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Plextor 16/10/40A


Date
: 05/10/01 – 01:31:29 AM

Author
:

Category
: Optical Devices

Page 1 : Review

Manufacturer: Plextor
Price: $249

Introduction to the Plextor 16/10/40

Only a few years ago, I bought my first cd-(re)writer: the HP7200i. This baby was able to burn a full cd in 37 minutes, so that made it a 2x writer. Back in those days, I was very satisfied with that kind of performance, but today burning cds at 2x is like playing Quake3: Arena on an Intel740 … in other words ‘OUTDATED’.

After my HP7200i, I decided to go down the SCSI road and since I heard a lot of good about the Plextor drives, I got myself a Plextor 8/20 cd writer and a Plextor 40x Ultraplex cd rom. Only two years old, my 8/20 has again turned ‘old’ because Plextor released its 16/10/40 cd rewriter a few months ago! Overclockers Online received a review sample from our good buddies at Plextor so we can tell you how great is actually is ;). Are you a speeding ‘burner’, you want to make fast backups of your life saving files every day, … then you have to continue reading this review because you will dig the new Plextor drive for sure!

About the drive …

Plextor has always been the one of the most wanted cd writer brand out there because they build high end products with great performance, features and more important very good support. Plextor is a Belgian company, as a matter of fact there head office is located about 5km from me!

Some time ago, Plextor decided to go IDE all the way and say goodbye to the SCSI interface for good :(. SCSI addicts like myself will have a hard time going back to IDE writers after tasting the power of SCSI, but with the arrival of BURN-Proof, a new buffer underrun preventer which I will discuss later on, SCSI has, in a way, become obsolete.

Unless you want to do some heavy multitasking or you need ultra fast hard drives, IDE will do just fine. Of course an all SCSI setup has better bragging rights, but that's an other matter …

Now lets have a look at the specs of the Plextor 16/10/40 shall we?

- 16X write (2400KB/s)
- 10X rewrite (1500KB/s)
- 17X-40X read CAV (2600KB/s – 6000KB/s)
- ATAPI Interface (PIO Mode 4, DMA Mode 2)
- BURN-Proof Technology (Buffer Under Run Proof)
- Access Time 140 ms
- 2MB Buffer
- Capable of reading and writing CD TEXT information
- Compatible with: Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000
- MultiRead Compatible
- Supports SPDIF (Digital Audio Output)
- High Quality Digital Audio Extraction
- One-Year Full Warranty (parts, labor)
- Comes with an empty cd-rw and cd-r disc

Back in the days of the 1x cd writer (!!) a cd was written at 150kB/s … today Plextor manages to write a cd at 2400kB/s!! Just as the speed mark indicates this is an improvement with a multiplier of 16x!! Go Plextor! A quick calculation shows that the 16/10/40 can write a 650MB or 74 minutes cd in less than 5 minutes, which is a great achievement. And word is that it is not over yet … Sources told me that Plextor will be releasing a 24/10/40 writer next month, which means that a full cd will be written in just over 3 minutes … Will this ever stop? I hope not ;)

To return to the specs of Plextor's fastest, you can see that it features a 2MB buffer to help prevent the annoying buffer underruns we all know. For those who don't know what a buffer underrun is, let me give a brief explanation. A buffer underrun occurs when your hard drive can not supply the data fast enough to the writer. This means that the writer will stop and wait for the hard drive to catch up. With a normal cd writer (read: without BURN-proof or something alike) this means you have a ‘coaster’ or a bad cd >=/.
Of course those 2MB is not enough to prevent the creation of coasters (just try launching Quake3 and you'll see what I mean ;)). That is why Plextor uses the BURN-Proof technology on all their latest writers.  BURN-Proof makes it possible for the writer to pause the burning process until the hard drive or the cpu catch up again (read: when you terminate playing Quake3). Say goodbye to coasters because you will never ever see another buffer underrun (unless your windows crashes of course).

As I already said before, the 16/10/40 from Plextor writes at 16x or 2400kB/s but that is not the only thing it can do!

