What's the best DVD-rom drive to get for a computer?

That is really a decision that you yourself should make. Whichever DVD-ROM looks the most appealing and has the best stats would be the best. In terms of companies, LiteOn make very good DVD-ROM drives, as do Pioneer and many others.

Click here for a selection of companies which make CD/DVD-ROM drives, have a look around and which ever is the best performing and in the right price range, is the one for you! Hope you make the right decision, Good Luck :grinthumb !

Thanks for the feedback and yes I was looking at a slot drive too. Now to find a region-free slot drive. hmmmm.......

I have a Sony 8X DVD ROM, haven't had much problem with it since i got them before christmas. IMHO, pioneer make good drives. It might be worth the time taking a look them.

You don't have to worry much about Region Free DVD players as you can download Region Free Firmware for most models over here ...

The Firmware Page

I believe you will be much better off with getting a Region Free DVD players. You may not want ot risk your drive in a firmware update. Firmware update is similar to BIOS update where you place your hardware at risk.

Firmware updates can be risky, but many newer drives are recoverable from bad updates. You can check the links on the site I posted for more info on this.

Here's a sample list showing which Samsung drives are recoverable ...

Etna

I've update many drives in the past and only had a problem once. As it turned out the problem was due to a faulty drive model, which had known update problems.

PS: We can't get region free drives over here in the UK, although some resellers will supply drives that they have had modded.