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By Kelly Lu (kellylu@onepc.net) - August 11, 2001

Infobox

What? PlexWriter 16/10/40A Product Page Who? Plextor Corp. Home Page How much? $309 USD (MSRP)

It seems that more and more people are adapting the CD-RW drive as a great way to store their own personal files or to backup software. Way back in 1998, when I first bought my 2X CD-RW drive, I never expected it to become so popular now. As an example, almost all of my computer-knowledgeable friends have one, and even many of my not-so-computer-literate friends do, too.

The industry has also adapted itself to the rise of the CD-RW drive. For example, MP3 players have recently become CD-R/CD-RW-enabled, allowing users to store about 10 hours of music onto a CD in MP3 form for playback on players such as the MiSEL. From the looks of things, the CD-RW drive seems like the best candidate to replace the much-too-old floppy disk.

One of the most respected makers of CD-RW drives is Plextor. With products that usually cost quite a bit more than the competition, Plextor is known as a leading maker of CD-RW drives-and, appropriately, their products seem to be the one of the most respected in the industry, mainly because of their high reliability and quality ratings, which are, in my opinion, more crucial than even performance when it comes to CD-RW drives. After all, a difference of a few minutes to burn a full CD is far less of a concern, especially when drives are getting faster and faster these days, than having the ability to create flawless CD's time and time again.

OnePC.NET takes a look at one of Plextor's ATAPI CD-RW drives: their 16/10/40A. While speed is one thing-it writes CD-R's at 16X, CD-RW's at 10X and reads at 40X (maximum)--the fact that the 16/10/40A has Plextor's reputation for maintaining the highest reliability in the industry behind it and that it includes some of the industry's most unique and innovative features, spells only on thing: industry leader.

The specs for the 16/10/40A calls for a drive that has a random access time of 140 ms (for reading), which is average for CD-ROM drives, and a 2MB buffer (for writing), which is, again, pretty average when it comes to CD-RW drives.

Another average feature is that it uses CAV and PCAV methods for reading CD's. CAV stands for Constant Angular Velocity, which means that the motor that spins the CD spins at a constant rate, regardless of which part of the CD the drive is reading. A characteristic of this method is that the read speed at the beginning of a CD (or on the inner tracks) will be considerably slower than at the end of the CD (or on the outer tracks) because of the physical design of all CD's. PCAV is a similar method as CAV, but allows for the reading of CD-RW discs. The specifications call for a minimum reading speed on the inner and outer tracks of 17X and 40X, respectively, and 10X and 24X on the inner and outer tracks, respectively, for a CD-RW disc which is, again, pretty average when it comes to a CD-RW drive these days.

For writing, the 16/10/40A uses CLV, or Constant Linear Velocity, meaning that the CD that will be written will be spun faster when the drive is writing to the beginning of the disc and will be slower at the end. This allows for a constant speed of, in the case of the 16/10/40A, 16X for CD-R writing and 10X for CD-RW writing regardless of where the drive is writing to on the CD. This is, again, very much similar to most of the other CD-RW drives out there today, since most also use CLV for writing.

One feature that is not so average about the 16/10/40A, however, is its support for a technology called BURN-Proof. This is a relatively new technology and has only been taken advantage of by a few manufacturers but does marvels for the time-old burn error of "buffer under-runs." A buffer under-run occurs when the computer is not able to deliver data fast enough to the CD writer, so it will just burn a gap where there is no data, thus wrecking the burned CD. BURN-Proof virtually eliminates this problem by allowing burners that support it to essentially pause when there is a buffer under-run and then continue burning when the data gets flowing again. Like many things, BURN-Proof is also dependent on the software being used to burn the CD. One piece of software that supports BURN-Proof is CDRWIN, which is one of the more popular ones for advanced users.

Personally, I have not had many problems with buffer under-runs since my computers usually don't have a problem with delivering data to my CD writers, but with older computers, the risk for buffer under-runs becomes more of a concern and the applications for BURN-Proof become more critical.

As one can see, the PlexWriter 16/10/40A is essentially an average CD-RW drive when it comes to raw speed; however, reliability and quality is one of the key factors to look at, in my mind, when it comes to purchasing a good CD-RW drive, and, with BURN-Proof and the fact that it's made by Plextor, both of these concerns are well addressed.

