Removable Media Drives

The LaCie d2 Blu-ray burner offers good performance speeds, but it's still prohibitively expensive. Home users should wait for Blu-ray burners to drop in price and improve in performance.

The Sony DRU-830A is a fast drive, but it's on the expensive side.

Although it's pricey, the Sony DVDirect VRD-MC3 is a boon for anyone who has lots of old videotapes but less time or tech skills to digitize them using a computer. Even better, it doubles as an external DVD burner, so you can use it with your PC long after you've transferred all those old tapes.

This drive turned in decent recording and rewriting times and comes with a superior software bundle, but its DVD ripping performance is surprisingly dismal.

Although the Iomega Rev is a capable drive, it's overwhelmed by less expensive, nonproprietary storage solutions.

Although the Iomega Rev is a capable drive, it's overwhelmed by less expensive, nonproprietary storage solutions.

Although the Iomega Rev is a capable drive, it's overwhelmed by less expensive, nonproprietary storage solutions.

The Sony DVDirect does an admirable job of transferring footage directly from a camcorder to a DVD without using a PC, but editing capabilities are sacrificed for the sake of simplicity.

Lite-On's double-layer SOHW-832S is a very good DVD burner, but double-layer burning technology needs time to mature before it's totally worth the investment.

Though it's very expensive per megabyte, Iomega's Rev drive offers speedy, portable storage that's more scalable than that of a hard drive.

Need a speedy DVD recorder that's highly portable and compatible with both Windows and Mac? LaCie's d2 Dual 8X fits the bill and looks good doing it.

If you're not in the market for a DVD burner, the Lite-On LTR-52327S's performance, documentation, tech support, and modest price make this CD-RW drive a must-have.

The IBM Multi-Burner Plus's superior software package and solid performance are well worth its relatively high price.

Iomega's Super DVD Writer offers competitive performance for a reasonable price--perfect for anyone who wants five-format flexibility.

With its robust software, great online support, and easy installation, the Iomega looks promising. But poor packet-writing performance ultimately sinks this drive.

If you already have Nero Burning ROM or Easy CD Creator, the I/O Magic provides smooth, quiet, and fast performance. Otherwise, check out the 52X TDK VeloCD.

If you're shopping for a DVD-recordable drive, put the fast, flexible DRU-500AX near the top of your list.

If you can live with fewer setup amenities, the LiteOn offers top-flight performance at an affordable price.

Want to get in touch with your creative side? The CRW-F1 lets you burn more than just data and music.

Its fast performance and cheap price make the Lightning V a good upgrade for experienced users.

Iomega's newest 750MB Zip drive is a good fit for students, families, and stationary SOHO users. But if you need greater portability and cutting-edge performance, check out the latest hard drives and recordable CD and DVD drives.

If you want cutting-edge CD-RW speed at a low price, this 40X/12X/48X-rated drive delivers both with few frills--and few compromises. It's a good budget buy for consumers and small businesses.

If slow and steady wins the race, the Plextor gets the gold. But though it has redeeming virtues, the PlexWriter was outperformed by lower-rated CD-RW drives.

The Predator is by far the fastest USB 2.0 drive we've tested at mastering CD-Rs, but it slowed to a snail's pace while packet-writing. The price is enticing, but don't buy until you have Iomega's word that the software issues have been fixed.