1. Introduction
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
1
Which one is
the faster?
- Introduction
The 32X recording family keeps growing. We have in our hands two new drives,
from ASUS and TDK. ASUS CRW3212A supports 32X CD-R and 12X HS-RW while TDK Cyclone
CDRW321040X writes CDs at 32X and rewrites at 10X. The results are expected
to be interesting, since we will compare the performances of these drives and
the previous we have already tested in the 32X CD-RW Roundup Vol 2. Enjoy :-)
- ASUS CRW-3212A
The
drive supports 32x writing (Z-CLV), 12x re-writing, has an 2MB Buffer and includes
"FlextraLink", "FlexSpeed" and "DDSS II" technologies.
ASUS explains : ".. FlextraLink, technology prevents users from buffer
underrun problems and eliminates the creation of unusable discs, while FlextraSpeed
technology enhances accuracy and reliability when reading, writing, re-writing
across a broad base of certified media. Throughout the recording process, FlextraLink
technology consistently monitors the data buffer status, whereas FlextraSpeed
continously monitors the recording media and sets the optimal writing speeds
to ensure best recording quality. Both ASUS proprietary technologies occupy
minimal system resources so the PC remains full operational and available for
other applications even during recording process.
The ASUS CRW-3212A drive also features advanced mechanical designs, including
the patented ASUS DDSS II technology and unique dust resistance design. DDSS
II is an enhanced follow-up to the first generation Double Dynamic Suspension
System developed by ASUS. The DDSS technology is designed to minimize the vibration
caused by the spindle motor and resonance between components as well as the
drive and PC cases. The patented DDSS II stabilizes the pick-up head of the
drive in both horizontal and vertical directions that makes tracking and focusing
even more precise, and successfully reduces the vibration and noise caused by
high revolution of the spindle motor..."
The exact writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 12x,16x (CLV), 24x (16-24x), and 32x
(16-32x) (Z-CLV). The re-writing speeds are 2x,4x, 8x, 10x and 12x (CLV). The
drive also supports 40x (CAV) reading speed. The drive supports all the known
writing modes (DAO, SAO, TAO and RAW), among with packet write/overburning option
but not Mt. Rainier format support. Last the drive is based upon MediaTek chipsets.
- ASUS 32x writing speed
ASUS CRW-3212A supports 32x writing speed using the Z-CLV writing technology.
Below is the Nero CD Speed writing graph which illustrates the use of Zone-CLV
writing technology:
The 32x writing speed range is divided into four zones: The drive starts writing
at 16x from lead-in till the 6mins, then shifts up to 20x until 12mins, shifts
to 24x at 18mins, and lastly shifts to 32x at 36mins and stays there until the
end of the burning process. The average recording speed is 26.86X.
- The package
The
package supplied contained: the drive, 1 piece of ASUS 80min 32x CD-R blank
(manufactured by Acer, 97m 22s 67f), 1 piece of ASUS 80min 4-12x HS-RW blank
(Acer 97m 22s 60f), audio cable and mounting screws. The software supplied with
the drive was Nero Burning ROM v5.5.6.4 and Ahead InCD v3.19(for packet writing
use). The package also containes a manual, and an Info/product photos CD-ROM.
We don't know yet if the ASUS CRW-3212A comes with a 2-year warranty (only
in Europe) or not. Lastly as the package says the drive is "XP" compatible
which was confirmed from our test results, since the drive worked without any
problems at UDMA-33 mode.
On the front of the drive there are the "ASUS" and the "32x12x40"
logos. You will also find only two leds, the eject, audio files skip buttons
and the headphone input jack/volume selector:
In the rear panel of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for making the drive Master/Slave, the SPDIF output connector,
the analog/digital output connectors and 3 jumpers which are used to setup the
drive's working mode, PIO-4Mode (default) or UDMA33. For setting up the UDMA33
mode you just have to remove the middle jumper:
- Installation
ASUS
CRW-3212A was installed as a Master in the secondary IDE BUS. The drive worked
in UDMA33 mode and after booting, identified itself as "ASUS CRW-3212A".
We used WinXP for the recording, reading tests and the DMA was automatically
enabled.
The drive was a January 2002 model with firmware revision v1.00 installed.
