First: Staples has the Cendyne 32x12x10 CDRW drive (CDICD00107) for US $29.99 after rebate ( $79.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate).

(Model #CDICD00107 SKU 482877)

http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Brows...CD%2DRW+Drives

Purchase between July 22, 2002 and September 30, 2002, postmark by October 30.

I’ve seen mostly LT(R)-32123s in these packages, mostly marked on the specifications label on back of the box. I’ve seen one that was “model 32x12x48”, presumably an Aopen. I’ve seen two of the boxes that had no model number marked, both were 32123s.


Office Max has mail-in rebate offers (US $) on several CenDyne drives:

http://images.officemax.com/pdf/2002_08/Cendyne_1A.pdf

(found the link on www.slickdeals.net )

$50 rebate on DVD-R/RW model CDICD00106
$30 rebate on 48x12x48 IDE CDRW model CDICD00118
$40 rebate on 40x12x48 IDE CDRW model CDICD00117
$40 rebate on 32x12x40 IDE CDRW model CDICD00107
$40 rebate on 24x10x40 IDE CDRW model CDICD00091
$10 rebate on 16X IDE DVD-ROM model CDICD00085

The CDICD00107 (32x12x40) was on sale last week for 59.99 and appears to be sold out, but they told me it is an active item still. However, it is listing at 99.99 this week.

They had the CDIC00117 and CDIC00118 in stock. All of the boxes were marked on the specs label with model number – CDIC00117=LTR-40125s CDIC00118=LTR-48125w
Before rebate, CDIC00117 was $99.99 and CDIC00118 was $109.99.

Rebate is for products purchased from July 21, 2002 through September 14, 2002 and must be postmarked within 15 days of purchase.


Micro Center has:
Cendyne 40x12x48 CDICD00117 for $109.99 (no rebate listed, odd considering the next one)
Cendyne 48x12x48 CDICD00118 for $89.99 before $30 mail in rebate (purchase from July 29 – September 1, 2002, postmark within 15 days of purchase)

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0121597

Cendyne 32x12x40 CDICD00107 for $79.99 (no rebate)

All the 40x and 48x models I saw in stock had model numbers on the specs label, and they were all Lite-On (40125s and 48125w).

I suspect that either the image on on their page for the Cendyne 48x12x48 is wrong, or possibly there are multiple manufacturers for this drive, because, as I said, all the ones I saw were marked as LTR-48125w.

Hmm…now which would you buy (even without doing a “free” flash upgrade?)

In addition, they also list Verbatim and Buslink branded drives which are frequently re-badged Lite-Ons. Verbatims are going for:
32x12x40 $79.99 (no rebate listed)
40x12x48 $79.99 before $20 mail in rebate (July 29-September 1, postmark by September 16)
48x12x48 $99.99 before $20 mail in rebate (July 29-September 1, postmark by September 16)

I've found the following on Buslink drives (at least the 40x12x48): If it says "JustLink & JustSpeed" it's an Aopen, if it says "Smart-Burn" it's a Lite-On.

Micro Center’s homepage is www.microcenter.com
The drives are listed under Products -> Upgrades -> CD-R, CD-RW, DVD drives

They also have a couple of deals on media:
Generic (K-Hypermedia, CMC) 32X 80 minute CDR 50 pack spindle, $1.99 after $9 mail in rebate, limit 2 rebates per person/household (rebate expires September 1, 2002 and must be postmarked by September 30, 2002). I know these have a bad reputation but I’ve burned over 100 of them since April and had no problems yet (only done a few at 40x and 48x though, my previous drive is an LTR-32123s). I checked a couple of the first ones I burned with Nero CD Speed’s scandisc last night and found 100% readable (0% damaged or bad). These can be found on their homepage.

Memorex 10 pack 10x 80 minute CDRW discs in slim jewel cases, $7.49 with no rebate. These are under Specials -> Advertised Specials page 3 from the homepage. The current ad expires this Sunday, August 11, 2002, but items such as this usually renew in the mid-month ad so this will likely be good until September 1.

Here's the info on those generic/K-Hypermedia discs:

According to CDR Media Code Identifier 1.63:
ATIP: 97m 26s 66f
Mfr: CMC Magnetics Corp.
Layer: Dye (short, pthal)
type: CDR
cap: 702.38MB

Smart-Burn says:
Mfr: CMC, Imation
Smart-Burn speed limit: 48X