LG is currently the largest optical
storage manufacturer in the world, and has more storage
drives in American PCs than any other manufacturer (they
also happen to make a ton of cell phones, but you already
knew that). The GSA-4163B is the only drive in this review
that supports DVD-RAM, so it does have bragging rights to
claim it supports ALL DVD formats (LG likes to call their
burners ‘Super-Multi drives’). Even though DVD-RAM is not as
popular as other DVD recording formats, it’s still something
to consider if you currently use this type of media or your
work could benefit from it.
The LG drive installed without any
problems, and included instructions were satisfactory. The
drive seems to have solid construction, and has an
attractive exterior faceplate, although it does not come
with a replacement like the Plextor. It’s definitely only a
matter of time until all manufacturers start shipping drives
with at least two different faceplates, for sure. In the
meantime, you will have to decide between the white or black
model when shopping for the LG drive.
The front panel features a small
activity light, and a manual access hole. The eject button
is smaller than most, and is round instead of the usual
rectangle. The ejection process is probably the quietest of
the bunch, which although may only make for a subtle
difference, I found worth mentioning.