We used the newer build of Nero (5.5.7.2), InCD (3.21), and CloneCD (3.3.4.1)
for our recording tests. Note that the tested firmware revision (v1.00) doesn't
support 24x writing speed, only 32x! ASUS said that with future firmware upgrade
will support the 24x writing speed.
ASUS CRW-3212A reduces the writing speed when low quality or 99 min media
are inserted for burning. The photo below comes from Nero when we tryied to
burn a 99 min blank media.
2. Introduction - Page 2
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
2
- TDK CDRW321040X
The
drive supports 32x writing (Z-CLV), 10x re-writing, 4MB Buffer and "BURN-Proof"
as the main anti-buffer underrun technology. The maximum reading speed of the
drive is 40x (CAV). The exact writing speeds are 4x, 8x, 12, 16x, 20x (CLV)
and 32x (20x-32x). The re-writing speeds are 4x, 8x and 10x. The drive doesn't
support Mt. Rainier format. The drive includes a C2 error reporting and supports
all known writing modes (DAO, SAO, TAO and RAW).
- TDK 32x writing speed
TDK CDRW321040X supports 32x writing speed with the use of the Z-CLV writing
technology. Below it's the Nero CD Speed writing graph that illustrates the
use of Zone-CLV writing technology:
The 32x writing speed range is divided in 3 zones: The drive starts writing
at 20x from the lead-in area till 12mins, shifts up to 24x at 16mins and lastly
shifts to 32x at 40mins and stays there until the end. The average recording
speed is 26.85X, which makes it as fast as ASUS CRW3212, at least according
to the Nero CD Speed writing test. The drive will write almost all CDs at 32x,
even lower quality media.
- The package
The
package supplied was the retail European version. This included: the TDK drive,
an installation guide, audio cable, a CD-R pen, 1 piece of TDK Reflex Ultra
80min 32x CD-R blank, 1 piece of TDK 80min HS-RW, mounting screws and a CD-R
pen.. The
software supplied with the drive was Nero v5.5 / InCD v2, and TDK Digital MixMaster.
TDK offers 2 Year On Site Collect and Return Service (in E.U., Norway and Switzerland).
The complete package will be available at .... including 16% VAT. (s.r.p.).
The tray of the drive is blue and has the "TDK"logo. On the front
panel you will also find two leds, the eject button, the headphone jack and
the volume selector. As usual the tray has a fluorescent blue color adding a
special hue to the drive:
At the back of the drive we will find the usual connectors (IDE interface,
power), the jumpers for setting the drive as a Master/Slave, the SPDIF output
connector and the analog/digital output connectors. There are 3 jumpers at the
left of the back. The 2 jumpers on the left are not used (factory reserved),
and the third is being used for making the drive working at UDMA33 mode. If
you remove the third jumper, the drive works at PIO-Mode4 mode - which is suggested
in case your CDs are un-readable:
- Installation
The
TDK 321040 was installed as a Master in the secondary IDE Bus. The drive worked
in PIOMode4 and after booting, identified itself as "TDK CDRW321040X".
We used WinXP for the recording tests. In order activate DMA, under VIA chipset,
you have to install VIA's IDE Busmaster drives or Intel's Application Accelerator
, for Intel chipsets.
The drive was a Januray 2001 model with firmware revision v3.41 installed.
We used Nero (5.5.7.2), InCD (3.21) and CloneCD (3.3.4.1) for the recording
tests:
3. Data Tests
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
3
Data Tests
- SCSI Mechanic v3.0x results
The AOpen CRW3248 and CyberDrive CW058D are the faster drives due to the
increased 48x maximum reading speed. The ASUS CRW3212A is the faster drive with
40x reading speed. The drive has an average of 4743Kb/s at the Sequential test
and the second best at the Random test. The TDK CyClone 321040 comes last at
both tests with 4459Kb/s and with 665Kb/s at the Sequential and Random tests
accordinaly.
- Pressed CD results: (Click to see the ASUS
and TDK
CD Speed Graphs)
At the Nero CD Speed test, the ASUS CRW3212A is the faster drive ,with 40x
maximum reading speed. The drive has 32.54X average reading speed, which is
very good. On the other hand, the TDK Cyclone 321040 comes last with 30.56X.