It rewrites at 10x or 1500kB/s and reads your cd's at 17x-40x or 2600kB/s-6000kB/s. The unit comes with an ATAPI interface that supports PIO Mode 4 and DMA mode 2, but I heard that you can run it in UDMA mode by just installing a jumper on the back … Will it write faster that way? Not at all but it will use less cpu time. Of course Plextor does not encourage you to do this, but we tested it and it actually works without any problems … With the above specs, the Plextor shows to be a very good cd-rom also and not 'just' a great cd-rewriter!

This writer uses the Powerec technology from Plextor! What does that mean? In short the drive will determine what quality the cd has and will adjust its laserbeam, speed, … to the quality of the cd. Isn't that nice?

What else is there to say about this great drive? It supports CD-Text, a cool feature that lets you write the names of your songs/cd onto the audio cd you are burning, which is great when you play the cd in the car. That way the display will show the name of the artist just like you entered in (of course your car cd player has to support CD Text). The Plextor drive is 100% compatible with all Microsoft OS'es (9x, 2K, NT), supports SPDIF for digital audio support and it also comes with one year warranty!

Here is the entire specification sheet:

Specifications PX-W1610TA

Usable Formats
- CD-DA
- CD-ROM
- CD-ROM + CD-DA
- CD-ROM XA * *  
- CD-I
- PHOTO-CD
- VIDEO-CD
- CD-Extra
- CD+G
- CD-TEXT

Writing Modes
- Track at once
- Session at once
- Disc at once
- Multisession
- Packet writing

Supported Media link
Supported Software link
Available Firmware Downloads link
BURN-Proof Explanation link

Performance  
Data Transfer Rate
- Burst (PIO Mode 4, DMA Mode 2) 16MB/s
- Write 16X: 2400KB/s
  12X: 1800KB/s
  8X: 1200KB/s
  4X: 600KB/s
  1X: 150KB/s
- ReWrite 10X: 1500KB/s
  8X: 1200KB/s
  4X: 600KB/s
  2X: 300KB/s
- Read 17X-40X: 2.6-6.0 MB/s CAV
  14X-32X: 2.1-4.8 MB/s CAV
  8X: 1200KB/s
   4X: 600KB/s
  1X: 150KB/s
Access Time 140ms (17X-40X CAV)
Data Buffer 2MB
Error Rate Mode1: less than 10-12bits
Mode2: less than 10-9bits

Front Panel
Eject Auto Eject/Manual Emergency
Lights Indication DISC IN – Read – Write
Disc Loading Tray, Auto load/auto eject
Headphone Jack Stereo mini-jack, 0.8V at 32 Ohms

Rear Panel
Power Supply DC +5V and DC +12V
Audio Connector Analog output (Molex Connector)
Digital SPDIF

Dimensions & Weight
Dimensions 146 x 41.3 x 202 mm
Weight 1.2 kg

Reliability
MTBF 60.000 POH
Tray Loading Eject 75.000 times
Warranty 1 year On-Site Collect&Return Service *

*(EU-Countries + Norway and Switzerland)

Enough talking about the specs … on to the software package!

What else do you get?

If you buy the retail version of the Plextor 16/10/40 you receive the following stuff:

- Plextor Tools
- CDR-Win 3.8a
- 4 screws
- Tools to remove the tray if the drive fals to work
- IDE cable
- Empty cd-r
- Empty cd-rw
- A nice manual

As you can see, Plextor sure includes a lot of goodies in the box! If you already own good writing software and you don't care about the free empty cd's, then I suggest you buy the BULK box and save some $$$.

The included cd writer software CDR Win is very nice but personally I prefer ahead's Nero Burning ROM. But that is up to you and mostly depends on personal favor. The Plextor Tools are intended to control your Plextor drives. You can play music with it, configure your drive, rip music cd's, … just about everything you want :). The program is pretty small so it will not eat you entire drive and has a nice clean layout that is easy to work with.

Please note that the above package is for Europe only! USA drives come with Aaptec Easy CD Creator and Plextor Manager 2000.

