160GB Hard disk and DVD burner

Stephen · 25-06-2004 8:28pm #1

Aldi - Thursday - Samsung 160GB IDE hard disk for €109.99 - not a bad price at all. No idea what speed it is but I would hazard a guess that its 7200RPM.

their blurb:

160 Gb Internal Hard Disc Drive
Simply upgrade your existing computer, by following the clear installation instructions, with this fantastic Samsung 160Gb internal hard disk drive. Ideal for those computer users who have ever-increasing amounts of information to store like digital photos and digital videos. Product comes complete with full telephone support, manufacturer’s three year warranty and cabling/software for installation. Compatible with most computers.

I'm quite tempted.

The DVD burner is a medion-branded Pioneer 107 8x DVD+/-R - another good bargain I think at only €99. I bought the aldi DVD burner last time round - another medion branded Pioneer, only it was a 106 which can only do 4x. Its still serving me well.

the blurb:

Take advantage of DVD storage with this multi format DVD Burner. Burns DVD in both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ formats. A single DVD will hold 4.7Gb of files, ample storage space for movies, images etc. Write speeds: 24 x CD-R, 8 x DVD-R, 8 x DVD+R. Re-write speeds: 24 x CD-RW, 4 x DVD-RW, 4 x DVD+RW. Read speeds: 12 x DVD, 40 x CD. Also burns and reads CDs!! Comes complete with DVD copy, DVD recorder, DVD creator and discmaster software, one blank DVD and installation cable. Complete with manufacturer’s three year warranty and customer helpline number.

more info at http://ireland.aldi.com/

tman · 25-06-2004 8:31pm

you could get a westy caviar 160gb drive for the same price including shipping from komplett...
samsungs are supposed to be a good bit queiter though

Stephen · 25-06-2004 8:33pm

Yeah, the fact that you can walk in and pick it up there and then makes it a bit more attractive.

dazberry · 25-06-2004 8:56pm

From Marx-Computers - "While Stock Lasts..."

Pioneer 106 DVD+/-Rewriter

Pioneer DVR-106, writes the following formats:
(generic) DVD-R (4x), DVD-RW (2x), DVD+R (4x)
DVD+RW (2.4x), CD-R (16x), CD-RW (10x)
no software incl.

88 notes incl vat.

Not the best spec. tho' and its slot loading (I hate slot loading for some reason). Probably worth e11 going for the 107 TBH, unless your stuck for cash and happen to be in Fairview.

D.

Stephen · 25-06-2004 9:44pm

The 106 isn't slot loading - i have one here.
I think it is worth the extra couple of euro to go for the higher speed.

dazberry · 26-06-2004 1:55pm

Originally posted by Stephen
The 106 isn't slot loading - i have one here.
I think it is worth the extra couple of euro to go for the higher speed.

They must have the wrong picture on the site then :rolleyes:

D.

RobertFoster · 26-06-2004 2:50pm

anyone heard good/bad things about the DVD burner?

do Aldi have limited time/items?

Creamy Goodness · 26-06-2004 2:54pm

the pioneer is one of the best burners out there.

aldi do only offer a limited amount to each shop though so you'll need to be quick

RobertFoster · 26-06-2004 3:41pm

when did it/will it start?

Stephen · 26-06-2004 11:06pm

Thursday morning. They'll probably all be gone before 10 am. I got the DVD writer last time round in Aldi Carlow - they only had 6 of them.

Its branded "Medion" but made by pioneer and has labels on it saying that. If you examing a "real" pioneer drive you can see that the front panel is exactly the same.

bk · 26-06-2004 11:16pm

If the Medion DVD Burner is the same as the one that came with the Medion PC that Aldi sold a few months back (the specs match so I'd say they are), then it is a rebadged Pioneer 107D.

This is an excllent DVD Burner.

However you can get the same drive from www.blankdiscshop.co.uk for less and get loads of DVD-R at the same time.

blobert · 26-06-2004 11:30pm

The Samsung Hard Disk looks like a nice deal.

