/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Not sure if I should ask here instead of making a separate thread. Basically I want to buy a cheap (sub $100) chinese laser engraver, there are different brands, but they are mostly the same. The XY mechanism is just repurposed from CD/DVD/bluray drives, whereas the laser is generally a 405nm one, probably from bluray drives. Now they are advertised to be in the 1000mw to 2000mw range, which is absolute bullshit. Has some anon tested the actual optical power output of those lasers, or know exactly what kind of laser diode they mount? I suspect a lot of engravers actually mount 200-300mw diodes in various states of overdrive. I actually don't care much about power as long they can engrave wood and cardboard. Frankly the results I've seen are quite good, but the reliability of the machines is questionable. I'd prefer to buy a "1000mw" machine over a "1500mw" one if the 1000mw one is more reliable. Does any anon here have any experience with them?