Mad Dog Burners any good?

I hope this question hasn't been asked too many times here. My Yamaha CD
burner just crapped out on me. It doesn't show the files on any CDs that I
put in it. I'm going to replace it with a DVD burner. I'm looking at a Sony
for $180-$20 rebate. I saw a "Mad Dog" duel burner for $100-$20 rebate at
Comp USA. What to do? What's up with Mad Dog .... any good? I had never
heard of them before today.

The CompUSA Mad Dog DVD burner is actually a NEC 2510 double layer burner.
You can get it from NewEgg.com for the same price with no rebates. Mad Dog
is well known for "losing" rebates.


"Forrest" wrote in message
...
I hope this question hasn't been asked too many times here. My Yamaha CD
burner just crapped out on me. It doesn't show the files on any CDs that I
put in it. I'm going to replace it with a DVD burner. I'm looking at a
Sony
for $180-$20 rebate. I saw a "Mad Dog" duel burner for $100-$20 rebate at
Comp USA. What to do? What's up with Mad Dog .... any good? I had never
heard of them before today.

That's good to know. Now, just how good is the NEC compared to a Sony? If
the NEC-Mad Dog is good and only $80 and a duel ..... and the Sony is single
and $160 ......... Is it Mad Dog time???


"Dan G" wrote in message
...
The CompUSA Mad Dog DVD burner is actually a NEC 2510 double layer burner.
You can get it from NewEgg.com for the same price with no rebates. Mad Dog
is well known for "losing" rebates.


"Forrest" wrote in message
...
I hope this question hasn't been asked too many times here. My Yamaha CD
burner just crapped out on me. It doesn't show the files on any CDs that
I
put in it. I'm going to replace it with a DVD burner. I'm looking at a
Sony
for $180-$20 rebate. I saw a "Mad Dog" duel burner for $100-$20 rebate
at
Comp USA. What to do? What's up with Mad Dog .... any good? I had never
heard of them before today.

On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 23:10:31 -0700, "Forrest"
wrote:

That's good to know. Now, just how good is the NEC compared to a Sony? If
the NEC-Mad Dog is good and only $80 and a duel ..... and the Sony is single
and $160 ......... Is it Mad Dog time???

The NEC is one of the best burners. I hadnt heard it was a NEC. MAddog
is a reboxer. They buy anything on the market and put it in their
boxes calling it a Maddog. So you never know whats in the box. I
bought a CD burner last month the $40-30 rebate deal = 10 only because
burner and CD rebate deals are starting to get scarce again. A while
ago you could get tons of CD burner deals sometimes free after rebate
and they were often Liteons. Not anymore.

Around Xmas and Jan there were tons of cheap DVD after rebat edeals
and many were NECs and Liteons .

If the Maddog is the NEC its a great deal. I specifically asked for a
raincheck at Office Max when they had a rare (in this region) $69 DVD
rebate deal in which they had pacific digitals - another reboxer which
often uses NECs. The sales woman there went out of her way looking up
the SKU wiring it down and talking to the manager. I get a call weeks
and weeks later and they try to give me a MicroAdvantage ! I was very
annoyed. However Ive heard people were having tons of problems with
their rebates so I guess Im glad I couldnt go for it.

Maddog rebates - my experience has been great. They are really fast
and I got all my rebates. You have to register at their website - give
them the serial number or SKU and they send you a code you use when
you send in the register via email. You HAVE to do this if you are
getting a rebate.

The recent massive troubles talked about at fatwallet mostly at least
- werent from maddog but from Office Max. They offered rebates on some
Maddog products and changed their rebating system. They print out
rebates now at the cash register like compusa instead of handing out
those booklets etc. I sent in my CD burner rebate from Omax and after
a few weeks of not showing up on their system they sent me a notice
saying it was invalid ! Ive been massive problems with Omax rebates.
Claimed it was purchased on the wrong date ! Its amazing they came to
this conclusion given that the rebates are printed out with their cash
register. How can it be on the wrong the date !!! I had to call them
as usual after calling 4 numbers - they seem to change the rebate
numbers all the time and finally got through to someone and they OKed
for me. Ive had to call for maybe 35% -40% of my rebates from Omax the
last year.

