Old CD-ROM Drives

Reply 20 of 25, by silverslc

Posted on 2013-09-13, 07:37

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Plextor 4X PX-43CH or PX-43CE. I believe both are SCSI and some of the best reviews back in 94. I had the 43CH which had the 1mb buffer. I remember buying it new at Egghead software for my 386. was NOT cheap. But it was quiet and very solid, no issues. Back in 94-98 I remember friends newer faster drives failing and they were like your still running a quad. I was happy to keep it since everything else around me at the time seem to be crap. Had it for years and eventually sold my complete system with it. I never forgot what a rock solid drive it was so I got one for my current retro rig. I think the only drawback, if you even want to call it that... Is its a caddy drive. So make sure you get it with the caddy or you're left with a paper weight.

-Nick

Reply 21 of 25, by bjt

Posted on 2013-09-13, 09:21

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Yep I wouldn't mind a SCSI Plextor but I don't have a free slot for a host adaptor. There are network/SCSI combo cards out there but who knows what their DOS/Win9x compatibility is like.

Reply 22 of 25, by Anonymous Coward

Posted on 2013-09-13, 14:50

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Caddy drives are great.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 23 of 25, by silverslc

Posted on 2013-09-13, 15:22

silverslc Offline

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bjt wrote:
Yep I wouldn't mind a SCSI Plextor but I don't have a free slot for a host adaptor. There are network/SCSI combo cards out there but who knows what their DOS/Win9x compatibility is like.

I'm running a Soundblaster 16 SCSI - ct1779, no extra slot needed.. controller on soundcard. These sound card/SCSI combos we're pretty much made with cd-rom drives in mind. Just a suggestion if your flexible with swapping out current soundcard with something else. Using standard Adaptec software runs flawlessly in DOS and win3.1. Good card and if your picky about newer components in your old rig, well It's period correct too. Win, win. I may also suggest Media visions pro audio spectrum 16 SCSI card, I had good experiences with that one as well.

-Nick

Reply 24 of 25, by sliderider

Posted on 2013-09-13, 15:58

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Anonymous Coward wrote:
Caddy drives are great.

Until the caddy gets lost or broken, then you're all like 🙁

Reply 25 of 25, by Anonymous Coward

Posted on 2013-09-13, 22:02

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Just about all the caddy loader drives I've ever seen (with the exception of the ones that take multiple disks) used a standard caddy. In my opinion, not very hard to find. I bought a box of 10 of them on eBay for a few bucks.