Which computer DVDrom is the best for ripping?

A CD rip is a (hopefully) bit-perfect transfer of the disc data, i.e. its ones and zeroes. There is no clock involved at this stage, so jitter is not a factor. This in turn means that unless data is read incorrectly (which would give gaps, digital clipping or other distinctly digital artifacts) the output from one drive is sonically indistinguishable from the other – the data is byte for byte absolutely 100% identical. Hence I am inclined to believe that the brand differences Blindjim refers to are placebo.

Blindjim is however entirely correct in that good ripping software is key, and like many others I rely on Exact Audio Copy. But beyond this, drives *do* matter – their ability to retrieve bit-perfect data off of the disc can vary greatly. Plextor have a tremendous reputation (and accompanying price tag) for a reason, but with my limited experience I have also found Samsung drives to generally be better at this than NEC/Optiarc.

I have many discs that can only be ripped correctly (and verified as such by EAC) from one of my three drives and it's always, without exception, the Samsung that wins. It's an older DVD-Rom though, and I can't speak for more recent DVD-RW models.

Blindjim: When playing a disc in real time through a computer drive there is a clock to the signal of course, so then I fully understand that there is an audible difference. No placebo needed! Thanks for clearing that up.

I think the general recommendation ought to be Plextor. In the grand scheme of things the extra money is rather insignificant, and getting a proper bit-perfect rip once and for all is certainly worth the small additional cost.

If you get read errors in EAC and the CD looks unscratched, you've got a problematic drive and should consider an upgrade. If only visually beat-up discs give you problems, you might want to repurchase the CD instead.