Just be sure to keep copies of everything - sales receipt, rebate form
which is a separate sales receipt like printout and UPC symbol and
registration code you get from the maddog.

The recent Maddog $10 cd burner I got was a Ultima a brand I once got
in another sale around January. Im actually giving it away to a
neighbor, single mother who is not wealthy and building a system for
her for cheap. So its possible you could get something besides a NEC
though they usually stick to one brand for a while. Recently though it
seems you can get a wide variety of stuff in various reboxers sales -
Liteon, NEC, Optorite, BenQ , etc.

Yeah, the rebate bit is a hassle. I built a machine last summer using almost
all parts with rebates. When I got around to filling them out I discovered
that not only did they have to be sent in before a certain date but also
within 14 days of purchase. Of the ones that I did get in on time and had
followed their rules to the letter, only about half sent them to me. What a
scam! I did get the $50 rebate on the Sony monitor.
If I were to buy the Mad Dog and get it home for inspection ... what
would tell me if it is an NEC or not? Or for that matter, what it is if not
an NEC?

" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 23:10:31 -0700, "Forrest"
wrote:

That's good to know. Now, just how good is the NEC compared to a Sony? If
the NEC-Mad Dog is good and only $80 and a duel ..... and the Sony is
single
and $160 ......... Is it Mad Dog time???

The NEC is one of the best burners. I hadnt heard it was a NEC. MAddog
is a reboxer. They buy anything on the market and put it in their
boxes calling it a Maddog. So you never know whats in the box. I
bought a CD burner last month the $40-30 rebate deal = 10 only because
burner and CD rebate deals are starting to get scarce again. A while
ago you could get tons of CD burner deals sometimes free after rebate
and they were often Liteons. Not anymore.

Around Xmas and Jan there were tons of cheap DVD after rebat edeals
and many were NECs and Liteons .

If the Maddog is the NEC its a great deal. I specifically asked for a
raincheck at Office Max when they had a rare (in this region) $69 DVD
rebate deal in which they had pacific digitals - another reboxer which
often uses NECs. The sales woman there went out of her way looking up
the SKU wiring it down and talking to the manager. I get a call weeks
and weeks later and they try to give me a MicroAdvantage ! I was very
annoyed. However Ive heard people were having tons of problems with
their rebates so I guess Im glad I couldnt go for it.

Maddog rebates - my experience has been great. They are really fast
and I got all my rebates. You have to register at their website - give
them the serial number or SKU and they send you a code you use when
you send in the register via email. You HAVE to do this if you are
getting a rebate.

The recent massive troubles talked about at fatwallet mostly at least
- werent from maddog but from Office Max. They offered rebates on some
Maddog products and changed their rebating system. They print out
rebates now at the cash register like compusa instead of handing out
those booklets etc. I sent in my CD burner rebate from Omax and after
a few weeks of not showing up on their system they sent me a notice
saying it was invalid ! Ive been massive problems with Omax rebates.
Claimed it was purchased on the wrong date ! Its amazing they came to
this conclusion given that the rebates are printed out with their cash
register. How can it be on the wrong the date !!! I had to call them
as usual after calling 4 numbers - they seem to change the rebate
numbers all the time and finally got through to someone and they OKed
for me. Ive had to call for maybe 35% -40% of my rebates from Omax the
last year.

Just be sure to keep copies of everything - sales receipt, rebate form
which is a separate sales receipt like printout and UPC symbol and
registration code you get from the maddog.

The recent Maddog $10 cd burner I got was a Ultima a brand I once got
in another sale around January. Im actually giving it away to a
neighbor, single mother who is not wealthy and building a system for
her for cheap. So its possible you could get something besides a NEC
though they usually stick to one brand for a while. Recently though it
seems you can get a wide variety of stuff in various reboxers sales -
Liteon, NEC, Optorite, BenQ , etc.

