Advantages: Speed, attractive, good tech. support
Disadvantages: old burning software

...believe it can be updated from Nero's website. Some boring technical details for those who are interested : Buffer: 2 Mbytes Dimensions : 155mm (W) x 48mm (H) x 231mm (D) Weight : 1.3 Kg Mt. Rainier support (drag and drop function) Double dynamic damping system to enhance burning quality and reliability Compatible with Windows XP/2000/ME/98 Writing modes supported : Disc-at-once - Track-at-once - Session-at-once - Multi-Session - Packet writing - Raw writing Reading Formats supported : CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM, Video CD, CD-DA, Bootable CD, CD-Text, CD-Extra, Photo CD, CD-ROM XA, Mixed Mode CD. This is a complete package, with no extras to buy (except for blank media!). I was impressed with the easy setup and functionability. Unfortunately, I ordered this through the internet (not from BenQ) and was supplied... Read review

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Advantages: Very cheap, very reliable, you probably wont run out for a long time!
Disadvantages: Can get damaged quite easily, no CD-cases to protect them

...Intro Recordable and re-writable CD's are one of the most popular forms of storage nowadays for computers, and this is no doubt down to the inevitable gradual-distinction of floppy disks, and the slump in prices for CDs. Nobody seems to use floppy disks anymore, they are too unreliable and can hardly fit any data too (1.44 MB usually) and when you compare this to the 700MB or so that CD's can hold, you can see why these are more popular. CD's can last over a hundred years too (according to the BenQ website) - if they are kept in the perfect conditions. Where I got them & price I decided to purchase these BenQ CD-R's as I felt that 100disks which hold 700MB, for only £10, is a really good price. This works out at about 10p per CD, which isn't bad at all! It sounds ridiculous that you can pay a couple of quid for a few floppy... Read review

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Advantages: Looks good, Fast, Cheap, Great graphics
Disadvantages: Flimsy feel, not enough RAM

...BenQ? Had you heard of them a few months ago? Well I hadn’t. BenQ are new to Europe although they are well established in the Middle East. If you hadn’t heard of them before Euro 2004 you must do now! When I saw this laptop for an insanely low price a few months ago I was a little skeptical, but after days of research I couldn’t find anything to compete with it, and became more confident about BenQs reputation. So I went ahead and bought it, and I can honestly say this was the best thing I have ever spent £850 on! The laptop comes with the Centrino 1.4Ghz which is approximately equivalent to the P4 2.2Ghz, with the benefits of greatly increased battery life. BenQs quoted life of 6h is not far off from the actual 5 hours that you get from the battery. It also comes with all the standard bits: DVD/CD-RW drive, 256Mb... Read review

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Advantages: Very quick and easy to use, comes with good software, and is much better than most better known brands
Disadvantages: Being internal, it is a little tricky to set up if you're not brave enough to venture into your computer...

...... Read review

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Advantages: Battery Life, Portability, Performance
Disadvantages: Could be zippier

...included are a VGA out, and S-video out to connect to your TV. As this PC is aimed towards office/student use, the inbuilt video card is an onboard Intel Variety, offering substantial performance in windows. It utilises shared memory so gaming is a little out of the question. The sound card is quite reasonable, offering neat stereo sound via front mounted speakers, as well as mic/headphone ports. The general look and feel of this Laptop is excellent, with stylish silver plastic, and chromed buttons. Blue LED's for status lights certainly add to the effect, and at 2.4Kg it is quite a light PC to carry around. Benq is even kind enough to include a simple Polypropene (Think Wetsuit material) Slim Case for a little extra protection on the road. The included software is excellent, Windows XP Professional, NTI-CD Maker, Cyberlink DVD Viewer... Read review

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Advantages: Comes with a lot of useful software
Disadvantages: none

