Plextor 708A: First exclusive look at 8X DVD+R
by Kristopher Kubicki on September 12, 2003 11:11 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Testing the Drive
We used the following configuration to test our DRW-0402P/D:Gigabyte GA-7VRXUsing CD Speed 2.02 and DVD Speed, we had run a battery of read, write and rewrite tests on the drive. The following read speeds are for a pressed HP System Recovery CD.
AMD Athlon MP 2100+
2 x 128 DDR Corsair XMS 2400
Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache
Windows XP SP1
Click to enlarge.
The drive has no problems with CD media, as obtaining 40X CAV was no challenge. In fact, since we only used a 70min CD, reading speeds for 80min CDs might be even closer to 48X read. However, take notice of the horrible access times. What good is a 22MB/s burst rate if it takes 339ms to seek? Below is a table of some media read times and their respective mappings in Nero CD Speed.
| Average Transfer | Seek Random | Seek 1/3 | Seek Full | Media Length | |
| Pressed HP System Recovery (Turbo) | 30.25X | 110ms | 116ms | 339ms | 69:18.41 |
| Pressed DAE Global Underground 24 CD2 | 31.85X | N/A | N/A | N/A | 73:20.15 |
| Burned PNY 48X CDR Dummy File | 31.95X | 112ms | 119ms | 119ms | 74:00.05 |
| Burned Mitsubishi 32X CDRW Dummy File | 30.85X | 86ms | 110ms | 168ms | 71.28.40 |
| Pressed DVD The Matrix | 6.12X | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.82GB |
| Pressed Mixed DVD The Animatrix | 6.14X | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.92GB |
| TDK 4X DVD-R Data CD | 6.03X | 88ms | 102ms | 181ms | 4.38GB |
| FujiFilm 4X DVD+R Data CD | 6.05X | 91ms | 102ms | 182ms | 4.38GB |
| Imation 4X DVD+R Data CD | 4.61X | 136ms | 164ms | 311ms | 4.38GB |
| FujiFilm 4X DVD-RW Data CD | 4.62X | 139ms | 170ms | 316ms | 4.38GB |
| FujiFilm 2.4X DVD+RW Data CD | 6.11X | 387ms | 421ms | 717ms | 4.38GB |
We never really saw the 12X DVD read claimed by Plextor. On the other hand, the read speeds certainly do not disappoint either. Typical reads ended up around 8X (6X average), which out-performs the only 4-5X capable A06. For whatever reason, the CPU usage seems slightly excessive, and we really have no idea what is going on in the DVD+RW read test.
DVD access times are very good. The drive clearly seeks on DVDs 10-15% quicker than the Pioneer A06.
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tazdevl - Monday, September 15, 2003 - link
TDK is just a rebadged NEC. Only difference is that TDK updates their firmware a tad bit more often and does a better job supporting their drives in general than NEC.In any case, both are not in the same league as Sony, Pioneer, Plex or TEAC.
Anonymous User - Monday, September 15, 2003 - link
Can someone please do a review on the Plextor 708A, Sony DRU510, the new Pioneer and the new Lite-On DVD+-R/RW. Somebody tell Anand.tazdevl - Monday, September 15, 2003 - link
Litle light reading... according to NPD Sony has a 39% share of the DVD burning market.#1.http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/7974
Ian@CDRlabs - Monday, September 15, 2003 - link
Ah yeah. You guys wanted to get the "first exclusive look." :)I have to agree with tazdevl about Sony's DVD writers. While they have used drives from other companies in the past, the DRU-5xx series is their own design. A design just as ground breaking as the Plextor.
Ian
KristopherKubicki - Sunday, September 14, 2003 - link
#23: They did sent it to us. Unfortunately, they sent it to us UPS ground ;) Rather than wait around for our sample I thought it best to go grab one before every review site on the net had a unit.I believe the unit is still in transit =)
Kristopher
Anonymous User - Sunday, September 14, 2003 - link
If you had to buy it, why did you say they sent it to you? Just curious. Anandtech is a well-respected site -- you certainly don't have to pretend like manufacturers are doing you favours. In fact, the idea that you guys go out and buy stuff to review just makes you look more impartial and might shame a few people into giving you review samples in the future.
Falco. - Sunday, September 14, 2003 - link
KristopherKubickiif u have to buy the tdk.. u can have mine relatively cheap :-)
KristopherKubicki - Sunday, September 14, 2003 - link
#20: I have the OEM drive here. Its in an upcoming review.Kristopher
tazdevl - Sunday, September 14, 2003 - link
#7 I think you're getting into semantics. Your point makes no sense.Sony doesn't manufacture their own drives, they outsource manufacturing to other companies, which is not unusual. However, the design is their own and they don't private label anyone else's drives.
KristopherKubicki - Sunday, September 14, 2003 - link
I will see if TDK can send us a drive. We actually went out and bought our 708A, so we may end up doing the same for the TDK.Kristopher