- CD Format

For our CD transfer rate tests, we used the Nero CD-Speed utility and both Pressed and CDR media. Lets take a look at how the drive performed in comparison to the other two drives.

Minor speed differences when using Pressed CD media, all drives are fast enough, with the LiteOn being the fastest.

Again similar performance although the LiteOn had the slowest end speed. Very steady performance from the NEC drive.

In this case, the NEC drive reported very good average speed, proving overall a fast CD reader.

- DVD Format

Now lets have a look at how the drive performs with DVD media. Again a set of DVD media was used, both SL and DL.

With SL media, all drives reported more or less the similar speeds, with only slight differences between them.

The two layers of a PTP DVD-ROM disc are read sequentially with the drive starting reading from the inner part of the disc, which is the beginning of each layer, progressing towards the outer range for each layer. In this test, the reviewed drive performed well enough being only slightly slower than the BenQ drive.

The first layer of an OTP dual layer DVD-ROM is read exactly the same way as the first layer of the PTP disc we tested previously. The difference here is the reading strategy of the second layer on the disc. The beginning of the second layer is located in the outer part of the disc, so the drive starts reading from the outer tracks towards the inner part of the disc. Same performance with the PTP reading test.

With DVD±R, our reviewed drive was again marginally slower than the BenQ. With DVD±RW though, the 3540A left no doubt who was fastest.

Unfortunately, the "rip-lock" function that NEC employs in all their burners is still present, and so we had a sluggish 7172kb/s average ripping speed.

-Appendix

Nero CD-DVD Speed Graphs

CD Pressed / CD-R / US-RW
DVD Pressed SL / DVD Pressed DL / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+R / DVD+RW