Buggy system? Successfully added to cart initially, but when I tried again 10 min later, it didn't work.

Now they're showing 87 available again, LOL.

That's probably because multiple people are playing around and trying to do the same thing as you, add a bunch to the cart to see how many are left.

In any event, those have been there forever, just like their Plextor media, and it's all way too expensive and not worth it simply for the Plextor name.

That stuff will sit there and rot until they lower the price significantly or clearance them out.

I am wondering where these brand new (as claimed) repackage of BenQ 1640 come from?, Where have these drives being hidden so far and why?.

Unity is the official Plextor service center (or distributor), I believe... not really surprising that they have older Plextor stock.

I was in NYC last week and they had an auction of lots of discontinued electonics. The sticking point was that you have to buy the whole lot, there were about 100 lots of things. In one of them were about 144 BenQ retail drives but the lot also included TVs and DVD recorders (standalones) and about 20,000USD worth of stuff. So whoever bought that lot might be selling them on Ebay or a website. I could not findout who the buyer was, because the bids are all confidential. My point being that there are BenQs available, you just have to search.

Yeah, Unity is an official service center and distributor of Plextor products. They get all of Plextor's discontinued items, and they also sell factory refurbs and media, among other things. The problem is, the prices are the same nonsensical ones that Plextor is famous for.

You are correct negritude, when that frive was new, I bought 2 of them at Best Buy Retail on sale for 39.99 and they came with a spindle of TDK discs (30).

I agree the $59.99 price tag for 1640 is somehow outrageous. I am sure as alan says you look harder you can find better deal with better price.

Used DW1650 with a Buy-It-Now price of $18.50 + $10.88 shipping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=350060057094

People put any thing on ebay regardless of their status. I wonder if these used one which cost $29 (with shipping) really works of work for months?.

Definitely. A seller on amazon.com is selling a new DW1655 for $60. The seller has 100% positive feedback - from 1 rating

That was probably his mom.

I won't be surprised.

I posted in the FAQ feedback thread that the FAQ needs to be updated, but as a reminder, here are the main Nexperia models and their rebadges:

BenQ DW1620: Philips DVDR1640, Philips DVD8601, MSI DR16-B, Shuttle CR40, HP 630C
BenQ DW1625: Philips DVDR16LS, Philips DVD8651, HP 640I
BenQ DW1640: Philips DVDR1648, Philips DVD8701, Plextor PX-740A, Plextor PX-740UF, Sony DRU-810A
BenQ DW1650: Philips DVDR1660, Philips DVD8801, Philips SPD1400, Sony DRU-810A-R, Lite-On DW1650-488
BenQ DW1655: Philips DVDR1668, Philips DVD8851

As an addendum, the Sony DRX-810UL and DRX-810UL/T, which are both external drives, are also Nexperia BenQs, but we have no current way of knowing just from looking at the packaging or enclosure, whether the drive inside is a DRU-810A (DW1640) or a DRU-810A-R (DW1650).

Also remember that Nexperia BenQ drives could be found under the old CompUSA brand, and their mostly in-house Hi-Val, Norwood Micro, and Connect Computer brands (I never saw those brands at any other retail outlet).

The BenQ DW1655 could also sometimes be found under the I/O Magic brand, with their 16x drives that had Lightscribe.

Lastly, the Philips OEM drives, at least in the states, could sometimes be found installed into Dell and Gateway computer systems.

I mention the above because obviously, you're unlikely to find anymore of them under those brands for sale as new, but if you happen to come across a box that has 16x on it, or an old computer with a 16x burner, you might want to check it out further.

Are you sure of the Phillips DVDR16LS listed under BenQ DW1625 being a phillips? I haven't seen Phillips with that designation but have seen I/O Magic and other re-packagers using such nomenclature.

I've been compiling a list of which BenQ is in who's box at which retailer and how to determine what's in the box.

If anyone has anything to add or any corrections to make to the list, please let me know.

It prints on 5-pages of legal (8.5" x 14") paper in landscape format with top, left and right margins of 0.12" and a bottom margin of 0.55".

See attached spreadsheet: How to find BenQ Burners as of June 04, 2008.xls

BTW, this spreadsheet isn't just about finding BenQ as in the NEW/Lite-On ownership builds. It's about finding the Nexperia chipset BenQ's of old i.e. 16x and earlier.

Regards,
Parato Optimal

That was already in the FAQ, so I have no idea. That model number is only found in Europe, so someone from there will have to chime in.

Thanks Parato Optimal/negritude for your contribution in providing unique and useful information on BenQ Drives and their OEMs. I am sure many members will benifit in finding BenQ drives they looking for either in BenQ retail or OEM boxes.

FYI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...1112&name=Sony shows an open box Sony DRU-810A, which is a rebadged Benq 1640 if memory serves, for $32.40 plus $1 shipping if anybody is interested.

They must have sold it already cause I cant find it in that link.

I'd buy it if I knew for sure it was a 1640, but I don't think I want anymore 1650s. Plus, the very fact that they have some kind of customer return sitting around after all this time, makes me think it might not be in the greatest shape. If it was 2007, then it'd be worth a shot, but an open box 810a in 2008?! Where in the heck did it come from?

Thanks , the other link had a whole bunch of drives, I guess I missed it.

At 1:48 PM ET it shows it's the 5th 1 on the page at the link I posted, or the direct link is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16827131261R if you prefer.