In the same test, ASUS gave the lower random seek times. The drive has a
79ms random seek time, while TDK drive comes last with 130ms. Note that with
CDR media, the Seek times increased up to 110ms.
- CDR Media: (Click to see the ASUS
and TDK
CD Speed Graphs)
With CDR media, the ASUS CRW3212A continues to lead the race, for drives
with 40x maximum reading speed. The ASUS drive keeps an average of 32.95X, while
the TDK Cylone 321040 comes last with 31.2X.
- HS-RW media: (Click to see the ASUS
and TDK
CD Speed Graphs)
For the RW tests we used the Mitsubishi Chemical HS-RW written at 10x. The
ASUS CRW3212A has the lower reading speed with 23.59X. The TDK CyClone is faster
with 25.43X. Both drives should improve their performance to reach the top,
which AOpen CRW3248 stronly holds:
4. CloneCD reading Tests
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
4
CloneCD Tests
- Procedure
We used CloneCD (v3.3.4.1) and 4 original CDs - No One Lives For Ever (SafeDisc
2), Desperados (LaserLock 2), V-Rally 2 Expert (SecuROM 2) and NBA Jam Extreme
(PSX) - in order to test the reading time of the drives. We also tested the
reading performance with backups of the original CDs, since the reading speed
varies between original and backup media. The following pictures show the drive(s)
reading/writing capabilities as CloneCD reports:
- PSX Pressed Media
The ASUS CRW3212 is the faster reader with 53secs. The LiteOn LTR-32123S
comes second with 138secs, and TDK Cyclone is much slower with 272 seconds.
- SafeDisc 2 Results
The ASUS CRW3212A performed very good and only the Mitsumi CR-480ATE is faster.
The drive seems reading slower with backup CDR disc. The TDK CyClone 321040
is very slow and needs almost one hour to finish the task.
- LaserLock 2 Results
With LaserLock v.2 protected CDs, ASUS CRW3212A performed very well and gets
the first place. TDK Cyclone gets the second position in the original CD test,
but did not keep the good performance in the backup CD test.
- SecuROM Results
All tested drives can read SubChannel data from Data/Audio tracks. The ASUS
CRW3212A comes second, behind LiteOn LTR-32123S with 2034.12 sectors/sec and
1975.67 sectors/sec in the original/backup test. The TDK Cyclone 321040 gets
the last place with a low performance.
5. DAE Tests
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
5
DAE Tests
- Test Method
We used CD DAE 99 v0.3 beta and EAC v0.9 beta 2 software in order to check
the DAE performance of the drive with various AudioCDs (both pressed and CDR).
The posted DAE results are the average of both applications. We made a full
CD Rip starting from the first to the last track of the CD. The Average DAE
reported speeds are displayed in the test graphs.
- DAE features
We used EAC v0.9 beta 2 to examine the drive(s) features:
-
ASUS CRW-3212
The drive supports "Caching" of data, "Accurate Stream"
and includes "C2" error info.
-
TDK
The drive doesn't "Caching" data, supports "Accurate Stream"
and doens't include"C2" error info.
- Pressed AudioCD results
The ASUS CRW3212A is the second faster reader below AOpen CRW3248. The ASUS
drive manages to outperform all other drives with maximum 40x reading speed
and keeps a 30.8X average DAE ripping speed. The TDK CyClone 321040 has also
good performance with 29.0X but stays away from the top:
- CDR AudioCD results
All the drives behaved the same in the CDR DAE test, as in the previous
pressed CD test.
- EAC Secure Extract Ripping mode
For each drive we used the build-in detection function:
Tested Drives
|
Average DAE Speed (X)
|
Pressed
|
CDR
|
LiteOn LTR-32123S
|
4.4
|
5.0
|
TDK Cyclone 321040
|
11.5
|
11.3
|
Mitsumi CR-480ATE
|
11.0
|
11.1
|
AOpen CRW3248
|
20.1
|
20.3
|
CyberDrive CW-058D
|
11.2
|
11.3
|
ASUS CRW3212A
|
10.6
|
10.2
|
- Advanced DAE Quality
All tested drives got a 100 score (best), except from the ASUS, which stayed
at 98.6 in the Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test. The ASUS CRW3212A also produced
44767 errors.
