VOGONS


First post, by DustyShinigami

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So I have a Creative 5233E, and the one draw to it is that it has S/PDIF capabilities so I can play games with redbook audio. However, the big drawback with it is that it's 52x and it's bloody loud! It's like a plane taking off down a runway! I've been using CDSlow in Windows and CDBQ in DOS, though ideally, I could do with having it as a backup drive for the S/PDIF, move it into the lower bay, and have something more period accurate and appropriate. I was hoping for some recommendations on good CD-ROM drives for both Windows and DOS games. What's considered an ideal speed? An ideal make/model? Is there anything else I'd need to consider? Thanks.

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Slot 1 Pentium III Coppermine 933MHz (SL448)
RAM: Kingston 256MB 133MHz
GPU: Nvidia 16MB Riva TNT/128MB Geforce 4 Ti 4200
Motherboard: ABit AB-BE6-II Intel 440BX
HDD: C, D - IDE 1, CD-ROM - IDE 2, E - IDE 3

Reply 1 of 10, by RetroPCCupboard

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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)

Reply 2 of 10, by DustyShinigami

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RetroPCCupboard wrote on Yesterday, 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. ^^;

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Slot 1 Pentium III Coppermine 933MHz (SL448)
RAM: Kingston 256MB 133MHz
GPU: Nvidia 16MB Riva TNT/128MB Geforce 4 Ti 4200
Motherboard: ABit AB-BE6-II Intel 440BX
HDD: C, D - IDE 1, CD-ROM - IDE 2, E - IDE 3

Reply 4 of 10, by DustyShinigami

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theelf wrote on Yesterday, 23:15:

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?

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Slot 1 Pentium III Coppermine 933MHz (SL448)
RAM: Kingston 256MB 133MHz
GPU: Nvidia 16MB Riva TNT/128MB Geforce 4 Ti 4200
Motherboard: ABit AB-BE6-II Intel 440BX
HDD: C, D - IDE 1, CD-ROM - IDE 2, E - IDE 3

Reply 5 of 10, by theelf

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DustyShinigami wrote on Yesterday, 23:41:
theelf wrote on Yesterday, 23:15:

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

Reply 6 of 10, by DustyShinigami

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theelf wrote on Yesterday, 23:46:
Yes, i hate black, but painted and end of problems […]
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DustyShinigami wrote on Yesterday, 23:41:
theelf wrote on Yesterday, 23:15:

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. 😅

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Slot 1 Pentium III Coppermine 933MHz (SL448)
RAM: Kingston 256MB 133MHz
GPU: Nvidia 16MB Riva TNT/128MB Geforce 4 Ti 4200
Motherboard: ABit AB-BE6-II Intel 440BX
HDD: C, D - IDE 1, CD-ROM - IDE 2, E - IDE 3

Reply 8 of 10, by DustyShinigami

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Shponglefan wrote on Today, 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. 😀

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Slot 1 Pentium III Coppermine 933MHz (SL448)
RAM: Kingston 256MB 133MHz
GPU: Nvidia 16MB Riva TNT/128MB Geforce 4 Ti 4200
Motherboard: ABit AB-BE6-II Intel 440BX
HDD: C, D - IDE 1, CD-ROM - IDE 2, E - IDE 3

Reply 9 of 10, by NeoG_

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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.

98/DOS Rig: BabyAT AladdinV, K6-2+/550, V3 2000, 128MB PC100, 20GB HDD, 128GB SD2IDE, SB Live!, SB16-SCSI, PicoGUS, WP32 McCake, iNFRA CD, ZIP100
XP Rig: Lian Li PC-10 ATX, Gigabyte X38-DQ6, Core2Duo E6850, ATi HD5870, 2GB DDR2, 2TB HDD, X-Fi XtremeGamer

Reply 10 of 10, by DustyShinigami

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NeoG_ wrote on Today, 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.

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Slot 1 Pentium III Coppermine 933MHz (SL448)
RAM: Kingston 256MB 133MHz
GPU: Nvidia 16MB Riva TNT/128MB Geforce 4 Ti 4200
Motherboard: ABit AB-BE6-II Intel 440BX
HDD: C, D - IDE 1, CD-ROM - IDE 2, E - IDE 3