). I don't want to spend too much money on a DVD-RW drive and I've also read very good things about the NEC drive.

Has anyone used the BTECC 5.25" enclosure with the NEC ND-3500A and had any problems so far. I don't want to go thru the struggle Bob Shem had to deal with in that one thread.

Well, if it helps any, let me throw my two cents out there. Please forgive me if I cover things you already know. More important than the brand of enclosure is the bridge board inside it, the chipset that goes between the IDE connection and the Firewire/USB connection. I currently have the NEC 3500 in an external enclosure that uses the Oxford 911 chipset, which is the same chipset the ADS Pyro 1394 uses. I am having the same problem Bob has. If you read the whole thread, you saw another user by the name of beach-hobo struggled with this same problem and ended up buying another enclosure with another type of chipset in it. Base on his experience and recommendation I'm about to buy this enclosure:

http://dealsonic.com/plpmblcousb22.html

It's cheap, it's black to match my 3500, and most importantly it uses the Prolific chipset which seems to work with the 3500. Hopes this help with your decision.

I have two of these Bytecc enclosures for my LiteOn and NEC burners:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-341&depa=0

I've upgraded my firmware twice without any problems

Cool, that's good to hear JDaMan. 3dxtreme.com did a review on the 5.25" enclosure it gave it a 10/10. Here is the review: http://www.3dxtreme.net/index.php?id...-320enclosure1

JDaMan, did yours come with a case because one of the links at Newegg.com showed a case. Just wondering. Also, does anyone know what chipset the BYTECC enclosure has. Not sure where to find it the info.

By case, do you mean retail box? You can buy the retail Bytecc enclosure for about a buck more than the OEM version.

Good luck in your decision

Beach-Hobo Here !!!!!

After 4-6 months of testing, I feel it's more a BridgeBoard design problem than a ChipSet problem. People have stated that they have no problems with the Oxford 911 in a Bytecc Case. Bytecc is manufacturered by WELLAND that makes their cases in China. The BridgeBoard is their own design.

I know from testing that the Belkin & ADS cases only go to 13MB/s. I don't know where they get their BridgeBoards.

I have settled on a Plumax Case with a Prolific PL-3507 ChipSet. By the way it's also manufactured by WELLAND. My transfers rates are 23MB/s and 19MB/s.

Firewire supports 16X.
USB2 supports 12X.

My two CENTS...

To JDaMan: On Newegg.com, one of the Bytecc enclosures showed a covering which went over the case.

To beach-hobo: thx for your insights Would it be best to use the Plumax Case w/Prolific ChipSet or the Bytecc case. I'm still gathering as much info as I can before making both (NEC DVD-RW drive + enclosure) decisions.

I'm currently using the Firewire port for an external HD but I can move that over to the USB2 port. Seems like the FW port with the DVD-RW drive is the way to go considering the xfer rates. To get things clear: beach-hobo, FW = 23mb/s & USB2 = 19mb/s??

@Crea78,
That is correct.
FW let's me burn 16X discs. (23MB/s)
USB2 let's me burn up to 12X discs. (19MB/s)
Regards...

This got me thinking again. As said earlier, I have a laptop computer with a normal DVD/CD-RW drive. I've read that "you can't flash the firmware if it's hooked up via firewire or USB. You'll have to use the IDE cables to flash and then hook it up again as an external drive after flashing.computer. Here is where the info can be found. http://club.cdfreaks.com/lite/t-105803.html

As I stated earlier, I have a laptop computer which comes with a DVD/CD-RW drive. If what was stated is true, then having an external DVD-RW drive is a big disadvantage when updating to the latest firmware. Any input on this subject??

Edit: I read clearly on what someone else posted: "Not true, external drives can be flashed using Windows (XP/2000) programs like the official flash tool or the Windows command line flasher based on DVRFlash by Liggy/Herrie with the help of TDB." Just curious, what does TDB mean and where can I get it? Also same goes for DVRFlash. Where is the utility tool found? Thx

Oh yea, thats just part of the external case, its the top part that slides on and off.