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 08:30:51 -0700, "Forrest"
wrote:

Yeah, the rebate bit is a hassle. I built a machine last summer using almost
all parts with rebates. When I got around to filling them out I discovered
that not only did they have to be sent in before a certain date but also
within 14 days of purchase. Of the ones that I did get in on time and had
followed their rules to the letter, only about half sent them to me. What a
scam! I did get the $50 rebate on the Sony monitor.
If I were to buy the Mad Dog and get it home for inspection ... what
would tell me if it is an NEC or not? Or for that matter, what it is if not
an NEC?

Usually after you install it , you PC will say NEC xxxxx . All the
Liteons I bought came up as Liteons or at least the model number for
my DVDrom liteon which came in a buslink box.

An easier way though its not foolproof is theres a sticker on top that
says NEC 2500a . About 80 % of the time this happened on my Liteon cd
burners. Sometimes a firm I guess may contract to have their own label
on it. Then youd have take the posters word for it or have some other
ingenious way - front face plate button placements and other clues.

One is the dual burning capablity. Sometimes you can tell from the
features because others wont have it yet or they use smething else. I
used to be able to tell from the read, writing and other speeds but
the other maker seem to now mimic each other closely so you cant tell.
Like on burner if it has a sticker for smart burn outside you know its
a liteon.

I looked it up and i did see posts claiming rhe maddog was a NEC in
april . Dont see any recent ones . I guess you have to assume its a
NEC since it was in NEC. Id sure like to see a recent post claiming
its an NEC. Ill probably pick one up today and see, Luckily my local
COMPUSA doesnt have a restocking fee its illegal or something in this
state. Plus you dont have quite as many sleazebags here as some places
substituting junk in the box and trying to return it and other sleazy
tactics.

I forgot about the old "restock fee" bit. I usually buy at Fry's, where they
have a 30 day return policy and no restock fee.The sale is through Saturday.
I guess I had better wait a bit and see if you check it out or weather
someone else posts what they know about them. Thanks

" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 08:30:51 -0700, "Forrest"
wrote:

Yeah, the rebate bit is a hassle. I built a machine last summer using
almost
all parts with rebates. When I got around to filling them out I
discovered
that not only did they have to be sent in before a certain date but also
within 14 days of purchase. Of the ones that I did get in on time and had
followed their rules to the letter, only about half sent them to me. What
a
scam! I did get the $50 rebate on the Sony monitor.
If I were to buy the Mad Dog and get it home for inspection ... what
would tell me if it is an NEC or not? Or for that matter, what it is if
not
an NEC?

Usually after you install it , you PC will say NEC xxxxx . All the
Liteons I bought came up as Liteons or at least the model number for
my DVDrom liteon which came in a buslink box.

An easier way though its not foolproof is theres a sticker on top that
says NEC 2500a . About 80 % of the time this happened on my Liteon cd
burners. Sometimes a firm I guess may contract to have their own label
on it. Then youd have take the posters word for it or have some other
ingenious way - front face plate button placements and other clues.

One is the dual burning capablity. Sometimes you can tell from the
features because others wont have it yet or they use smething else. I
used to be able to tell from the read, writing and other speeds but
the other maker seem to now mimic each other closely so you cant tell.
Like on burner if it has a sticker for smart burn outside you know its
a liteon.

I looked it up and i did see posts claiming rhe maddog was a NEC in
april . Dont see any recent ones . I guess you have to assume its a
NEC since it was in NEC. Id sure like to see a recent post claiming
its an NEC. Ill probably pick one up today and see, Luckily my local
COMPUSA doesnt have a restocking fee its illegal or something in this
state. Plus you dont have quite as many sleazebags here as some places
substituting junk in the box and trying to return it and other sleazy
tactics.

The Sony 700 is a LiteOn 832S, and not quite up to the performance of the
NEC, especially in the area of media compatibility. If you need to burn
DVD-R, the NEC is a clear winner.
I can't promise that all the Mad Dog drives will be the NEC, but numerous
reports on the CompUSA sale are that it's an NEC.
I personally wouldn't touch the Mad Dog when you can get the NEC direct from
NewEgg for the same price. The main difference will be that the Mad Dog will
come with a retail package, and NEC does not.


