Nero CD Speed v4.10 - DVD-ROM:
A little editorial note here. Like a CD-ROM, you will get different benchmark results depending on what kind of discs you are using. You are probably going to get varying results from a full data disc to a single layer movie disc. You're also going to get different results for single and dual layer discs.
The CD Speed website recommends using a single layer DVD-ROM disc with a capacity of at least 4GB. If you use a dual layer disc you probably won't get the best results because most DVD-ROM drives slow down to read them. Some even slow down to read single layer DVD-Video discs. To make a long story short, I am using a 4.37GB single layer, single sided disc for this test.
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
11.99x 6.65x 16.08x |
11.94x 6.57x 15.97x |
12.34x 6.80x 16.51x |
12.05x 6.56x 16.17x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
113ms 126ms 212ms |
136ms 148ms 226ms |
105ms 121ms 189ms |
100ms 109ms 171ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
9% 10% 15% n/a |
15% 15% 28% 52% |
6% 12% 23% 43% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
The DRW-1608P2 performed pretty well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.65x and reached a maximum transfer speed of about 16.08x.
Nero CD Speed v4.10 - DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM:
First, we'll look at the drive's DVD-R and DVD-RW reading performance. For this I made copies of our DVD-ROM test disc using some general use 4x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. For the DVD-RAM tests, media from Optodisc was used. The results are below.
Verbatim DVD-R
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.37x 5.20x 12.51x |
11.97x 6.60x 16.01x |
7.71x 4.27x 10.31x |
12.08x 6.59x 16.16x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
117ms 134ms 219ms |
135ms 156ms 248ms |
99ms 119ms 177ms |
106ms 123ms 178ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 9% 25% 94% |
16% 17% 31% 62% |
6% 13% 23% 43% |
7% 12% 24% 51% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.25x 3.47x 8.35x |
9.81x 5.40x 13.12x |
6.17x 3.41x 8.25x |
9.36x 5.11x 12.54x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
128ms 146ms 240ms |
124ms 154ms 251ms |
118ms 144ms 213ms |
108ms 124ms 173ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 9% 30% 92% |
9% 15% 28% 50% |
6% 11% 22% 42% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
ASUS's new drive had no problems reading DVD-R and DVD-RW media. In our tests, it was able to read DVD-R media at a respectable 12.51x, but reached a maximum transfer speed of only 8.3x when reading DVD-RW discs.
Verbatim DVD-R DL
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
5.69x 3.17x 7.59x |
5.47x 3.04x 7.29x |
6.19x 3.44x 8.26x |
9.05x 5.01x 12.07x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
120ms 134ms 221ms |
211ms 221ms 316ms |
127ms 152ms 220ms |
117ms 137ms 174ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
5% 18% n/a |
8% 13% n/a |
7% 13% n/a |
6% 12% 24% |
The DRW-1608P2 wasn't as fast when reading Verbatim's 4x DVD-R DL media. As you can see, the drive started reading at 3.17x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 7.59x.
Optodisc 2x DVD-RAM
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
1.99x 1.99x 1.99x |
4.99x 4.94x 5.01x |
4.67x 3.02x 5.04x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
158ms 170ms 255ms |
207ms 195ms 311ms |
141ms 145ms 194ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
28% 74% n/a |
7% 13% 24% |
21% 32% 53% |
The DRW-1608P2 also has the ability to read DVD-RAM media. While it wasn't able to top the drives from NEC and LG, it reached a maximum read speed of 1.99x in our tests.
Nero CD Speed v4.10 - DVD+R and DVD+RW:
Next we'll look at the drive's DVD+R and DVD+RW reading performance. For this I made a copy of our DVD-ROM test disc using some 4x DVD+R and 2.4x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.
Verbatim DVD+R
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.36x 5.19x 12.55x |
11.96x 6.60x 16.00x |
7.72x 4.25x 10.32x |
12.10x 6.60x 16.18x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
119ms 139ms 220ms |
133ms 154ms 250ms |
97ms 121ms 186ms |
106ms 121ms 183ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 28% n/a 59% |
16% 17% 34% 65% |
6% 12% 23% 42% |
6% 12% 24% 49% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.25x 3.46x 8.36x |
9.81x 5.40x 13.12x |
6.18x 3.42x 8.26x |
9.36x 5.10x 12.50x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
127ms 136ms 218ms |
128ms 160ms 258ms |
119ms 146ms 212ms |
106ms 121ms 174ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 8% 29% 90% |
11% 21% 34% 64% |
7% 13% 25% 46% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
The DRW-1608P2's performance with DVD+R and DVD+RW media was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R and DVD-RW media. The drive read DVD+R discs at 12.5x and DVD+RW media at 8.3x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
5.69x 3.16x 7.60x |
5.47x 3.04x 7.30x |
6.20x 3.44x 8.27x |
9.07x 5.01x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
118ms 139ms 221ms |
148ms 185ms 294ms |
123ms 148ms 219ms |
111ms 120ms 173ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
5% 9% n/a |
7% 12% n/a |
7% 12% n/a |
7% 13% 26% |
Reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media wasn't a problem for the DRW-1608P2 either. While not nearly as fast as the drive from Sony, it reached a maximum transfer speed of 7.60x.
Nero CD Speed v4.10 - DVD-Video:
For these tests I am using the US version of Transformers: The Movie on DVD. The disc is over 4GB and single sided.
| ASUS DRW-1608P2 |
NEC ND-4550A |
LG GSA-4167B |
Sony DRU-810A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
11.87x 6.58x 15.91x |
11.83x 6.49x 15.82x |
3.64x 2.01x 4.87x |
11.93x 6.51x 15.95x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
114ms 129ms 214ms |
135ms 147ms 228ms |
117ms 148ms 217ms |
101ms 109ms 171ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
8% 10% 15% n/a |
15% 15% 28% 51% |
6% 11% 21% n/a |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
The DRW-1608P2 didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.58x and reached a maximum read speed of 15.91x. ASUS's new drive was also surprisingly fast when reading dual layer discs. By looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the drive's transfer speeds peaked at an impressive 12.61x.
To see how well the DRW-1608P2 worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using WinDVD 4 and PowerDVD 5. The drive had no problems playing back these movies with either program and was fairly quiet.