I found a link in the forum to a bundled download which included the NEC version 2.8C SE firmware and the Binflash firmware flasher ( http://binflash.cdfreaks.com/ ). It's a windows based flash utility. It worked just fine on my 3500 in an external firewire enclosure that uses the Oxford 911 chipset.

I saw that link too Netslider & how to back up your existing firmware etc. If anything does happen to your computer while flashing, can you revert back to previous settings by restoring the computer to an earlier date. Also, will binflash automatically setup everything for you after clicking on the .exe file or do you need to specify what you need to do?

@crea78
Flashing the firmware is pretty straight forward. I've attached a screen shot to show you the software. I should caution you though that, while not likely, you could end up with a useless 3500 if things go wrong. So please don't come shouting at us if this happens. Now that said, I have flashed the BIOS and firmware of many different pieces of computer hardware and never had a failure.
-disconnect all items from the firewire bus so only the NEC 3500 remains
-probably best to close as many programs and applications as possible, limits the chances of stuff going wrong, especially as a newbie
-double click NEC Win Flash to start the program
-choose your NEC drive in the Device Section
-click Dump to create a backup of the existing firmware that's in the drive to your local hard drive
-when that's complete click Flash and navigate to the firmware update which is XXXXXXX.bin, in this case I'm using the 2C8 SE version, you can see that file in the folder (along with the backup Dump I created)
-after selecting the firmware it should go ahead and flash your drive
-when it's complete, exit the program. I then use the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the taskbar next to the clock. Once Windows tells me it's safe to remove the item, I cycle power on the external enclosure, keeping it off for about 10 seconds
-turn it back on, open up CD/DVD Speed to confirm the new version of firmware, stick in a test disk to either burn or test read transfer rates, depending on your desire. Maybe also copy some files from the optical disc to hard drive with Windows Explorer.

Hope this helps. Experienced users, please don't be afraid to point out if I missed anything or if something is wrong. It's late for me.

Thx so much for the walkthru netslider If any others have additional info on flashing, please add it as well.

With the Bytecc ME-320 USB 2.0 enclosure, I see a max of 17 MB/s using either a hard drive or a riplock 166S DVD-ROM (14x max +R). On a Nero CD Speed scan, it hits about 13.2x max.

That *should* get you 12x burns but not 16x. Newegg has it on special on a regular basis for $29.99 w free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-314&depa=0

Mike

I'll more than likely get a USB2/FW combo enclosure to be on the safe side, and that will give me a choice which to use. Firewire seems to be the logical choice due to the data xfer. Bytecc enclosure with both appears to be close to $50 at Newegg.com, but the Plumax Case is around $35 which offers both as well. I cannot seem to find any review for the Plumax, but have read the Bytecc to be excellent with current ND-3500A users.

beach-hobo, which enclosure do you think is better: Kingwin or Plumax? I've been reading this thread very carefully & the member 'NScythe' appears to know which enclosures are good & bad. Should I go with his 1st recommendation - the Kingwin (USB2 has Cypress chipset & FW has Oxford 911 chipset) or the Plumax which you say is really good as well. The Plumax was NScythe's 2nd recommendation.

Here is a picture of the Kingwin:

Crea78,

I can only give you my experences over the past 9 months. First off, you can't go by Brand Name, you have to go by what ChipSet is on the BridgeBoard and in addition insure you can return for full refund if it doesn't work correctly.

Plumax:
From my knowledge the Plumax case can be either Oxford/Cypress or Prolific. Most places don't tell you which. Dealsonic list both with different pricing on each. As you know Oxford cost more.

Kinwin:
From looking at their WEB site the combo unit uses the Oxford/Cypress. Does it support 16X ?, only trial and error will prove that !!!! I don't know. As far as Cypress for USB2 support, it s**ks. I had three different cases with Oxford/Cypress and the USB2 part would only run at 7MB/s. Ali as the USB2 support will run at approximately 19MB/s (12X).

