Plextor PX-S88TU - Page 3

Data Tests

Test Method:
- SCSI Mechanic v3.0x: This was used to compare the drive's  I/O performance against other various CDR-W drives (see charts). We used a pressed CD containing PlexTools v1.08 for all tests.
- Nero CD Speed v0.84b was also used to check the drive's performance with pressed CDs. For that test, we also used the PlexTools v1.08 pressed CD.

- SCSI Mechanic v3.0x results:

The PleXWriter PX-S88TU managed to overpass TEAC CD-RW280PU in the "Average Sequential I/O" test. The Plextor had 2704Kb/s and the TEAC 2637Kb/s. On the other hand the TEAC, due to its lower seek times, has a better "Average Random I/O" mark and higher "Same Sector I/O" performance. Both drives support up to 24x (CAV) reading speed, which is more than enough for an external portable CD-RW drive.

- Nero CD Speed v0.84 results: (Plextor S88TU CD Speed graphs)

Using Nero CD Speed 0.84, we confirmed the SCSI Mechanic results. The PleXWriter PX-S88TU is faster than TEAC CD-RW280PU. It starts reading faster and its ending speed is also higher than the TEAC. The PleXWriter PX-S88TU has an average of 18.51X, while the TEAC CD-RW280PU has 18.01X.

In the "Seek Times" test, the TEAC drive is faster than the Plextor drive, as expected. TEAC models usually have the lowest seek times, and from our tests this was confirmed once again. The random seek time for TEAC is 109ms, while for the PleXWriter it is 119ms.

- PSX Pressed Media

For this test we used the PSX game 'NBA Jam Extreme' and we ripped the image to HD with CloneCD. We measured the reading times for both tested drives. Plextor is the winner here with only 122secs, while the TEAC needs 28 more seconds to complete the image:

- CDR Media: (Plextor S88TU CD Speed graphs)

With CDR media, both drives performed better than with the pressed test disc. The PleXWriter still holds the first place, with 18.53X and TEAC loses with 18,39X.