LG Electronics GSA-4040B

It was inevitable. With Sony, Pioneer, and others offering up drives that support DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW formats, some company was bound to take the next step and add DVD-RAM to the mix -- hence, the LG Electronics GSA-4040B. Why DVD-RAM? Many digital video recorders, such as Panasonic's DMR-E20, use the niche media to achieve superior longevity, and the GSA-4040B makes it easy to transfer DVD-RAM files to your computer. Although it delivered uneven performance in our tests, it is priced very competitively. Despite a few gripes, this drive is still the most versatile and capable optical drive you can get -- at least for now.