At 4x, a full 4.7gb disc takes about 15 minutes to burn... The 4x refers to
the DVD transfer rate which is considerably higher than CD transfer speeds.
As I mentioned in my post, speed is not the most important thing with DVD
burning, reliability is. By all means by an 8x speed burner, I'm sure you
will be more than happy with it, just remember that the 8x media is more
expesive (at the moment) and that you really MUST use good quality media if
you are burning at that speed... Cheep media will just result in
coasters...
I would also recommend you go for a bigger name if you can afford it. They
are generally more reliable in the long run. I understand Pioneer have
released the specs for the 107/A07 drive which AFAIK will be an 8x. Pioneer
are generally considered to be one of the best drives and they usually
provide OEM drive to other manufacturers for rebadging so are often
available cheaper. I myself bought a TEAC W50D 4x unit which is a rebadged
Pioneer 106/A06 and am more than happy with it (especially as it cost me £20
less than the Pioneer drive itself)
Lorne