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Introduction
A few months back I purchased my first CD burner, which was the Plextor PlexWriter 16/10/40A. At the time, it was my best choice for quality and value. I always wanted a Plextor drive and that was my chance to get it. Plextor has been a name among names in the CD recorder industry, and is pretty much synonymous with quality. Just my luck though, a month after I purchased it, the prices dropped and the new 24X burners came on the market. Enter the Plextor PlexWriter 24/10/40A. It's based on the drive from Sanyo, so it has all the features you would expect with that extra Plextor style. Gone are the days that you have to wait more than 5 minutes to burn a CD. With the new 24X burn speed, you can burn a 74 Min. CD in about 3 minutes. You can get the 24X drive for about $150 and the 16X for around $130. Is $20 more worth the extra 2 minutes of speed? Well, you don't just get more speed, you get a few other extra upgrades that make $20 worth it. Plextor was generous enough to provide us with a review unit to do this review. Let's see what this baby has to offer...
Specifications And Features
| Plextor 12x10x40a CD-RW |
| Dimensions |
5.75 in x 1.63 in x 7.95 in (without front panel) |
| Weight |
2.65 lbs |
| Useable Formats |
CD-DA, CD-ROM Mode 1, CD-ROM XA (Mode 2, Form 1 or Form 2 and Mixed Form), CD-ROM Mixed Mode, Photo CD, Video CD, CD-I, CD-Extra (CD-Plus), CD+G, CD-Text |
| Disc Diameter |
12 cm (74, 79 minutes) |
| Recording Modes |
Track-at-once, Disc-at-once, Session-at-once, Multisession, Fixed and Variable Packet Writing |
| Data Transfer |
Z-CLV or CLV write/CAV read or PCAV read |
| Sustained Read/Write Speeds |
- 17X/40X (CAV read only)
- 24X (write only)
- 20X (write only)
- 16X (write only)
- 14X/32X (CAV read only)
- 12X (write only)
- 10X (rewrite only)
- 8X (read only)
- 4X (read/write/rewrite)
- 1X (write only)
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- 2.6-6 MB/sec (Mode 1, XA Mode 2 Form1, and CD-R)
- 3.6 MB/sec (CD-R)
- 3.0 MB/sec (CD-R)
- 2.4 MB/sec (CD-R)
- 2.08-4.8 MB/sec (Stamped/CD-R/CD-RW)
- 1.8 MB/sec (CD-R)
- 1.5 MB/sec (CD-RW)
- 1.2 MB/sec (Stamped/CD-R/CD-RW)
- 600 KB/sec (Stamped/CD-R/CD-RW)
- 150 KB/sec (CD-R)
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| Burst Read/Write |
Test |
| Test |
- 16.6 MB/sec (PIO Mode 4/DMA Mode 2)
- 33 MB/sec (Ultra DMA Mode 2)
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| Average Random Access |
140 ms |
| Buffer |
4 MB |
| Error Rate |
Mode 1:block/1012 bits, Mode 2:block/109 bits |
| Other Features |
- Burn-Proof technology eliminates buffer underrun errors in fast write modes, allows for multi-tasking
- PoweRec II guarantees the highest quality write across a broad base of media
- Flash ROM allows for easy upgrade over the Internet
- Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP and NT4.0 Compatible
- Capable of Digital Audio Extraction at 40X max
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| Minimum System Requirements |
- CPU: Pentium II 300MHz
- RAM: 64MB
- ATAPI interface: DMA should be set to ON in operating system. IDE controller must be set to PIO Mode 4 or Auto.
- HDD: 1GB free space for writing in CD to Image mode
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The feature list for this drive speaks for itself. The obvious of course is the 24X recording speed. However, despite that it is not a true 24X drive because it uses something called Z-CLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity). I'll explain what that exactly that is shortly. Not only does it support a wide variety of CD formats as well as read/write speeds, it also has the ever popular BURN-proof technology and PoweRec II to ensure the highest quality write. BURN-proof is, as always, there to prevent those nasty buffer underrun errors which can turn CDs to coasters. Even though I can't imagine having one of those with a 3 minute window of error. So you can sit back and relax and watch DVDs, TV, listen to music, chat, surf, or whatever you want to do... It has a larger buffer than its predecessor, having 4 MB instead of 2. So you can rest assured that your CD will be written with as high of a success rate as possible. This drive supports Ultra DMA Mode 2 for double the transfer rate of regular DMA mode 2. You get your standard Plextor Manager 2000 and Roxio Easy CD Creator 5. For those running Windows XP, like me, you have to make sure to update the Roxio software and DO NOT install the Plextor Manager software since it's not compatible with XP. It's not like most of us use the Plextor Manager software anyway... but for those that do, it won't work with XP. All you burner freaks out there will probably use other things like DiscJuggler or Nero, etc. As with any Plextor drive, it is widely supported by the CD recording software currently on the market. Everything else is basically like its 16X predecessor.
>> Z-CLV/PowerRec II
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