Which one: A04, A05 or wait for A06?

[SciFer]

Hi, I currently have an A04 which I can sell. I just don't know if I should...confused. I can use the money to buy an A05 but I see some people have problems with this drive. The A06 I thought was going to be 8x but I've read that it really going to be a 4x, so is it really worth to upgrade and pay the difference (I think the only advantage to write dvd+r disk and faster cd burns, which I don't care about)? I used to use a lot of princos but now I using a house brand that uses maxwell media id and seems to work fine (they're certified to work 2x). Will the A05 ever be able to burn 2x disks at 4x? Or should i just hang on to my A04? Any advice appreciated.

Oohh, what's a computer junkie to do? ???

[Doom9]

Will the A05 ever be able to burn 2x disks at 4xI doubt that but history has taught me to never say never. In any case it would be rather stupid to do that, especially now that good 4x blanks (Ritek G04) are available at rather low prices.
As far as I see it, the problems people with DVD-R devices have are 90% due to the use of low quality media. I have had no problems with the A04 when using major brand media, and this record continues with the A05. I'd ask myself the following:
1) Do I need 4x burning?
2) Do I want a dual format drive?
3) How long do I wait before making a purchase?
4) Do I use the drive for DVD ripping?
5) Do I need an RPC-1 drive?
6) Do I need more than 8x/4x CD-R/W burning?

If 1 == yes => A05/A06
If 2 == yes => A06
If 3 == less than 2 months => A04/A05
If 4 == yes => A05
If 5 == yes => A04/A05
If 6 == yes => A05/A06

I think it really comes down to how long you can wait? The A06 will be RPC-2 and CSS encrypted DVDs can only be ripped at 2x speed. It may be that the drive's firmware is a lot different from the A05, and if that's so it will take long till you can make your A06 region free and unlock ripping speed. But, it may be that a firmware is out a week after the drive hits the store. Personally I'd assume that the firmware is eventually cracked, so it gets down to this: 4x burning, dual format and timeframe. If 4x is a must and timeframe is > 6 months => A06 (wait for the cracked firmware before buying), if dual format is a must => A06, if 4x isn't a must, but dual format is => A06, if neither 4x nor dual format is a must => stay with the A04.
Of course you may have to throw CD burning into the mix, too, it really depends on your setup. I have a PC with one 5.25" slot so obviously I may have more criteria than people already having a drive to rip and a fast cd burner.

[sarahjh69]

I just made the jump from 104 to 105

I paid £123 inc vat and post from ebuyer
www.121cdr.co.uk (SVP) are selling the retail 105 for £129

works great at 4x with bulkcrap orange (4 burns)..74p
Fails completely at 4x with datawrite red (2 burns)...79p
works at 4x with datawrite yellow (2 burns).....£1.00

strangely the best results show in dvd speed transfer test
with Bulkcrap orange............

[SciFer]

Thanks, you've made it pretty clear and logical. I guess I'll be getting an A05.:cool: