bird333 said:

Which Sony and Samsung burners are you guys recommending?

Can't say I recommend it yet, since it's in-transit from Amazon, but I bought the Samsung SE-506BB/TSBD 6x Slimline External Burner. It's very compact, which I like for moving around from computer to computer.

The online reviews are pretty positive, the only major gripe being that it's a bit slow, but for $89, I'm not complaining. If I'm going to be burning at 2x regardless of the drive, I don't want to pay $150 for the privilege.