Can anyone work out what kind it is so I can read up on it?

bk · 26-06-2004 11:42pm

Originally posted by bk
If the Medion DVD Burner is the same as the one that came with the Medion PC that Aldi sold a few months back (the specs match so I'd say they are), then it is a rebadged Pioneer 107D.

This is an excllent DVD Burner.

However you can get the same drive from www.blankdiscshop.co.uk for less and get loads of DVD-R at the same time.

[NB NOTE] Doing this will invalidate your warranty and may kill your drive, try at your own risk.[/NB NOTE]

Quoting myself, but for anyone who buys a Medion drive, I was able to flash upgrade it's firmware with the Pioneer hacked firmware that gives you lots of extra featurtes, such as higher DVD read speeds, burn 4 speed DVD-R's at 6 and 8 speed and multiregion.

[NB NOTE] Doing this will invalidate your warranty and may kill your drive, try at your own risk.[/NB NOTE]

Stephen · 27-06-2004 12:39am

Yeah, I flashed my 106 to be region free and burn 1x media at 2x and increase its DVD ripping speed to 12x

all the info you need for those kind of shenanigans is at http://forum.rpc1.org - use the search function or someone will probably snap your head off.

balkieb2002 · 27-06-2004 4:46am

Originally posted by blobert
The Samsung Hard Disk looks like a nice deal.

Can anyone work out what kind it is so I can read up on it?

Not sure but i think its this one or it could be one of these!

If i'm wrong let me know as i'm interested in getting one also as currently only have 40gb (of that less than 10gb left) so really need to give myself more space.

griffdaddy · 27-06-2004 1:43pm

how hard/possible would it be for me to make that drive external and connect it via usb2 or firewire? i have a hp computer that i bought in compustore and i dont know if it has another harddrive slot?

RicardoSmith · 27-06-2004 2:41pm

Originally posted by griffdaddy
how hard/possible would it be for me to make that drive external and connect it via usb2 or firewire? i have a hp computer that i bought in compustore and i dont know if it has another harddrive slot?

Its likely the computer can take another drive internally to be honest. If you comfortable opening it up. Have a look and see if theres a spare connector on the cable to the existing HD. If there is then you'll be able to put it internally.

To conect it externally you need to buy an external 3.5" enclosure. Fitting the drive in it is easy. I assume the PC has USB2 or FW connectors?

spongebob · 27-06-2004 4:36pm

each store will get 8 HD and 8 DVD.

all gone by 09.05AM

M

griffdaddy · 27-06-2004 4:50pm

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
I assume the PC has USB2 or FW connectors?

yeah its new i only got it two months ago, it has 6 of each but i thought it might not be expandle because it's a store bought computer. i'll open later cause it's got screws, not like dell computers which can open by just looking at the right way!

subway_ie · 27-06-2004 5:02pm

Originally posted by griffdaddy
yeah its new i only got it two months ago, it has 6 of each but i thought it might not be expandle because it's a store bought computer.

6 FireWire ports??? Who would actually use all those?

rymus · 27-06-2004 5:25pm

Originally posted by Muck
all gone by 09.05AM

Balls, I'll have to be there by 9.04AM so...

DVD burner looks the business

RicardoSmith · 27-06-2004 5:30pm

Originally posted by subway_ie
6 FireWire ports??? Who would actually use all those?

Seems a lot alright. But I guess if you were doing a lot of digital video you might use them all. I have 3 USB2 on the laptop and I use a 4 port USB hub giving me 6 ports and often have all the ports full, with 2x ext drives, sound card, mouse, flashdrive, printer, joystick, PDA, camera, scanner etc. If I could find a USB2 hub with 8 ports that doesn't need a PSU I could use it. But for now I just swap things around as I wouldn't need to use all those devices at the same time.

griffdaddy · 27-06-2004 5:42pm

hold on it only has 3 firewire ports, they're '1394' arent they? it has seven usb 2 ports, 4 or five of which are always in use, printer, camera, bluetooth stick, gamepad. if i put a hard drive like this externally will i need external power? and would the computer recognise it as a hard drive and assign it a letter?