To sum up:
1. Prolific PL-3507 work at 16X with the latest firmware.
2. Cypress (USB) only runs at 7MB/s.
3. Some Oxford 911s work - some don't.
4. Ali (USB) runs at 19MB/s.
5. In addition, your system has a great deal to do with it also. Do you have Firewire on your motherboard or via PCMCIA and how loaded is your PCI bus.
16X is not as easy as everyone thinks.

Good Luck,
Regards,

Thx once again beach-hobo for your knowledge with this sort of stuff. I'll keep researching on which one is better. Where can I find the latest firmware for the Prolific chipset, and can can I use Binflash to flash the enclosure?

Also, how can I tell if I have Firewire on the motherboard or via PCMCIA? Will device manager tell me or should I look somewhere else?

Edit: The link JDaMan gave earlier (http://dealsonic.com/plpmblcousb22.html ), they mention the Plumax Case comes with the Prolific Chipset. Since they list Prolific for both USB2/FW, then this is the logical choice for me to purchase. Also, with the Prolific Chipset, what is the fastest blank media can burn w/o the firmware update? This is all new to me so I'm still learning.

^ I meant to say Netslider & not JDaMan

Dear Crea78,
I know you told me your new to this DVD stuff. The best advice I can give you is read, read, and read the forums. Take peoples advice, but be careful, a lot of people give you BS.

1. Firmware is software in hardware that you load.
2. DVD drives have their own firmware.
3. Enclosures have their own firmware.
4. Your system, very subjective. In one case a 900MHz PIII can do 16X with no problems. In another case a 3GHz P4 will not support 16X.
5. Your hard disk speed has a lot to do with this also. If the HD can't provide the data fast enough you will never burn 16X. Keep it defragged !!!!

If you don't want to spend hours and $$$$, maybe just maybe, it might be better to plan on 8X and if you get 16X great but don't count on it...

Regards,
B-H

Currently my HD is 4200rpm which I will be updating sometime to 7200rpm when Seagate releases their 100gb notebook HDD in the near future. 8x-12x speeds is fine for me initially, and when I do update the components in my computer (new HDD & more memory), then 16x might be a likely story then.

Thx b-h for all your help and I will keep reading to gain as much knowledge as I can

have any of u guys/gals have any trouble with the firewire on the prolific pl-3507s? i have one of the bytecc enclosures with the prolific chip on it and firewire is just horrible.

i mainly use it with a hard drive for file storage and i get so much data corruption and constant disconnection/timeout/crashes with it ... i had to switch to the usb 2 connector to get anything working with it ...

@Crea78

Thanks for the correction, it's nice to be loved! ;-)

I ended up ordering this case from Dealsonic:

http://www.dealsonic.com/stpmblsmbaco2.html

I liked it because it is aluminum instead of plastic, is black to match my 3500, and USB/Firewire combo with the Prolific chipset. It should arrive on Monday or Tuesday, along with some Taiyo Yuden DVD+R's that I can hopefully burn at 16X with my new enclosure! I'll keep you guys posted.

Like you I am also waiting for the Seagate 100GB 7200RPM Laptop drive. Right now I"m using an 80GB 4200RPM Fujitsu. HDTach shows an average read rate of 25Mbytes/sec, so I think it will be fast enough to feed the 3500 at 16x(22Mbytes/sec) along with the fact burns are normally buffered in system memory (RAM) as well.

oh and u can find problems with the prolific pl-3507 chipset anywhere ... just google it and u'll see ...

here's a few links to get u started:

http://forums.storagereview.net/inde...howtopic=15437

http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?...highlight=3507

here's an excerpt:
"I was having problems writing data to a drive (HDD and DVD-/+RW) in a enclosure with the Prolific PL-3507 Chipset... but only when I used the Firewire, had no problem with the USB2."