- ASUS CRW3212A
The drive's average reading speed was 29.51x and 44767 errors were produced.
As the following picture shows, the drive can read SubChannel Data and CD-Text:
- TDK CyClone 321040
The drive's average reading speed was 29.88x and no errors were produced.
As the following picture shows, the drive can read CD-Text/SubChannel Data:
- Bad CDR Media results
Despite the fact that Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test stretches
drive's mechanism to the max, we decided to do real life tests with a scratched
disc. The disc was dirty, and with some light scratches, enough in order cause
problems to most of the tested drives. We used CD DAE 99 software to rip the
whole disc (756539616 sectors) and the results were very interesting:
|
Average Speed (X)
|
Errors
|
Errors Of Total Disc (%)
|
LiteOn LTR-32123S
|
14.4
|
906044
|
0.12
|
TDK Cyclone 321040
|
8.1
|
23285
|
0
|
Mitsumi CR-480ATE
|
10.9
|
353411
|
0.05
|
AOpen CRW3248
|
8.4
|
313
|
0
|
CyberDrive CW058D
|
27.2
|
17617
|
0
|
ASUS CRW3212A
|
30.8
|
16364922
|
2.16
|
The best reader for this test is AOpen. The drive lowered its reading speed
down to 8x and managed to produce the lower reading errors at this roundup.
The TDK Cyclone 321040 comes third with 0% error rate but 23285 errors. The
ASUS CRW3212A was really fast but produced too many errors (2.16% overall).
- Ripping 90 and 99mins AudioCDs
- TDK Cyclone drive can recognize 90mins without any problems but failed
to read 99min CDs.
- ASUS CRW3212A recognizes 90/99 min CDs.
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used 3 protected AudioCDs, which we
tested in both recognition and ripping (with CD DAE v0.3b/EAC v0.9 beta2) processes:
* Pressed AudioCD with Sony Key2Audio
* Pressed AudioCD with Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies
Island)
* CDR AudioCD protected with Cactus Data Shield (CDS100) - made with Clone Audio
Protector v1.1 (adding 30 secs lead-out)
|
Key2Audio
|
CDS200
|
CDS100
|
CDDAE
|
EAC
|
CDDAE
|
EAC
|
CDDAE
|
EAC
|
AOpen CRW3248
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Rips up to 91%
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Reads all tracks as Data tracks - ripping
impossible
|
CyberDrive CW058D
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Problems recognize 1st track
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
LiteOn LTR-32123S
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Problems recognize 1st track, cannot
rip
|
Recognizes tracks, cannot rip
|
Mitsumi CR-480ATE
|
Recognizes disc contents cannot rip
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Cannot recognize Audio Tracks
|
Cannot recognize Audio Tracks
|
TDK Cyclone 321040
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Recognizes disc contents cannot rip/PC
Halts
|
Rips all tracks exept 1st one
|
ASUS CRW3212A
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Problems recognize 1st track
|
Cannot rip the disc contents
|
Both ASUS and TDK drives have problems with protected Audio CDs.. The ASUS
CRW3212A cannot recognize the Key2Audio protected discs and cannot rip CDS200
titles. Lastly, TDK Cyclone can rip the Key2Audio audio tracks and cannot rip
the entire disc contents of CDS200 discs.
6. CDR Tests - Page 1
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
6
CDR Tests
- Page 1
- Procedure
We tested all five drives with latest version of Nero/CloneCD. We used various
media for our tests: Mitsubishi Chemicals 74/80min 24x/32x certified, Mitsui
74min 24x certified, Taiyo Yuden 74/80min 24/32x certified, Ricoh 80min 24x
certified and Mitsubishi Chemicals/LiteOn HS-RW media. We burned CDs at almost
all recording speeds from 16x up to 32x using the SAME amount of data for all
drives. The posted recording times are the best we had from our test results.
Using other media can increase the final burning time. Note that both ASUS/TDK
drives doesn't support 24x writing speed.
- Comparison
Before starting the recording tests, let's see how the drives are compared
in the writing/rotation speeds:
TDK Cyclone starts writing in a higher speed (20x CLV) than ASUS drive. However
the ASUS CRW3212A shifts up to the maximum speed (32X) earlier , so the average
recording speed is more or less the same.
