Yamaha CRW4416S Internal SCSI 4X CDR/RW

One word of caution when installing the Yamaha drive is that the 4416S is specified for operation in environments not exceeding temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius, especially when in the process of creating a disc. Most CDR/RW drives have a tendency to grow quite hot during the disc creation process, making the reliability of the creation process somewhat dependent on the ambient case temperature where the drive is located, so be sure to install the drive as far away as possible to any cooling obstructions and make sure it is positioned in such a manner that it can be properly cooled. The drive itself does feature a somewhat productive fan, measuring a little over 0.75" diagonally, however that little fan can't do it all for your Yamaha investment. If you're looking to keep it healthy, then make sure that you install it in a well ventilated case that doesn't usually operate in 40+ degree environments.

The burning process of most discs, while running in 4X mode, took an average of 18 minutes and 36 seconds to burn a complete disc, either composed of 650MB of data or 74 minutes of CD-quality audio. In comparison to most other competing 4X SCSI products (especially those that can be bought in retail computer sales chain stores), you'll find that the Yamaha is one of very few to actually based on its own manufactured design. While the drive mechanism used in the 4416S was designed by Yamaha, many competing retail products use internal mechanics made by companies such as Sony, Ricoh, or even Yamaha themselves, so double check to make sure you're not going to be paying more for essentially the same drive.

If you've already set your sights on a SCSI CDR/RW, Yamaha has an attractive offer with a model that can definitely rise above the competition to become one of the world's most well known CDR/RW drives. The price of the 4416S is on-par with other such drives in its class, suffering from fairly weak documentation, and an obvious gear towards more experienced users.

Although you'll find that EIDE drives are consistently cheaper, for those that are looking to get some real burning done, SCSI is pretty much the only way to go in terms of performance and reliability. Once you hop on the SCSI bandwagon, with the Yamaha CRW4416S as your ticket, you'll never want to get off.