Plextor PleXCombo 20/10/4012A Review

The Plextor PleXCombo 20/10/40-12A Review
Covering All of the Bases With a Single Drive

By, Jeff Bouton
July 10, 2002

Setup and Software of the PlexCombo 20/10/40-12A Looking Good...

When you first look at the PleXCombo 20/10/40-12A, it really doesn't look all that different from any other CD drive.  The unit comes with a standard Headphone jack and volume control as well as two indicator lights.  On the backside we find the usual configuration with IDE cable connector, Power Connector, Mode Jumper and Audio Outputs.  Where the PleXCombo varies in comparison to other drives is on the inside.

One of the newest changes that Plextor has begun implementing on all of their CD-R drives is the black CD tray.  By utilizing a black tray, accuracy of the writing process is increased by absorbing any excess laser light.  The end result is a more precise burn with increased reliability and compatibility.  But when it comes to reliability, a colored CD tray is just the beginning, complimenting three key technologies that help the PleXCombo to be one of the best CD writers on the market.

BURN Proof:

When CD writers first arrived on the scene, one of the most common problems was the infamous "Buffer Underrun."  OK, so some of you may not know what that exactly means, but the result was all to familiar: a "coaster."  The reason this would occur was because a steady stream of data was not able to be maintained throughout the burning process, therefore, the buffer would run out of data and the burn process would fail.  This was most likely because while the CD was being recorded, the user tried to run another program.  To help combat this, buffers were added to help the drive compensate for momentary interruptions in data flow, but as drives increased in speed, the buffer became less effective, unable to keep up with the faster transfer rates.  Plextor took the prevention of Buffer Underruns one step further by implementing BURN-Proof into every one of their CD-R drives.  BURN-Proof gives the drive the added ability to remember the point at which the buffer runs out of data and the drive stopped writing.  Once the buffer is filled with data, the burning process resumes.  Just how effective is BURN-Proof?  On the next page we've put together a little stress test of our own to demonstrate how well this technology really worked.

PoweRec II:

Plextor drives are known not only for their ability to prevent buffer underruns, but also for compatibility with a wide range of media.  Back when I was shopping around for my first CD writer, a colleague recommended the purchase of a Plextor.  He joked that "Plextors could burn on dirt", and although I took his statement as a joke, it was soon clear exactly what he meant.  Whether using high-end media or the cheapest discs you can find, Plextor drives usually provide consistent results every time.  This is achieved through the implementation of Plextor Optimized Writing Error Reduction Control, or PoweRec II circuitry.  This feature allows the drive to detect the type of media installed and adjust the laser's power automatically to best suit the media in the drive.  This is accomplished by integrating an internal database of CD-R media into the BIOS.  This database contains a large list of media that has been rigorously tested for compatibility and instructs the drive to adjust itself to best perform with that media.  It is one of the key features that gives the Plextor PleXCombo and PleXWriter drives an edge over the competition. 

VariRec:

Another problem that often plagues users is Audio CD compatibility with other equipment.  All too often people buy a CD-R drive planning to create their own mixed CDs to play in their car, only to find out that the car stereo has trouble reading the disk.  Through the use of VariRec (Variable Recording) Technology, the strength of the laser can be increased or decreased up to 2 degrees with software that supports this feature.  Remember when we were discussing our disappointment that Easy CD Creator was included with the PleXCombo 20/10/40-12A?  That is because it doesn't support VariRec.  If this is a feature that you think you would like to explore, it would be best to pick up another program such as Nero Burning ROM.

Now that we've covered some of the advanced features of the PleXCombo 20/10/40-12A, what do you say we run a few benchmarks and see how this drive performs?

 

HotHardware Test Systems I'll Have and AthlonXP with Some Plextor on the side!!

CD-ROM Performance Tests - PlexCombo 20/10/40-12A Did Somebody Say NERO?

To help give a comparison to the PleXCombo's performance, we ran each test compared to a Pioneer DVD-115 DVD drive.  Each drive was set to "master" and was the only drive on the channel.  Although it is not a burner, the Pioneer is a very popular 16x DVD drive that also supports 40x CD-ROM speeds and many of the same PleXCombo features as a CD-ROM and DVD drive.

You will see the word "Nero" appear in the following pages quite often.  The reason is that Ahead software makes one of the most complete CD software packages on the market, Nero Burning ROM, as well as the utilities to benchmark various functions of CD drives.  We simply feel that we were using the best tools for the job.

Nero InfoTool:

The first utility we used to show the details of the two drives is Ahead Software's Nero InfoTool.  This utility lists a drive's capabilities in a neat and concise screen.  The Plextor PleXCombo is a fully featured drive with the ability to do a number of tasks.  Not only does it come with a 2MB buffer, it also supports a wide range of modes such as Packet, DAO, SAO, TAO, and RAW to name a few.  What does all this mean to you as a user?  This variety of modes ensures compatibility when trying to make backups of your copy protected CDs. 

One of the biggest complaints of the legitimate software buyer is that copy protection prevents them from creating a backup of their CD, even though most license agreements permit a single copy.  With the PleXCombo, or any other Plextor drive for that matter, CD duplication is much more effective with the various modes available.  Such programs as Nero Burning ROM, Blind Read/Blind Write, and CloneCD all give the user the ability to select these modes during the duplication process, giving the user access to all of the drive's advanced features.

Now let's go ahead and get started with the benchmarks and see how the PleXCombo 20/10/40-12A performs.

Nero CD Speed:

We'll start off our tests with the first of the Nero benchmarks we'll be using, Nero CD Speed. This utility has the ability to benchmark some of the more important CD-ROM functions such as peak speed ratings, burst rates, seek times, and CPU utilization.

Plextor PleXCombo 20/10/40-12A

Pioneer DVD-115

Initially, the PleXCombo started out running just over 17X and rounded out the test peaking at the expected 40X.  This is natural behavior as the laser progresses from the innermost part of the CD to the outer edge.  On average the PleXCombo ran at 29.53X, while the Pioneer was closer to 16X.  The PleXcombo also had the ability to burst data at 16MBs a second, double the rate of the Pioneer DVD-115.  The next thing you'll notice is how the PleXCombo uses significantly less CPU time than the Pioneer drive.  The maximum CPU usage throughout the test was 7% at 8X speed, while the Pioneer drive clocked in with 15% at 8X.  Clearly the PleXCombo handled all aspects of the test with more finesse and less overhead than the Pioneer DVD-115.

We should note that the Pioneer didn't come close to the peak rating of 40X in this test and it exhibited a stepping pattern where the speed dropped mid way through the test.  We ran the test several times and the same pattern occurred repeatedly.  Each manufacturer rates the peak performance of their drives in their own way and we may be seeing the results of the different methods here.  The other possibility is that the Pioneer had more issues with the production audio CD that we used for testing. 

More Nero, MP3 Encoding and Stress Testing BURN-Proof