TDK starts writing at the highest -up to now- rotation speed (10.050rpm), which
is gradually reduced. The drive makes a lot of noise during the writing process
but that seems to be necessary. Rotation speed for ASUS is 8000rpm in the beggining,
and spins up to 9000 rpm earlier than TDK Cyclone.
- 74min CD-R Tests
Both ASUS and TDK drives refused to write CDs at 24X. We tested the drives
at 16x, 20x and 32x soeeds.We created a "DataCD" job with data slightly
more than 74mins (74:03:65). We burned the same job with all five tested drives:
The faster drive at the 16x writing test is AOpen. The drive ends the task
at 310 (JustSpeed disabled). TDK Cyclone also gave a good performance with 311sec,
and ASUS /Cyberdrive follows with 312 seconds.
Mitsumi CR-480ATE and ASUS CRW3212A doesn't support 20x writing
speed option
The faster recorder at the 20x writing speed comes from CyberDrive with 257secs.
The TDK CyClone 321040 needs 261secs to end the same task.
At the maximum recording speed of 32x, the faster drive comes from CyberDrive.
The ASUS CRW3212A needs 214secs and the TDK Cyclone finishes earlier with 211secs..
7. CDR Tests - Page 2
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
7
CDR Tests
- Page 2
- 80min CD-R Tests
In our normal burning tests the 80min CD contains slightly more than 80min
data (80:01:47):
With 80min CDs, ASUS and TDK drive had the same performance and finished
the task after 334/336 seconds.
Mitsumi CR-480ATE and ASUS CRW3212A doesn't support 20x writing
speed option
At the 20x writing speed, the TDK Cylone comes second behind PleXWriter PX-W4012A.
It needs 278secs to end the task.
At the 32x writing speed, the faster drive comes from CyberDrive (CW058D).
The ASUS CRW3212A comes second with 224secs and the TDK CyClone 321040 third
with 226secs.
8. CDR Tests - Page 3
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 2 - Page
8
CDR Tests
- Page 3
- Overburning Tests
Using Nero, we saw that Asus CRW3212A can overburn up to 99mins, while TDK
Cyclone stops at around 93mins.
- CD-Text Results
We created several AudioCDs with CD-Text enabled. The TDK Cyclone 321040
can read/write CD-Text AudioCDs without any problems. However we had some issues
with ASUS CRW3212A. While the drive seems able to read, we couldn't write CD-TEXT
with Nero.
- 8cm Media Tests
For this proposed we used a 8cm RW media and we burned up to 185MB. None
of the tested drive had problems writing/reading from the 8cm disc.
- CloneCD Writing Tests
The
CloneCD v3.3.4.1 reports that all drives support the DAO-RAW feature. We performed
our usual tests and we confirmed that both drives support the DAO-RAW writing
mode at the following CD protections: SafeDisc 1.0, LaserLock 1/2 and SecuROM
2 CD protections. The TDK CyClone 321040 limits the recording speed down to
16x when DAO-RAW writing mode being used.
- SD2 Support
For the SD2 test we used the "No One Lives For Ever", "Max
Payne" and "Serious Sam - The Second Encounter" game titles.
We used each drive both as reader/writer at the maximum reading/recording speed.
The produced backups were tested with various DVD-ROM and CD-ROMs. The TDK CyClone
321040 cannot produce perfect backups of any SD2 build.
* No One Lives For Ever
The No One Lives Forever has the SD2 v2.05.030 build protection. The ASUS
CRW3212A doesn't have any problem to produce a perfect backup. The produced
backup worked without any problems with all tested drives.
* Max Payne
The Max Payne has the SD2 v2.30.033 build protection. Again the ASUS CRW3212A
produced perfect backups.
