Looking for a suggestion for buying one of the following DVD-ROM's for reading TwinPeak'ed backups of SecuROM 4.8+ games. I'm ordering from NewEgg.com and I'm only considering the following drives:

1. ASUS E616P2 => supposed to be fast and quiet according to the reviews but can it read TwinPeak backups?
2. LiteOn SOHD-167T => supposed to be really good but can it read TwinPeak backups?...also is it really loud as some complain?
3. Toshiba SD-M1912 => not sure I like the Samsung look...not too many reviews of this sucker either...

Ex: My current Toshiba SD-M1612 has been very good to me, but it doesn't read my TwinPeak'ed backup of Star Wars KotOR (original CD has SecuROM 4.8.x but update .exe has 5.0.x).


PS I'll be ordering a Plextor Premium too to see how good it is at SafeDisc 3.x and SecuROM 4.8+ backups...also would this cause reading a TwinPeak backup to be a moot point?

I have the LiteOn and I am very satisfied. However for games backups I think Toshiba has tradition on this.

(in reply to tqhoang)

Thanks Iggy. BTW, I read in different reviews about some saying that the LiteOn 167T is loud, but some others say it's quiet. When the drive spins up the disc, is it pretty loud or just noticeable?

(in reply to Iggy)

Mine is super quiet. I guess this depends on your case as well, because some cases seem to amplify the sound of a drive.

(in reply to tqhoang)

167T can be adjusted to lower its reading speed and have quiet operation, as far your question of Twinpeaks backups...cannot answer that question, over the cdfreaks forum, you may get an answer since the Twinpeak author hangs there

(in reply to tqhoang)

Thanks for all the great advice. I decided to go for the Lite-On SOHD-167T. I'll post back with my findings of playing backup my TwinPeak'ed SecuROM 4.8x/5.x and SafeDisc 3.x backups.

(in reply to emperor)

It is quiet. But this depends on the inserted media.

(in reply to tqhoang)

you can use special firmware either to speed up or slow down the reading speeds, check over http://codeguys.rpc1.org

(in reply to Iggy)

Looking at the CodeGuys' firmwares, is it safe to read DVD+/-R(W) that fast? Should I really limit the reading speed to what the max write speed of my discs are?

FWIW, I only use Verbatim 8x DVD+/-R and Verbatim 2.4x DVD+RW.

(in reply to emperor)

yes there is no problem, LiteON has just limited the maximum reading speed, for copyright reasons

(in reply to tqhoang)

Well I just installed my LiteOn 167T and Plextor Premium yesterday. So far so good with reading & writing SecuROM 4.8x/5.x backups with the Premium. My old Toshiba can even read the SecuROM backup made from the Premium...

So my question now is:
Do you guys hear a weird scratchy noise when the LiteOn drive first spins up a disc? I don't mind the hi-speed spindle noise (might use the "quiet" firmware if it gets too scary), but that scratchy sound is really bothersome. I get this with both burned and pressed CD's and DVD's.

(in reply to emperor)

yes a weird scratch sound when the drive spins up its normal

(in reply to tqhoang)

Man, they really need to work on that...it sounds terrible...wondering if I should have gone with the ASUS E616P2 now...c'est la vie...
Anyway, thanks for the info Emperor et al. I believe I'm done with this thread.

(in reply to emperor)

(in reply to tqhoang)