Pioneer DVR-118LBK DVD/CD-Writer DVD Multi-Recorder, DVD+R DL, DVD+ReWritable, CD ReWritable, Label Flash, Black

Cheap, Excellent Pioneer DVD+/-RW Drive, Not Up to DVR-110 Standards, But Excellent Nonetheless!, August 24, 2010

I just built a new OEM PC that all is SATA 2, and SATA 3 on, and I felt uncomfortable with all in the apparatus being SATA so I opted for this PATA/IDE/ATA 100 Pioneer OEM optical drive and it’s working just fine! I booted the PC from it initially, to install Windows 7, preceded by an install of OEM Windows XP Pro for qualification of the Win 7 build, so if there was anything going to go incorrect with the drive it would have happened straight away, but it worked aok fine and I had no problems installing the OS, and all programs and software with this drive.

I am partial to Pioneer drives, and that’s because I still have a Pioneer DVR-110 in one of my OEM PC’s, and another PowerMac G5 Dual Core (PCI-Express M9591LL/A) 2.3 Ghz PowerMac has a DVR-110, and those are both Region Free firmware-equipped drives that still, to this day, burn and RIP DVD’s without mercy! They both function 100%, and I guess that this Pioneer drive will also work fantastic for many years without issues.

As for installing such a drive in an OEM PC build, PC motherboards still have an ATA bus, and that’s all you have to connect up: that is an ATA/100 cable, and you are excellent to go with the standard Molex power connector in place–I mean this is plug and play, no driver necessary to make it work. With RIP-Lock in break down you won’t be RIPping any DVD’s in record time like you can with a DVR-110 (Region Free firmware) using this optical drive, but you can count on Pioneer’s standard-issue drive motor mechanism working fine up to let’s say 25X speeds, not 40X like in the DVR-110′s, but plenty adequate for most uses.

For a mere $25.99 or so you can count on this being a bargain you can afford, too…I mean how cheap does it have to be? Isn’t $25 cheap enough? I highly recommend this Pioneer optical drive for any PC or Mac use that you can reckon of–if you want the excellent Pioneer quality and reliability that we all know is legendary in drives like this.

Wavey Davey – August 23, 2010

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Replacement DVD for super drive in G4 iMac, March 31, 2010

By 

M. Meredith (Reno, NV) –

  

No problem with installation in the iMac, works fantastic. But, the packing from Amazon was very poor, they just threw it in the box with no packing. In fact the box was half opened when it arrived. I was crossing me fingers that it would still work, with seeing the condition of the box. Not a excellent job, Amazon!!!! I would of given it five stars if the packing was better.

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Do you have an 80-conductor cable?, February 10, 2011

By 

Harris Gottfried (Colorado) –

  

So far I really like the drive. I haven’t used it for much yet, but I don’t plot on having any problems. I’ll update this review if anything goes incorrect.

I bought my notebook in 2003. I was unaware that IDE cables come in 40- and 80-conductor varieties. They all have 40-pin connectors, but some have 40 wires and some have 80 wires between the two (or three) 40-pin connectors. Make sure to have the 80-conductor variety. I bought the subsequent and it works very well:

Tripp Lite P906-18I Internal Dual Ultra 33/66/100 UATA/UDMA EIDE 2-Drive Ribbon Cable (18 Inches)

At first I was using my ancient 40-conductor cable and things weren’t working out. With buying the cable I mentioned, all’s hunky-dory.

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