RicardoSmith · 27-06-2004 9:31pm

A drive this (3.5") would need external power.
Yes, you'll need to format it and assign a drive letter as normal.

Unless you really want to put it externally puting it inside is neater.

ozmo · 27-06-2004 11:46pm

Originally posted by bk
If the Medion DVD Burner is the same as the one that came with the Medion PC that Aldi sold a few months back (the specs match so I'd say they are), then it is a rebadged Pioneer 107D.

This is an excllent DVD Burner.

However you can get the same drive from www.blankdiscshop.co.uk for less and get loads of DVD-R at the same time.

Thanks for the link - saves me queuing up on thursday...
Any idea of what postage costs to Ireland? Cannot find it on site.

Also - anyone who wants to get the Medion DVD burner - last time they were on sale
they offered a free Black front if you rang the Medion office and requested one. They might do the same this time although it isnt mentioned anywhere.

bk · 28-06-2004 1:34am

Originally posted by ozmo
Thanks for the link - saves me queuing up on thursday...
Any idea of what postage costs to Ireland? Cannot find it on site.

Also - anyone who wants to get the Medion DVD burner - last time they were on sale
they offered a free Black front if you rang the Medion office and requested one. They might do the same this time although it isnt mentioned anywhere.

They charge a fixed delivery cost of £11, so I think the full price works out at €100, the same as Aldi, however you can get a load of other stuff (Blank DVD-R, Cases, etc.) at the same time and it won't increase the delivery charge.

I highly recommend you get the Datasafe DVD-R discs. They aren't the cheapest, but they are of a very good quality.

For those of you getting into DVD burning, www.videohelp.com is a must visit for all sorts of info and tutorials on DVDs and digital video.

Really Aldi's prices for this DVD burner and HD aren't that great, you can get the same prices on the net.

daveg · 28-06-2004 9:17am

I nearly bought the Pioneer A07 last week as I felt it was time to upgrade my A06. However having checked SVP's site I decided to go for new NEC Nd-2510 which supports dual layer burning. Dual layer media has not been released yet (supposed to be released in Sept). Anyone looking to buy a new burner should consider this drive. Only costs an exta £10 and will futureproof the drive when the new format is released.

For those who don't know what dual layer media is it is basically 9.4GB per disc as opposed to 4.7GB. Most retail DVD's are dual layer

bk · 28-06-2004 10:07am

Originally posted by daveg
For those who don't know what dual layer media is it is basically 9.4GB per disc as opposed to 4.7GB. Most retail DVD's are dual layer

A small point, but FYI, Dual Layer is actually 8.5GB per disc.

Also the NEC drive isn't considered very good for Dual Layer as it doesn't support bitsetting.

Personally I'm waiting for 4 speed dual layer drives and better and cheaper DL discs. IMO dual layer isn't good enough yet at 2.5 speed, expensive media and questionable quality. Give it a year.

balkieb2002 · 01-07-2004 10:10am

Went to aldi in thurles today to pick one/both of these up. Got there at about half 8 and queued (spellin), there was already bout 20 people there, and by 9 there as a q of a least 80-100 people so was glad i went early.

I was mainly after the hard-drive but hoped to get the dvd-rw if possible. I found the dvd easliy enough and picked it up but could see the hd anywhere. So i asked one of the staff and they told me, to my dissapointment, that the supply of hd's was held up in customs and didn't have a clue when the delivery would be. So that leaves me with ringin them up for the rest of the day tryin to find out if they arrived yet.

I havent tested out the dvd yet but will do as soon as i install it (came here first to let off my rant!!)

Was this the story for everyone else?

ChipZilla · 01-07-2004 10:29am

Hey balkieb2002, did you get anything with your DVD drive about the replacement black faceplate? Last time they sold this drive there was a leaflet with a number you could phone to order one... I can't see anything about it this time.

Asok · 01-07-2004 10:37am

According to the gent in aldi galway the hard drives should be in and for sale first thing tomorrow morning.

/me pets his dvd rw drive

160GB Hard disk and DVD burner

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