* Serious Sam - The Second Encounter
The Max Payne has the SD2 v2.51.021 build protection. The produced backup
worked at all tested drives without any problems:
Drive
|
Worked (Yes/No)
|
Plextor PX-W40TS CD-ROM
|
Yes
|
LiteOn LTD163 DVD-ROM
|
Yes
|
ASUS DVD E616 DVD-ROM
|
Yes
|
Creative CD5233 CD-ROM
|
Yes
|
TEAC 540E CD-ROM
|
Yes
|
As the test results showed, the ASUS CRW3212A can backup any SD2 of 2.x-2.51
builds. The TDK CyClone 321040 cannot produce perfect SD2 backups. Your only
choice with the TDK drive is to use the special settings which some CDR software
(CloneCD/BlindWrite) offers in such cases.
9. Writing Quality of ASUS
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 2 - Page
9
Writing Quality Tests
of ASUS CRW3212A
We used many media ,mostly 24x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with ASUS CRW3212A. We used Nero 5.5.7.2 as the CDR software. The produced
CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables.
- 32x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (16x)
|
30
|
0.9
|
3:33
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
|
22
|
0.4
|
3:38
|
Mitsui 74min (24x)
|
16
|
1.0
|
3:33
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (16x)
|
36
|
1.5
|
3:36
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 74min (24x)
|
17
|
2.0
|
3:31
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (32x)
|
12
|
0.3
|
3:36
|
|
|
|
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (32x)
|
25
|
0.6
|
3:47
|
Prodisc 80min (32x)
|
31
|
2.0
|
3:45
|
Ritek 80min (32x)
|
18
|
1.8
|
3:50
|
Ricoh 80min (24x)
|
43
|
1.8
|
3:44
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (24x)
|
15
|
0.2
|
3:47
|
The ASUS CRW3212A does perform well during the writing process. The produced
CDs have low C1 error rates. The best results come with TaiyoYuden's 32x certified
media.
10. Writing Quality of TDK
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3 - Page
10
Writing Quality Tests
for TDK CRW321040X
We used many media ,mostly 24x certified, and burned them at various recording
speeds with TDK CRW321040X. We used Nero 5.5.7.2 as the CDR software. The produced
CDs, were measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following tables:
- 20x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
|
18
|
0.6
|
0
|
4:23
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (32x)
|
17
|
0.5
|
4:21
|
Mitsui 74min (16x)
|
20
|
0.7
|
4:22
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 74min (24x)
|
40
|
1.6
|
4:20
|
|
|
|
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (24x)
|
40
|
2.4
|
4:39
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (32x)
|
35
|
2.0
|
4:39
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (24x)
|
45
|
2.7
|
4:39
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (32x)
|
22
|
1.7
|
4:39
|
Ritek 80min (24x)
|
21
|
1.5
|
4:39
|
Ricoh 80min (24x)
|
17
|
1.2
|
4:39
|
As the tests results shows,TDK CRW321040X performs quite well mostly with Taiyo
Yuden 32x CDs. The drive doesn't produce any C2 errors.
- 32x writing speed
Brand
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (24x)
|
17
|
0.7
|
0
|
3:32
|
Taiyo Yuden 74min (32x)
|
17
|
0.5
|
3:32
|
Mitsui 74min (16x)
|
28
|
0.5
|
3:43
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 74min (24x)
|
42
|
3.5
|
3:31
|
Maxell 74min (12x)
|
145
|
20,3
|
2
|
0
|
3:31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (24x)
|
29
|
1.3
|
0
|
3:42
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min (32x)
|
28
|
1.1
|
3:47
|
Ritek 80min (24x)
|
42
|
2.2
|
3:45
|
Ricoh 80min (24x)
|
38
|
1.3
|
3:43
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (24x)
|
35
|
1.4
|
4:44
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min (32x)
|
20
|
0.9
|
3:43
|
TDK doesn't have any problem to write all inserted CDs at the maximum speed
of 32x. In one case when low quality media were used, Maxell 74min 12x, the
drive did produce high C1 and C2 errors. With high quality media no problems
were spotted.
11. RW-Packet Writing Tests
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 2 - Page
11
RW Writing Tests
We used Nero 5.5.7.2 for writing CDs at the maximum RW speed for all the
tested drives. The ASUS CRW3212A supports 12x re-writing speeds, while the TDK
CyClone 321040 only 10x:
The CyberDrive CW058D is the faster re-writer. The ASUS CRW3212A has the
second best performance with 406secs. The TDK CyClone 321040 comes last with
486ses, due to lower re-writing speed (10X ).
