Overall, everyone I know with a Plextor has been happy, so I don't see this one being much different. I'll keep you posted on it.

I agree. I've been a big Plextor fan since their 6X days. However, in my new free subscription to PC World (which is a lousy magazine, and this just goes to confirm that fact) their comments on a Plextor drive (which they at least list in their top ten CD-RWs) are:

This model was quick writing CD-Rs, but mediocre at writing to CD-RW media and extracting digital audio. Also, this is the only 40x drive to limit the write speed for audio CDs.

They also notably have a Lite-On and a Lucky Goldstar drive ranked well higher. So I guess that my real thesis is that PC World is a lousy magazine, which is well off-topic, but who cares? This is my own personal gripe-forum, isn't it?