gas path
There plenty of choices out there, and prices are getting better too
A cheaper option is looking at drives from manufacturers you might not so familiar with.
I went for an
Aopen branded unit, which is actually made by Ricoh. It's a great piece of kit, burns flawlessly (and quickly) and has a great software package.
One
important feature to look for is this
"Burnproof" feature. Ricoh's version is called
"Justlink", and it is intended to prevent coaster-making or "buffer (over?)under-runs". This is that annoying trend of getting to the end of a lengthy burn process, only to be told that the burning was unsuccessful.
You might also want to check out
Epinions where you can get real-life user reviews and comments on all sorts of gear.
Good luck.