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Plextor
recently released their newest flagship CD-RW drive, the
PlexWriter 48/24/48A. Obviously, just by looking at
the name, it's clear that this drive should offer increased
reading and writing speeds over Plextor's previous
top-of-line PlexWriter 40/12/40A. The maximum CD
recording speed has been raised to 48X (7.2MB/s), from 40X
(6MB/s) and by conforming to the new Ultra-Speed CD-RW
standard, re-writing speeds have doubled from 12X (1.8MB/s)
to 24X (3.6MB/s). Plextor also claims that access
times have been vastly improved over their previous
products. Needless to say, we wanted to see for
ourselves just how significantly these improvements affected
"real-world" performance, so we jumped at the chance to
review Plextor's finest. What do you say we jump right
in and see what the PlexWriter 48/24/48A is made of?
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Specifications of the Plextor PX-W4824TA |
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Speed Demon! |
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Part #
(retail kits):
- PX-W4824TA/SW
(internal)
- PX-W4824TA/SW-BL
(black bezel)
- E-IDE (ATAPI)
interface
- 3-in-1 drive: 48X
CD-R, 24X CD-RW, 48X max CD-ROM
- Burn-Proof
- PoweRec
- SpeedRead
- 65ms Average Random
Access
- 4 MB Buffer
- Supports:
- CD-DA, CD-Extra,
CD-ROM Mode 1, Mix Mode CD, CD-ROM XA, Photo CD,
Video CD, CD-I, Multisession, CD-Text, CD+G, UDF
Supports Disc-at-Once, Track-at-Once,
Session-at-Once, Variable & Fixed packet writing
modes
- Flash ROM allows for
easy upgrade over the Internet
- Windows
98/2000/ME/XP Compatible
- One-Year Full
Warranty and Unlimited Toll-Free Tech Support
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Minimum
System Requirements:
- CPU: Pentium II
300MHz
- RAM: 64MB
- HDD: 1GB free space
for writing in CD to Image mode
- ATAPI interface: DMA
must be set to ON in every OS. For instructions on
how to enable DMA inside operating system. Refer to
your motherboard manual on how to set PIO Mode or
DMA Mode.
- (Results may vary
depending on system configuration)
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CLICK ANY IMAGE FOR AN
ENLARGED VIEW
Included with the Plextor
PlexWriter PX-W4824TA full retail package, we found the
following list of accessories:
- 1 - 40-Pin 40-Wire
Ribbon Cable
- 1 - CD Audio Cable
- 1 - High Speed
Certified CD-R
- Users Guide
- Software CD
- Mounting Screws
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The PX-W4824TA offers a few
new features that haven't been available on any other
Plextor drive to come before it. For example, this
is the first Plextor CD-RW drive with full Mount Rainier
support. The Mount Rainier standard was established
by Philips, Compaq, Sony and Microsoft in an effort to
find a replacement for the floppy drive, that is both
widely compatible and easy to use. (For a full
explanation, on Mount Rainier technology,
check out this page) If you take a close look at
the specifications, you'll also see Plextor reports the
PX-W4824TA as having a 65ms Average Random
Access time, which is about twice as fast as their
previous top of line
40X product.
Some proven technology found
it's way into the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA as well.
This drive has Burn-Proof technology to prevent buffer
underrun errors and to allow for more reliable
multi-tasking during a recording session. Plextor's
proprietary PoweRec (Plextor Optimized Writing
Error Reduction Control) technology
has also been integrated. PoweRec enabled drives
basically have an on-board media catalog of all certified
media, listed by manufacturer and part number. This
information is used to properly configure the drive for
optimal burning on the specific media. Plextor's
black CD tray also returns on the PX-W4824TA.
Plextor claims the black tray absorbs reflected laser
light, which increases reliability and reduces the chance
of possible errors.
Quality, Features and Installation
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