A workhorse and a survivor
Written: Sep 03 '01
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Pros: A good cr writer and reliable
Cons: pricey for an external
The Bottom Line: Just buy it.
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| andycharger's Full Review: Hewlett Packard CD-Writer Plus 8220e CD-RW Burner |
In a development environment such as the one I work in, Im constantly writing fixes and new releases for large applications.
The fixes are normally bigger than the capacity of a Floppy disk (1.44 Meg) so I have to find alternative ways of getting my software from my development machine to the areas they are needed.
So what a blessing in disquise a CD Writer is.
It has the capacity of large files (Over 600mb) and allows easy ways to trasport for installation (CD Roms).
Here at work, we needed a reliable brand that was not going to start costing us a fortune in Badly copied disks.
So we opted for a CD Writer slower than the cutting edge market leaders in preference of trusted technology.
Its all very well having an LG or Maxim CD Writer copying at 16 X speed but if its blowing 50% of the disks through write errors, then its just not practical.
We opted for the 4 X Speed HP 8200i.
It Writes at 4 speed
It Re Writes at 2 Speed
It reads at 16 speed.
Not that quick really but very reliable.
I have an LG one at home that is twice the speed of this and it is always causing Write errors.
The HP 8200i is an extrnal drive that plugs into your computer through the USB port. You can get Parallel port connecting ones but these are nowhere near as good. Much too slow for data transfer.
Its very rounded to look at with no sharp corners. It is finished in a grey compared to the usual light beige of PCs today.
The loading door has an "Apple" look to it with a translucent Blue colour. Seems to be the trendy thing to do at the moment.
There is no play button however. Just an Eject button.
Its an auto pick up CD player so play is not really needed. Would be a nice function to have though.
There is a volume control and headphone socket on the front too. Dont know why they are on there because its unlikely you sill use this device as your main CD rom.
Software it comes with includes its own branded copying program. This is better really compared to Adaptec that comes with the majority because you know this program has been specifically written for this CD Rom.
Compatibility is a problem. If you Have windows NT (as most developers do) forget it.
It wont work with it.
You must have either Windows 98 (no good for development) or Windows 2000 (still highly untested)
Windows 95 has problems with USB compatibility so it too is no good.
If you have 2000, buy yorself a HP 8200i.
At £150, its a lot of money but well worth the quality investment.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
andycharger
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Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK
Reviews written: 112
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