"Forrest" wrote in message
...
That's good to know. Now, just how good is the NEC compared to a Sony? If
the NEC-Mad Dog is good and only $80 and a duel ..... and the Sony is
single
and $160 ......... Is it Mad Dog time???


"Dan G" wrote in message
...
The CompUSA Mad Dog DVD burner is actually a NEC 2510 double layer
burner.
You can get it from NewEgg.com for the same price with no rebates. Mad
Dog
is well known for "losing" rebates.


"Forrest" wrote in message
...
I hope this question hasn't been asked too many times here. My Yamaha
CD
burner just crapped out on me. It doesn't show the files on any CDs
that
I
put in it. I'm going to replace it with a DVD burner. I'm looking at a
Sony
for $180-$20 rebate. I saw a "Mad Dog" duel burner for $100-$20 rebate
at
Comp USA. What to do? What's up with Mad Dog .... any good? I had
never
heard of them before today.

I guess if a person wants an NEC he ought to just buy one, instead of hoping
that some off brand will be one. I checked out Newegg's web page and it's
about $10 more than the Mad Dog. Mad Dog also comes with Nero 6. I'll think
about it for a day or so and will probably take your advice. Thanks

"Dan G" wrote in message
...
The Sony 700 is a LiteOn 832S, and not quite up to the performance of the
NEC, especially in the area of media compatibility. If you need to burn
DVD-R, the NEC is a clear winner.
I can't promise that all the Mad Dog drives will be the NEC, but numerous
reports on the CompUSA sale are that it's an NEC.
I personally wouldn't touch the Mad Dog when you can get the NEC direct
from
NewEgg for the same price. The main difference will be that the Mad Dog
will
come with a retail package, and NEC does not.


"Forrest" wrote in message
...
That's good to know. Now, just how good is the NEC compared to a Sony?
If
the NEC-Mad Dog is good and only $80 and a duel ..... and the Sony is
single
and $160 ......... Is it Mad Dog time???


"Dan G" wrote in message
...
The CompUSA Mad Dog DVD burner is actually a NEC 2510 double layer
burner.
You can get it from NewEgg.com for the same price with no rebates. Mad
Dog
is well known for "losing" rebates.


"Forrest" wrote in message
...
I hope this question hasn't been asked too many times here. My
Yamaha
CD
burner just crapped out on me. It doesn't show the files on any CDs
that
I
put in it. I'm going to replace it with a DVD burner. I'm looking at
a
Sony
for $180-$20 rebate. I saw a "Mad Dog" duel burner for $100-$20
rebate
at
Comp USA. What to do? What's up with Mad Dog .... any good? I had
never
heard of them before today.

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:49:25 -0700, "Forrest"
wrote:

I forgot about the old "restock fee" bit. I usually buy at Fry's, where they
have a 30 day return policy and no restock fee.The sale is through Saturday.
I guess I had better wait a bit and see if you check it out or weather
someone else posts what they know about them. Thanks

Yeah the odds are its an NEC the newest one 2510a.

I dont see anyone saying they are getting benqs and I did see a thread
- a guy said he bought one yesterday and its a NEC2510a AND I bought
one today and its a NEC 2510a. Says right on the burner. Theres a NEC
sticker and another one says ND 2510a. Comes with NERO .

Fantastic deal once again if you cant get cheap shipping. And for
many who try to play the guess-whats-in-the-box game in MicroAdvantage
and Buslink boxes - its defintely not worth it especially if you get
cheap shipping.But this seems like a surething and for me shipping
from Newegg is like $29 !!!!! Outrageous. Thats the cheapest
generally.

If you can get cheap shipping from newegg you might prefer to get it
there. Its 88 for the black faceplate and 87 for the beige - no
software. Theres an 89 or so version with OEM ROxio software.

Theres also the 2500a 8x dual format but no dual layer - though
everyone says you can flash the firmware with the 2500a firmware and
make it do dual layer. Dont know how reliable that would be but
everyone says it works. They are going for $69.


I just ordered a motherboard and processor - $29.
Really gross out. Im looking for a cheap dependanble place thatll send
it USPS cause the cost is so high for anything cheap. Even i bought
two screws it would be about $25.