Installing the drive …

Hmmm … how hard can this be? Remove a 5.25′ cover, slide the drive in, screw it into place, connect the IDE cable and the audio cable and you're set. Bootup your rig and Windows will automatically find the drive. Now install the cdr software and you're ready to burn :). Please note that Plextor includes the screws, IDE cable and the audiocable so there is no need to go out and buy all that.

The testing or should I say Torturing?

I decided to test the drive like any buyer would, by using it to burn LEGAL copies of my backup discs, write data cd's, … Another option was throwing several benchmarks on it, but that would not simulate the way you use it at home would it? The drive performs just the way you expect from a 40x cd-rom, and as far as the writing goes: as long as you use good cd's (no el cheapo's) the drive will burn at 16x and rewrite at 10x all the time, no matter what part of the cd!

A feature that some of you might not know is overburning … What is it? Well it is a bit like overclocking a cpu but instead of a cpu we use the cd-r. For example, a 650MB cd-r could get fitted with around 670MB (depends on brand)

if we use overburning. Plextor supports this feature which is great for the hardcore users out there. Some audio cds will not fit a 650MB/74 minutes cd, sometimes not even a 700MB/80 minutes cd. With overburning you can add several more minutes to the cd which just might be enough to get all the audio on there … Plextor strikes again.

Here is the test setup:

- EPoX 8KTA3+ socket A motherboard
- AMD 1.33GHz cpu
- Visiontek GeForce 3
- 384MB PC133 Crucial RAM
- Western Digital 20GB 7200rpm drive
- Plextor 16/10/40 IDE cd rewriter
- Teac 32x cd-rom
- Windows 2000 + SP1 + VIA 4.29 drivers

Lets get on with the show heh? The drive performed perfectly in all tests I did: making data cd's, audio cd's for the car, backup copies, … everything went well and VERY fast to say the least.

First thing I did was make a back up cd with all my important files: my docs, files from OCOnline, pics of reviews, email, … The cd contained small files, big files, … all mixed together into a nice package. Just as expected, the 16/10/40 burned the cd without any problems or hickups! Same story goes for the 10x rewrite option …

Now that I knew data cd's didn't give me any probs, I decided to test the Plextor's skills with audio. Because I am on the road a fair amount of time, I decided to take some copies of my favorite music cd's so I could have a copy in the car as well as in my home stereo. Once more the drive keeps up the pace and delivers a crystal clear cd. Plextor is really on a roll here …

Last but not least I wanted to test the BURN-Proof feature. Is it really that great? First I started a cd-copy of my Windows cd. Than I launched Prime95 and a game of Quake3. As expected the cpu and the harddrive could not keep up with all this and in any other situation this would have meant that my cd was screwed. But not this time! The cd creation process was halted by the drive, and as soon as I quit Q3, the burning continued :). Touchdown!
Some rumors have been going around that the gap that is left by the ‘pause’ of the process can result in less quality audio cd's … well I tested it and my ears did not hear anything fishy … maybe an audiofreak will be able to tell where the cd paused, but those other 98% of the users will not, so I don't care that much …

Here is a pic of the CD Speed 99 benchmark. As you can see the Plextor is rated at 40x the way it is supposed to, shows excellent access times, seek times, spin up and spin down times, … everything is good!

Conclusion

Plextor has done it again folks! The 16/10/40 cd-rewriter is one of the best IDE writers out there. The good parts are that this baby uses the IDE interface which makes the use of expensive SCSI controllers not necessary. It also comes with BurnPROOF that makes buffer underruns impossible to occur. Last but not least the Plextor is a ‘true’ 16x writer which means it writes at 16x all the time and not just on the outer circle of the cd … Plextor also includes some good programs in the kit and some cd-r's so you can start burning right away ;). General conclusion? This drive is the one you want if you need good quality, fast burning and well featured cd-rewriter.

Good

- True 16x writer
- Comes with everything you need
- Quality
- Includes all you need to start burning right away

Bad

- No need to buy it if you already got a 12x …
- The 24x is expected soon, so prices will drop!