TEST DRIVE:

Two Fast New CD-RW Drives

By Liz Levy

The days of 2X rewrite speeds are over, 4X rewriting is here. CD-RW is catching up with CD-R drives that record at 4X, 6X, or the latest 8X speeds. We tested two of the latest CD-RW drives that offer the highest combination of recording and rewriting speeds. These CD-RW drives vary with internal and external SCSI, IDE and parallel port interfaces.

CD-RW drives give users many options for storing data. Choose CD-R media for archiving and distributing data. Or pick CD-RW media for backup. CD-RW disks can be used multiple times. files can be copied and deleted with ease. With CD-R there’s no need to worry about media compatibility. There are nearly 200 million CD-ROM drives in use throughout the world.

Both of the drives we tested come with two comprehensive software bundles. One is Adaptec Easy CD Creator, which lets you record data in one smooth operation. The other is Adaptec Direct CD, which makes a CD-RW drive operate like a hard disk, storing files automatically.

Both of these drives support these writing methods reliably at rated speed: disc-at-once, session-at-once, track-at-once, packet writing and multi-session. Verbatim’s DataLifePlus CD-R media and 4X-qualified CD-RW media were used in the tests for a uniform recording platform.

Plextor Santa Clara, CA 408-980-1838 Model: PlexWriter 8/4/32 Price: $349 Interface: Internal IDE Record speed: 8X write/4X rewrite Read speed: 32X Data buffer: 4 MB ProductInfo 203

Plextor’s (www.plextor.com) PlexWriter 8/4/32 CD-RW drive wins an Editor’s Choice award for its reliable 8X write mechanism coupled with fast 4X rewritng. Its performance was top notch and installation went without a hitch thanks to the well-illustrated user manual. The $349 list price can’t be beat for this kind of performance.

Plextor’s drive leads the pack with the fastest combination of read, write and rewrite speeds. The drive features 8X write, 4X rewrite and 32X read speeds. This ultra-fast CD-RW drive is Plextor’s first IDE product to join their family of SCSI products.

With the drive’s 8X speed, I was able to record a full disc without errors in less than 10 minutes. It incorporates a 4MB buffer. The upgradable flash firmware allows installation of new firmware from Plextor’s Web site, without the need to open the drive.

The PlexWriter drive is bundled with Adaptec’s Easy CD Creator and DirectCD software for CD mastering and packet writing. It also comes with Plextor’s own Manager 2000 software, a software utility with multimedia features such as digital audio extraction at high speeds and bit-by-bit disc duplication directly from a CD-ROM drive.

The Backpack CD Rewriter from Micro Solutions (www.microsolutions.com) offers 4X write, 4X rewrite and 20X read speeds. Although the parallel port is inherently slower than IDE and SCSI models, it is the easiest to install. It’s the best choice when you need to share a drive among a variety of PCs.

Micro Solutions DeKalb, IL 815-756-3411 Model: Backpack CD Rewriter Price: $300 MSRP Interface: External Parallel Port Record speed: 4X write/4X rewrite Read speed: 20X Data buffer: 1 MB ProductInfo 208

Micro Solutions is a parallel port veteran, and their experience lets them make fast and reliable drives using the parallel interface. The 20X read speed makes the drive fast enough to be used as the sole CD-ROM drive on a laptop or PC.

Installation is easy. Just plug the Backpack into the printer port of most PCs or laptops and that’s it. The Backpack drive is housed in a rugged, well-ventilated case that protects the drive’s mechanisms when used as a portable device.

Those with a printer don’t have to lose their parallel port. The drive has a smart pass-through port that lets you plug your printer into the back of the drive and use your printer and the drive at the same time without loss to your printer’s performance.

The Backpack CD Rewriter is bundled with Adaptec’s Easy CD Creator and DirectCD software to handle recording and rewriting tasks.