The PlexWriter 16/10/40A comes with everything any user would need to set up the product in their computer. It includes an IDE cable, screws, two manuals, a software CD and even a spare jumper just in case you loose the original. Also included are Verbatim CD-R and CD-RW discs rated for a maximum recording speed of 16X and 10X, respectively--perfect for this drive. If you've ever had a case where a product requires an accessory that isn't included, you won't have that same case with the PlexWriter 16/10/40A.

The drive is of standard CD-ROM size and fits into any 5 1/2" bay on your computer. There are labels that are clearly printed on the top for cable orientation and jumper settings, which is pretty much expected out of any CD-ROM drive these days. Something that you might not expect to see on a CD-ROM drive is the tiny exhaust fan at the rear; this is a clear sign of Plextor's commitment to quality, since it ensures that the innards are adequately cooled to prevent hardware failures.

Powering Up
Installation of the drive was a snap, especially when Plextor included everything needed for the procedure. Windows detected the drive without a hitch and I was on my way to installing the included software.

Plextor includes a copy of Adaptec's Easy CD Creator 4 CD mastering software along with DirectCD. Easy CD Creator 4 is my personal favourite for copying personal files onto a CD because of how easy it is to use--anyone from beginners to advanced users can make their own data and audio CD's from their own files with simple drag and drop simplicity. The PlexWriter 16/10/40A also comes with LiquidAudio, a program for organizing your music and to either play or write them onto a CD--a waste of space, in my opinion--and Plextor Manager 2000, a collection of utilities such as DiscDupe 2000, which allows the user to make identical copies of their own CD's-perfect for backing up software. Plextor Manager 2000 also allows for tweaking your Plextor drives however you wish, a welcome feature for advanced users.

The 16/10/40A had no problems reading any of my CD's and did great when I used it to burn a few of my CD's; not once did I receive any problems--especially not the buffer under-run error. When I used CDRWIN and enabled BURN-Proof, I managed to burn from a network drive without a hitch-something that I find to be very convenient, especially when I know that I should have no problems clogging up the network when I'm burning.

My only complaint with the 16/10/40A's functionality is the fact that it takes a very long time, at least 10 seconds in my mind, for the disc to be ready after it is inserted into the drive. This is very slow and very annoying, especially when compared to the 3 or so seconds that my Pioneer DVD-106S takes!

By the way, the components of Plextor Manager 2000, mentioned above, also supports BURN-Proof.

All tests were run on a clean installation of Windows ME with all drivers installed. No other programs were left running in the background while tests were running, no screen savers or power saving features were configured and the mouse was left still for the entire duration of the benchmark. Each test was run three times, and the average of the three scores is shown within the results shown here.

Reading

Writing
There are no benchmarks specifically designed to benchmark CD-writing performance, so I cannot give you any definite results. I can, however, say that it took the PlexWriter 16/10/40A about 5 minutes to burn a full 650MB CD, which is far better than my aging 2X burner that I bought years ago. At 5 minutes, burning no longer becomes a something that I can only do before I go to bed; it is something that I can do whenever I have a few minutes handy.

The Plextor PlexWriter 16/10/40A, with its typical 140ms average random access time and 2MB average-sized buffer, might seem like any other 16X CD-R writeable, 10X CD-RW writable and 40X maximum read-speed CD-RW drive out there when, in fact, it's not.

It's a lot more. Backed by Plextor's recognition in the industry for having one of, if not, the highest reliability and quality ratings, the 16/10/40A should not be known for its performance and features--although, it's not too shabby in that area as well, especially with its support for BURN-Proof--but for its quality and reliability. When it comes to CD-RW drives, particularly now that there are faster and faster ones becoming available, I believe that quality and reliability stands before raw speed--after all, I don't care as much if my CD gets burned 2 minutes faster than to just be able to create CD's without having any problems. That is what makes the Plextor PlexWriter 16/10/40A one of the best CD-RW drives out there.

Pros 16X CD-R, 10X CD-RW and 40X read; plenty of speed for 98% of users out there BURN-Proof support to eliminate buffer under-run errors Not-too-shabby performance Included software can be used by beginners to advanced users Tiny exhaust fan at rear! Made by Plextor; ensures quality and reliability Cons More expensive than other competing products (-0.5) Long time period between disc insertion and ready to use (-0.5)

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