- Packet Writing Tests
We used Ahead InCD v3.21 for the packet writing tests with the LiteOn HS-RW
media. The formatted disc had 534mbs of free space. We copied a 403 MB file
(403.147 kbs) from a Hard Disk (on the same PC as the writers) to the formatted
RW media using Windows Explorer (we dragged and dropped) and we completed the
test twice to eliminate any possible time measurement faults and user errors:
The ASUS has a good writing performance under packet writing format with
8.64X. The TDK Cyclone 321040 comes last with 7.1X.. At the reading part, the
ASUS CRW 3212A performs very good with 16.6X and the TDK CyClone 321040 comes
again last with 6.2X.
12. Conclusion
32x
CD-RW Roundup Vol 3- Page
12
Conclusion
ASUS
CRW3212A
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- Supports 32x writing and 12x re-writing
speeds
- Supports FlexLink/FlexSpeed/DDSII technologies
- Faster reader at 40x speed with pressed/cdr media
- Very fast DAE speeds
- Low seek times with pressed CDs (80ms)
- Very good CloneCD reading performance
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Can produce perfect SD2 backups (up to v2.51)
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing?)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports Ultra-DMA 33 connection interface
- Retail package contains Nero/80min HS-RW media
- Low price (<$120)
|
-Only 2MB of buffer
- High seek times with CDR media (110ms)
- Doesn't support 'Mt. Rainier' format
- Cannot "handle" protected AudioCDs
- Produces lot of errors with scratched AudioCDs
- Competition offers 2 years of warranty
|
TDK
CyClone 321040
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- 32x writing speed
- 4Mb of buffer
- Supports Burn-Proof
- Can write any media at 32x writing speed but in some cases produces
high C1 errors
- Very good DAE speeds
- Can "handle" protected AudioCDs with proper software
- Supports DAO-RAW
- Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data
- Supports CD-Text (reading/writing)
- Supports Overburning (up to 93mins)
- Has 2 years of warranty (applies only for Europe)
- Retail package includes Nero
|
- Competition supports 12x RW speed
- Doesn't support 'Mt. Rainier' format
- Makes lot of noise when writing at 32x speed
- Higher seek times than competition
- DAO-RAW writing only at 16x speed
- Failed to backup SD2 protected CDs
- Very bad CloneCD reading performance
|
During this roundup, we examined two new drives from ASUS and TDK. The ASUS
CRW3212A has exactly the same specifications with Mitsumi CR-480ATE/LiteOn LTR-32123S,
while the TDK CyClone 321040 has the same specs with Freecom 32A and Philip
PCRW3210A. There are also two drives that support 48x reading speed (AOpen CRW3248
and CyberDrive CW058D). We cannot hereby announce a winner among the competitors,
since there are drives that have either higher reading speeds, or lower recording
speeds. Users should read carefully each drive's performance and decide of what
they really needs.
The ASUS CRW3212A is the faster reader for the 40x reading speed. The drive
supports 32x writing speed, 12x re-writing and 40x reading speed. It supports
FlexLink to avoid buffer underruns, FlexSpeed to adjust recording speed automatically
and DDSSII system to reduce vibration/noises. In addition it will rip AudioCDs
and make images of your protected CDs very fast. Users will be able to make
backups of their CDs, since the drive can backup even SD2 v2.51 builds. Last,
overburning is allowed up to 99mins and you will be able to buy it at a low
price of $120. On the dark side, the drive produces lot of reading errors with
scratched AudioCDs, doens't support Mt. Rainier format and includes only 2MB
of buffer, when the competition offers up to 16MB (Mitsumi CR-480ATE).
The TDK CyClone 321040 begins with one negative point. The low re-writing speed
of 10X. The drive's overall performance is good at both data/DAE reading but
the competition is faster at both reading/writing tasks. Users will be allowed
to write almost all CDs at the maximum 32x writing speed, at the cost of writing
quality in case of low rated media. Users might find annoying the noise which
this drive produces while writing at maximum speed, but will be probably pleased
from the 2 year of warranty (applies only for Europe).
Ending, we give the ASUS CRW3212A our "Safe Buy" award for its performance/value
mark.