Mike writes, "Help! My old DVD burner died on me after only 6 months of mild use. Since my budget is pretty tight right now, can you recommend a cheap DVD burner that's also reliable?"

Well Mike, that depends on what, exactly, you're looking for.

If you're looking for an internal SATA DVD Burner, then check out the LG GH22NS30 Super Multi DVD Rewriter - it'll burn everything you want, minus Blu-Ray. If you're looking for a DVD burner with the ability to read Blu-Ray discs, try the Lite On IHES206-08 Blu-ray Disc Reader with DVD Writer Combo

For an IDE drive, well that's pretty hit or miss. I'd recommend the HP DVD1140i Super Multiformat Internal DVD Burner.

If you can afford just a bit more money, spring for the LG GBW-H20L Super Multi Blue BLU-Ray Disc Rewriter. It'll burn everything from CDs to Blu-Ray discs, of course it might be out of your budget (did I mention it's a SATA drive, and not IDE?)

Generally, pickings are a bit slim in the optical burner market. You'll notice that I don't recommend any external burners, mostly because they all use USB and they're slow as hell (and most of them are just retrofitted internal devices anyway!)

So there you go, Mike, a few good choices that should last a good long while. Oh, and if your burner dies within six months, you might want to look into getting a factory replacement as you might still be under the manufacturers warranty.

Do you have a question you need answered? E-mail me! lordkat@gmail.com

Click here to check out How to Build a Gaming Computer for Under $1000.

Be safe,

Jason