I ordered two copies, one each & for the office and the gaming PC.
Optical drives like very good and the installation or exchange takes in most cases only 5-10 minutes.
What to make high of the two burners, I can not say exactly, because right out of the showed that both positive and negative aspects have. Each of the two differently.
One drive is generally very quiet, only occasionally "goes" it up briefly and then does indeed sound (as some noted here) shortly loudly and growling like a very old hard drive. With me so far but which came to no longer than 1-2 seconds. I burned with the torch so far nothing, but when ripping audio CDs it was pleasantly quiet.
However, he makes when playing DVDs but noise. No buzzing or rattling, but ... hmm, how I describe the sound ...
Actually, it reminds me of an old offense portable CD player that I had as a teenager. This began after about 1.5 years of daily use when playing CDs to buzz. As the CD would grind when playing somewhere. I thought nothing of it at first, it held for the first signs of wear of the rotary engine, as it is also increasingly refusing to recognize CDs. Until I realized with horror that the player has milled a deep, wide scraper ring in each of my CDs! He flew out high then known.
The sound that the burner causes look the DVD sounds like, so I'm going to be treated with caution and closely monitor whether he actually works as it should, or I still experience a nasty surprise.
UPDATE: So far I have not found any damage to the inserted discs, I hope it stays that way. In this respect, all clear! The twang when playing has become subjectively subtle, maybe I could get it even entirely to disappear. Firing was still propagated not been tested on this PC.
The second burner in the office PC is something else. With him, I've never heard a peep when he was not in use, even when PC startup. When playing discs he is completely calm, the funny twang occurs not on here.
But he begins obscenely loud hum / drone when you rip a CD. Not nearly as "silent" as his colleague. The hum takes after completion Ripping still about 1-2 minutes before the torch finally silent again. Slightly irritating.
As with his colleagues there is also at each "cranking" this drive (shortly after inserting a CD, just before the start of the burn process ...) for 1-3 seconds very loud and it roars with properly bass vibration and tidy. Is it just in the office working on the doze, you will be as startled before, but it is only a brief moment, then it is again inaudible. That seems the majority, if not to show all copies of this model. If you want to prevent something that should think about a decoupling / anti-vibration mounting. I'll still be retrofitted with me and then sometimes draw comparisons.
The first firing tests ran smoothly with this specimen, have been available on CD-R and DVD + R from different manufacturers burned without difficulty. During the firing process even the drive was also very quiet and I could find no error on the finished discs. However, I have so far (as almost always) fired at the lowest speed, because as most internal errors can be avoided from the outset. A normal audio CD was still in about 3 minutes completed (16 times faster).
Both, incidentally, run 64 bit on a nearly identical Windows 7 Ultimate. The detection / installation with the drivers of the website worked smoothly and the download on the manufacturer's site was quickly found with a brief Google search.
So far, each of the two copies so its positive surprises like little quirks and it's strange that both remain partially in the same situation quietly or be loud, so I will continue to test the two drives and keep the review date. However, I have a certain confidence in the brand Asus and as for the price, which is ever great.
Let's see how it will go on.
