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CD/DVD Performance Tests -
Artec Dual DVDR/RW
Drive |
It's NERO Time! |
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Ahead software, the makers of
Nero Burning ROM 6, have an excellent selection of free
utilities to test the functions of various types of optical
drives. Each of these small applications perform a
number of specific tasks that show us what
each drive is capable of. In the next section we ran
several of these tests on the
Artec Dual DVDR/RW
Drive and included
the results the
PLEXTOR
PX-708UF drive for comparison where
applicable.
Please note that in each test, the
Green line
represents Transfer Rates while the
Yellow Line
represents the drives Rotation Speed.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - CD Data Test:
In our first run
of Nero CD-DVD Speed we'll focus our efforts on standard
CD-ROM read performance. With this benchmark, we loaded a 703MB data disk
full of MP3s in the
drive and let CD-DVD Speed run through its cycle of tests.
Artec
DVDR/RW
|
PLEXTOR
PX-708UF
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The Artec drive offered
comparable overall performance with slightly more CPU
utilization than the Plextor model. What was interesting,
however, was how the graph was more erratic than the Plextor drive.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - Movie Playback Test:
In the next two tests we focused on the drive's DVD performance. Each
drive is configured to perform differently based on whether
a DVD movie or DVD data disk is inserted. Our
first test will focus on performance with DVD movie media.
For this test we used a copy of Underworld.
Artec
DVDR/RW
|
PLEXTOR
PX-708UF
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While the two
graphs show a very different pattern, it is consistent
with what we've seen with DVD drives in past reviews.
Generally, manufacturers tend to adopt one of two
playback methods. One method is to keep the
drive running at a constant speed. This is the case
with the Artec drive where rotation remained steady at
3X while the transfer rates rise and fall as the movie
progresses. The other method, which Plextor
employs, is to focus on a steady
transfer rate while throttling the rotational speed of
the drive during playback. We feel this is the
more efficient configuration, allowing the drive to run
slower and quieter while sustaining adequate transfer
rates for smooth video playback.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - DVD Data Test:
In the next test we swapped out the
movie DVD for a DVD data disk containing 3.9GBs of AVI
files. This picture should be notably different compared to
movie playback.
Artec
DVDR/RW
|
PLEXTOR
PX-708UF
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With the DVD Data read test the
two drives offered similar average speeds, with the Artec
having slower overall seek times compared to the Plextor
model. With CPU utilization, the Artec Dual DVD was better overall, but this was expected since the external USB model would require more CPU utilization.
CD-R/DVD+R Write Tests &
Conclusion |