I think 4x speed is the sweet spot if you don't want noise. Though I have mine in a Pentium MMX machine. So don't really need faster than that. 4x is the minimum for some early FMV games like Wing Commander Prophecy (1997)

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-12-15, 22:48:

I think 4x speed is the sweet spot if you don't want noise. Though I have mine in a Pentium MMX machine. So don't really need faster than that. 4x is the minimum for some early FMV games like Wing Commander Prophecy (1997)

Wow. As low as that? I was expecting something like 12x to 24x. ^^;

IDE cdrom Philips Drom6216/34 incredible low noise level

theelf wrote on 2025-12-15, 23:15:

IDE cdrom Philips Drom6216/34 incredible low noise level

Hmm. Intriguing. But what puts me off that is the fact it's black. Definitely prefer beige. Otherwise it's not going to match the rest of the system. ^^; Or, is there a beige model?

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-12-15, 23:41:

theelf wrote on 2025-12-15, 23:15:

IDE cdrom Philips Drom6216/34 incredible low noise level

Hmm. Intriguing. But what puts me off that is the fact it's black. Definitely prefer beige. Otherwise it's not going to match the rest of the system. ^^;

Yes, i hate black, but painted and end of problems

The exact old PC color is RAL 7044 Grigio Seta

Believe Me, even if I put my ear next to the cd rom reading at max speed, I CANT HEAR!! my mitsumi 1x do more noise.... crazy

theelf wrote on 2025-12-15, 23:46:

Yes, i hate black, but painted and end of problems […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-12-15, 23:41:

theelf wrote on 2025-12-15, 23:15:

IDE cdrom Philips Drom6216/34 incredible low noise level

Hmm. Intriguing. But what puts me off that is the fact it's black. Definitely prefer beige. Otherwise it's not going to match the rest of the system. ^^;

Yes, i hate black, but painted and end of problems

The exact old PC color is RAL 7044 Grigio Seta

Believe Me, even if I put my ear next to the cd rom reading at max speed, I CANT HEAR!! my mitsumi 1x do more noise.... crazy

I see. I did not know that. I’ve just used the term ‘beige’ when searching for specific colours. It’s also an option when doing eBay searches. 😅 And they’re only beige due to yellowing with age.

I can’t really find that model on eBay UK from what I’ve seen. Though there are similar models.

Painting… hmm. I don’t fancy buying a specific paint just for a CD drive though. 😅

I use Mitsumi drives with speeds ranging from 4x to 8x. Quiet and period correct for 90s stuff.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-12-16, 00:59:

I use Mitsumi drives with speeds ranging from 4x to 8x. Quiet and period correct for 90s stuff.

Great. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see what I can find. 😀

8x would be ideal for you I think, but since the market was moving so fast I don't think there is a lot of them around. My creative drive running at 8x isn't silent, and I don't think you even want a compeltely silent drive. Hearing it a bit in the background is OK just as long as it's not like a plane taking off.

NeoG_ wrote on 2025-12-16, 09:22:

8x would be ideal for you I think, but since the market was moving so fast I don't think there is a lot of them around. My creative drive running at 8x isn't silent, and I don't think you even want a compeltely silent drive. Hearing it a bit in the background is OK just as long as it's not like a plane taking off.

Right. I’ll set my current drive, with CDSlow and CDBQ, to 8x and see what that’s like. But yeah, I’ve only seen one Mitsumi on eBay so far and that’s about £55.

Ahh. Sadly, there doesn't appear to be much on eBay UK from what I'm seeing. Particularly for 8x.

Come across a Mitsumi CRMC-FX400D. I believe this is 4x...? From 1995, too. Would this be worth picking up?

If it's for a good price, I'd go for it.

£50...? I've only seen one other similar that sold for about £55.

That seems a bit on the expensive side for one of those drives. Though if it is in good condition and functional, I suppose it might be worth it.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-02-07, 22:49:

Come across a Mitsumi CRMC-FX400D. I believe this is 4x...? From 1995, too. Would this be worth picking up?

FX400D doesn't read some CD-Rs, I'd look for FX400E or FX400G
Differences between Mitsumi FX400 versions

I have a FX400D and it does actually read newly burnt Verbatim CD-Rs. The original poster must have a bad drive or bad CDs...

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-02-08, 02:07:

That seems a bit on the expensive side for one of those drives. Though if it is in good condition and functional, I suppose it might be worth it.

Yeah, I suppose. But aren't they slightly sought after? As a retro CD-ROM drive, I mean? Mitsumi makes, specifically?

Another one has been found, which is 8x from 1997. For some reason it's listed as new, which I don't think it is. That's £45.60 with free shipping from Denmark. The seller has sent an offer of 10% off, so it's £34.20. That's an FX820S model.

There's another from Italy, which is £30.52. That's model CRMC-FX800S. It hasn't been tested though. The other one has.

ott wrote on 2026-02-08, 03:40:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-02-07, 22:49:

Come across a Mitsumi CRMC-FX400D. I believe this is 4x...? From 1995, too. Would this be worth picking up?

FX400D doesn't read some CD-Rs, I'd look for FX400E or FX400G
Differences between Mitsumi FX400 versions

Thanks for the list. 😀 A couple of new ones I've mentioned are FX800, but I'll check that and compare.