While CPU, memory, OS and other variables don't often make a huge difference, there are some nonetheless. We have a computer that is used only for testing hardware. We do this so all tests can be compared reliably.
Test System:
| CPU: | Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30 GHz | |
| Motherboard: | Gigabyte GA-H67MA-D2H-B3 (Intel H67 chipset) | |
| Memory: | G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) | |
| Graphics: | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3.0Gb/s 500GB | |
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 912 | |
| Operating System: | Windows 7 Enterprise x64 SP1 |
For Blu-ray Disc writers, the performance tests are normally broken down into six sections: CD read, CD write, DVD read, DVD write, BD read and BD write. Each benchmark test has been run three times. The score given is an average of the three.
CD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the CD-ROM benchmarks, CD WinBench 99 v3.0 and CD Speed v4.7.7.16 are used to test read speeds, access times and CPU usage. For DAE testing, CD Speed is used to give an overall speed rating.
CD Write Tests: To test the write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write 650MB and 700MB to our test media. Times are recorded. To test rewrite scores, Nero is used again to time how long it takes to write 400MB of random files and directories. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. The same files are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.
DVD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the DVD benchmarks CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.
DVD Write Tests: To test the DVD write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write a 4.38GB image to our test media. Times are recorded. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. For this, 4GB of random files and directories are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.
BD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the BD benchmarks, CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.
BD Write Tests: To test the BD write speeds, CD Speed's "Create Data Disc" feature is used to burn an entire BD-R/RE disc. Times are recorded.
CD Winbench 99 Scores:
| LG BH12LS38 |
Plextor PX-LB950UE |
Sony BWU-500S |
Lite-On iHBS112 |
|
| CD Winbench 99 | 1240 KB/sec | 1550 KB/sec | 1710 KB/sec | 1715 KB/sec |
| Transfer Rate: Inside | 2640 KB/sec | 2210 KB/sec | 2220 KB/sec | 2220 KB/sec |
| Transfer Rate: Outside | 6450 KB/sec | 6420 KB/sec | 6430 KB/sec | 6430 KB/sec |
| Random Access Time | 114ms | 121ms | 123ms | 128ms |
| CPU Utilization | 0% | 0% | 10.6% | 10.6% |
The CD Winbench test is as close as we can get to testing every day usage. It fires off eight different applications using scripts. This tries to mimic the activities of a person loading these programs onto their own computer.
LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer gave us some mixed performance in our CD Winbench tests. While the BH12LS38's overall score wasn't as high as some of the other drives, it had a low access time and some fairly good transfer rates. It started reading at 17.6x (2640 / 150) on the inside and reached a maximum speed of 43x (6450 / 150) on the outside of the disc.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - Pressed CD:
For this test I used a pressed CD containing one Mode 1 data track. The disc is 74:38 in size and is full of data and directories.
| LG BH12LS38 |
Plextor PX-LB950UE |
Sony BWU-500S |
Lite-On iHBS112 |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
35.04x 20.92x 47.68x |
35.86x 20.94x 47.42x |
35.89x 20.81x 47.49x |
35.86x 20.84x 47.43x |
| Access Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
131ms 146ms 213ms |
116ms 135ms 202ms |
115ms 128ms 197ms |
118ms 132ms 211ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
0% 1% 2% 3% |
2% 1% 3% 6% |
2% 1% 3% 6% |
1% 1% 3% 5% |
The BH12LS38 didn't perform as well as I had expected when reading pressed CD's. While rated at 48x, LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer came up a little short of this number in our tests. On a more positive note, the BH12LS38's access times were quite good.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-R Media:
For this test I made a copy of our pressed test CD. I used 12x rated Memorex Gold 74 minute media for the tests.
| LG BH12LS38 |
Plextor PX-LB950UE |
Sony BWU-500S |
Lite-On iHBS112 |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
36.08x 21.14x 47.62x |
36.64x 21.02x 48.57x |
36.67x 20.94x 48.63x |
36.63x 20.99x 48.57x |
| Access Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
135ms 149ms 213ms |
121ms 132ms 200ms |
121ms 136ms 198ms |
121ms 137ms 196ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
0% 1% 2% 3% |
3% 2% 3% 6% |
2% 2% 3% 6% |
2% 2% 3% 6% |
The BH12LS38 was a little faster when reading CD-R media. Unfortunately, even with this slight speed boost, it still wasn't able to reach 48x in our tests.
LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media. The BH12LS38 read our test disc from start to finish, reaching a maximum transfer speed of 49.74x.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-RW Media:
For this test I made a copy of a pressed test CD. I used some PNY 80 minute CD-RW media for the tests.
| LG BH12LS38 |
Plextor PX-LB950UE |
Sony BWU-500S |
Lite-On iHBS112 |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
30.68x 17.86x 40.51x |
29.99x 17.39x 39.60x |
30.01x 17.46x 39.65x |
29.98x 17.45x 39.60x |
| Access Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
130ms 145ms 205ms |
120ms 135ms 223ms |
121ms 137ms 214ms |
121ms 136ms 198ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
0% 1% 2% 3% |
1% 2% 3% 6% |
1% 2% 3% 6% |
1% 2% 3% 6% |
While the BH12LS38 is rated at 48x when reading pressed and CD-R media, its CD-RW read speeds are limited to only 40x. As you can see, the drive had no problems reaching this speed in our tests.
CD Speed v4.7.7.7 (DAE) - Pressed CD:
For this test I used Pure Funk. The CD is almost exactly 74 minutes. This helps to squeeze the maximum performance out of the CD.
Exact Audio Copy can tell us a lot about a drive's capabilities. You can see from the screen shot that the LG BH12LS38 supports accurate stream, caches audio data and has the ability to retrieve C2 error information from audio CD's.
| CD Speed | LG BH12LS38 |
Plextor PX-LB950UE |
Sony BWU-500S |
Lite-On iHBS112 |
| Average: Start: End: DAE Quality: Accurate Stream: |
30.86x 18.28x 40.78x 10 Yes |
36.23x 24.92x 47.84x 10 Yes |
36.21x 21.69x 47.84x 10 Yes |
36.21x 21.74x 47.84x 10 Yes |
The BH12LS38 did fairly well in our DAE tests. While not as fast as the other drives, it was able to rip pressed audio CD's at at respectable 40.78x.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 (DAE) - CD-R Media:
For this test I used a copy of the Pure Funk CD. It's burned onto the same Memorex Gold 74 minute media I used in the CD Speed tests.
| CD Speed | LG BH12LS38 |
Plextor PX-LB950UE |
Sony BWU-500S |
Lite-On iHBS112 |
| Average: Start: End: DAE Quality: Accurate Stream: |
30.26x 18.07x 39.90x 10 Yes |
35.90x 24.89x 47.30x 10 Yes |
35.87x 21.59x 47.31x 10 Yes |
35.87x 21.47x 47.31x 10 Yes |
The BH12LS38 was a little slower when extracting audio from CD-R media. While the drive still performed relatively well, it reached a maximum DAE speed of only 39.90x. So how did it do in CD Speed's advanced DAE tests? Take a look below.
LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 28.65x. The drive did not create any errors, but for whatever reason, it was not able to pass all of the on-the-fly copying tests. If you look at the advanced features, you can see that the BH12LS38 was able to read the CD-Text, subchannel data and lead in but failed to read the lead out section of the CD.
