|
Not long
ago, CD-RW drives were considered a luxury. Then, the MP3
craze swept college dorms and came to rest in the average
household. The ability to play music on demand through a
computer sound system was novel, but taking that music on
the road seemed far more practical. Of course, the only way
to get a custom mix was to convert the music into .wav
format and burn the large files onto a disc. Writable
optical drives quickly became popular, simultaneously
decreasing in price and increasing in speed. Suddenly, CD-RW
drives could be found in enthusiast systems and home PC?s
alike.
The first
generation of drives was notorious for excruciating
burn-times and the knack for ruining CDs, or creating what
many affectionately refer to as a ?coaster.? Nowadays,
discs can be burned in a matter of minutes and without the
risk of buffer under-runs. Internal drives commonly run at
48x speeds and may even include DVD-read capabilities. On
the other hand, external drives have historically been
limited by the I/O interface, though they offer greater
flexibility. Plextor?s latest CD-RW drive is unique in that
it complies with the USB 2.0 specification, can burn discs
at 8x, re-write information at 8x and read DVD discs at 8x
speeds. And, the whole package is small enough to tuck into
a laptop case. The multi-purpose PleXCombo drive may not
stack up to it?s internal competitors with regard to speed,
but you can?t argue with a device that lets you copy a
Metallica track in the library and watch Heat at 35,000
feet, can you?
 |
|
Specifications of the
PlexCombo 8/8/24-8U |
|
Covering All of the
Bases |
|
Total Solution features
-
USB 2.0 Interface
-
4-in-1 drive: 8x CD-R, 8x CD-RW, 24x max CD-ROM,
8x DVD-ROM
-
Windows 98/2000/ME/XP Compatible, MAC OS (MAC
software not included)
-
Buffer Under Run proof technology
-
Dark colored CD tray minimizes jitters
-
<150ms Average CD Random Access
-
<150ms Average DVD Random Access
-
2 MB Buffer
-
Capable of Digital Audio Extraction at
24x max
-
Supports CD-DA; CD-ROM (Mode 1); CD-ROM (Mixed
Mode); CD-ROM XA; CD-I; Photo CD; Video CD; CD-Extra;
CD Text
-
Flash ROM allows for easy upgrade over the Internet
|
-
Supports
Disc-at-Once, Track-at-Once, Session-at-Once,
Variable & Fixed packet writing modes
-
USB 1.1 interface
performance is limited to 4x write, 4x re-write and
6x read speeds. DVD playback is limited to .7x
Minimum Systems Requirements
CPU: Pentium II 350MHz or equivalent
RAM: 64MB
USB 2.0 connector is required to achieve 8x write,
8x re-write, 24x read and 8x DVD read speeds
How to enable DMA inside operating system. Refer to
your motherboard manual on how to set PIO Mode or
DMA Mode.
Sound Card: For audio playback
Graphics: 800x600 display, 16-bit color
|
The PleXCombo drive comes with
plenty of software to entice the average home user. First,
Plextor has included Easy CD Creator 5 Basic, which
provides the means to burn an audio CD, data discs or a
disc backup. The complete version of Easy CD Creator
adds a few more audio options and the ability to burn a
video CD, though it costs $70 to make the upgrade. Home users will appreciate the
simple interface, but an application like Ahead Software's
Nero Burning ROM would have delivered more power to
hardware enthusiasts.
Additionally, the 2-speaker version of Cyberlink's PowerDVD XP is
included. Next to WinDVD, PowerDVD has evolved into
one of the most powerful DVD playback applications. Audio
enthusiasts with multi-channel audio systems need
to use the S/PDIF pass-through, as the included version is
limited to 2-speaker output. The DVD package is
completed by hardware acceleration through chipsets like
ATI's RADEON and the NVIDIA GeForce family. Another useful utility
is SimpliCD, which is very similar to the
standard Windows XP CD burning interface. Windows
Millennium and Windows 2000 users will appreciate the
simple drag-and-drop program for quick burning, though.
Quality, Features and Nero
|
