Introduction:
With the wide range of DVD RW burners out there, it is easy for one to become confused especially with all the different types, DVD + and – formats for example. Today we are pleased to present you with information on the Lite-On LDW 401S DVD+RW and LDW 411S DVD+RW burners.
There are many types of DVD discs (DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM). For this review, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW were chosen.
With the LDW 401S and LDW 411S, came a CD audio cable, one 4x DVD+R, one 4x DVD+RW, one 4x DVD-R, a user manual, and an installation guide.
Specifications:
Lite On LDW 401S DVD+RW
The LDW 401S DVD+RW is a DVD+ burner and burns only DVD+ media.
Specs:
|
Speed |
DVD Family : |
|
Buffer Size |
2MB |
|
Access Time |
DVD Family: 160ms CD Family: 140ms |
|
MTBF(Life) |
70,000 Hours |
|
Support OS |
Windows 95 / 98 / NT4.0 / ME / 2000 / XP |
|
OS Requirement |
Pentium III 450 MHz or faster CPU and 128 MB or higher RAM are required |
|
Power Requirement |
+5 V +/-5% and less than 100 mVp-p ripple voltage |
Lite On LDW 411S DVD+RW
The LDW 411S is a dual format burner which means that it can burn both DVD+ and DVD- media.
Specs:
|
Speed |
Write : DVD±R 4X CLV; CD-R 40X PCAV; |
|
Buffer Size |
2MB |
|
Access Time |
DVD Family: 160ms CD Family: 140ms |
|
MTBF(Life) |
70,000 Hours |
|
Support OS |
Windows 95 / 98 / NT4.0 / ME / 2000 / XP |
|
OS Requirement |
Pentium III 450 MHz or faster CPU and 128 MB or higher RAM are required |
|
Power Requirement |
+5 V +/-5% and less than 100 mVp-p ripple voltage |
Test Setup:
Amd Barton 2500+@ 2.21gighz(3200)+
Antec SOHO SX1040BII w/ 400 watt Antec PSU
Asus A7N8X-X
PowerColor ATI Radeon 9600 pro 256mb
SLK-900A & 80mm Antec w/ Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste
Corsair XMS 512 ddr pc2700 w/platinum heatspreader
SoundBlaster Live!
Western Digital 80gig 7200rpm harddrive w/8mb cache
Zalman Theatre6 5.1 Surround Sound
(2) CoolerMaster 80mm Neon Blue Led exhuast case fans
(1) Antec 80mm intake case fan
Benchmarked with:
Valentine DVD
Programs used:
Nero CD-DVD Speed v2.01
Elby CloneDVD 1.3.10.1
Media used:
Memorex 4x DVD+R
TDK 2.4x DVD+RW
TDK 2x DVD-RW
CD-DVD Speed
Nero CD-DVD Speed
LDW 401S DVD+RW
LDW 411S DVD+RW
Average Read Speeds:
The speeds between the LDW 401S and LDW 411S are almost the same so its down to customer preference to decide what they are looking for.
Seek Times:
Here the LDW 411S averages better seek times overall compared to the LDW 401S, there is a difference between them in that the LDW 401S is a DVD+RW and the LDW 411S is a Dual Format DVD+RW so again it is up to the customer to decide which they prefer.
CPU Usage:
The numbers show that the LDW 401S and LDW 411S performance is neck and neck with CPU usage, although these numbers are trivial it is ultimately up to the customer to decide.
Burning Benchmarks
DVD+R Burning Benchmark:
Don’t let the chart fool you as the difference is merely seconds apart between the
LDW 401S and the LDW 411S. While the LDW 401S shows a 8 second lead over the LDW 411S, there is really no noticeable difference between the two.
DVD+RW Burning Benchmark
Once again do not let the chart fool you, the LDW 401S has a 4 second lead over the LDW 411S, which once again is unnoticeable.
DVD-R/RW Burning Benchmark:
The 2x DVD-RW is significantly slower than the 4x DVD-R.
Conclusions:
LDW 401S DVD+RW Pros:
LDW 401S DVD+RW Cons:
LDW 411S DVD+RW Pros:
LDW 411S DVD+RW Cons:
As the benchmarks show, the burners are very similar to each other except for the fact that one has the ability to burn DVD- media. So the choice of which is right for you comes to which has the features you need. Prices are similar to each other and are both excellent drives. A tip for the customer would be to buy faster DVD-RW discs.
LDW 401S SL Rating: 9/10
LDW 411S SL Rating: 8.5/10
The LDW 401S only missed the Editor’s Choice by 0.5