...The Benq Dwq1600 ia a robust DVD rewriter, which comes complete with software and plenty of built in technology disigned to ensure correct playing of unlevel DVDS and CDS. The software you get free is WinDVD Creator 2.8B, Win DVD4.0B, Record now! 7.1, Sonic DLA 4.9. I did find there to be a few problems with this drive, For a start it is only compatible with DVD+RW and DVD+R standards, there is no headphone outlet or volume control. ** The Overall Design ** The DW1600 has a standard specification, with a fairly fast speed on both single layer and dual-layer discs. Shiws good rewriteable media and is pipped to the post by the feature-filled LiteOn an fast MSI ** Speed ** +16X4X16 -N/A 9=(RXRWXread ** Access Time** 120ms ** Dual Layer ** Yes 2.4X The controls and indicators are very simple this is due... Read review

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Advantages: Thin, Fast Responce time, Brilliant Quality. reasonable price
Disadvantages: Viewing angle limited

...I purchased one of these over 2 years ago, and i have to say it is simply a great monitor. You can pick one up for a fair price of around £128.99-£143.99. Advantages: It has a super fast response time at 16ms Superior contrast at 400:1 15-inch display A beautiful stylish design. Built in speakers Easy to use options and settings Buttons fit the design and style perfectly, sleak and modern. Disadvantages: Poor viewing angle The only thing i would critisise about the monitor is the viewing angle, if you are sitting directly infront of it, playing a game, tryping surfing the internet or watching a DVD the quality is great, but should you sit away from it, or watch a dvd in bed on it, and it suddenly becomes very disapointing. The screen becomes dark and hard to see. If BenQ could seriously improve the viewing angle... Read review

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Advantages: Small, light, attractive, inexpensive
Disadvantages: Camera shake, hard to use at first

...but if needs must then benQ provides! Good for 'extreme close-ups!' though. These are accessed via a selecter on the side which can be a bit fiddly when out on the town! The flash can be always on, always off or auto (it decides). I've found it better to make that call yourself and then it performs fairly well. There are 5 exposure settings: auto and then 4 others for specific lighting situations, fluorescent light, overcast, sunny and tungten light. These are a nice touch and do seem to work if the lighting is certain (i.e. not if some sunlight in a fluorescent lit room). As well as picture it also includes digital sound recorder, video camera/webcam and burst fire (three shots in succession) which all work well (though the sound mic is fairly poor at any range). PICTURE QUALITY/CAPACITY Not bad is how i'd sum it up. The settings... Read review

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Advantages: Compatiable with all major formats
Disadvantages: Not much

...When I purchased my PC I needed a basic DVDR capable drive. Trusting the choice to my supplier, I allowed him to order me what he thought suitable. On getting it home I found it installed easily onto both XP and Vista, without the need for any additional drivers. Over the past months of use I have been pleasantly surprised at the accuracy and compatibility of the drive. With previous drives it has been my misfortune to own, I have had to spend a fortune on CD/DVD media, due to poor writing and failed burning attempts. With the BENQ I have had no, yes no failed disks, even with the cheaper non branded flavour of disks. In addition when I finally tracked down a listing of the drives abilities, I found that it was compatible with all the major media types, including dual layer DVD's, which are becoming more necessary... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap and reliable
Disadvantages: None so far.

...After seeing other reviews of these CD's, of which I had not previously heard of, but as they were going at a cheap price on Amazon I thought I might as well give them a go. So first of all, the site: http://www.benq.co.uk/Products/Media/index.cfm?product=137 These are the 700megs ( or 80 mins of audio ) write once cd's ( CD-R ) These are not specifically aimed at a particular usage, and I haven’t used them for just one use, but mainly for quick backing up / moving data, as well as audio cd's cant say that I have used them for VCD's ( video cds ) as of yet, but if I do then ill add their performance on at a later date. So after around a years heavy usage of these little gems I can say that I have only had one write error on them, and that was my fault, thus causing the cd writing software to crash rendering the cd useless... Read review

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