Plextor PX-740UF 16x FireWire/USB 2.0 DVD±RW

CD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 6.6.0.16 andDLA 4.95:

For this test I randomly generated 650MB and 700MB of files and directories to test the time it takes the drive to write and close a CD. All of the files are between 1MB and 25MB in size and no more than 10 directories deep. All of the times below include not only the actual writing time, but the lead in and out times too. This gives a more realistic idea of how long it takes to write a CD.

The PX-740UF has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Fuji's 48x media, the drive started writing at about 21.26x and reached a maximum speed of 48.00x at the end of the session. This gave the PX-740UF an average writing speed of about 36.28x.

To test the drive's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden manufactured Fuji media rated at 48x. The results are below.

Plextor's new external DVD writer did fairly well in our tests. While no match for the DRU-810A, the PX-740UF took less than 3 minutes to write an entire 650MB CD.

To test the drive's writing quality I used Lite-On IT's KProbe2. Written by Karr Wang, this utility can be used to test the number of C1 and C2 errors on a disc. For these tests I used a Lite-On LTR-52246S (firmware 6S0F) and read the discs at 32x.

Fuji 48x (Taiyo Yuden)

Memorex 52x (CMC)

Verbatim 52x

The PX-740UF's writing quality is very good. By looking at the KProbe screenshots, you can see that the discs burned by the drive had a low number of C1 errors and there were no C2 errors at all.

For the rewriting tests I created 400MB of files on the hard drive and wrote them in DAO mode using Nero. To test the packet writing speeds I copied and pasted the same files off the hard drive onto a CD-RW disc using DLA from Sonic. Verbatim's 32x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

The PX-740UF uses P-CAV, or Partial CAV, when rewriting at 32x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that the drive starts rewriting at about 21.31x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at about the 22 minute mark.

Plextor's new DVD writer did very well in our rewriting tests.Thanks to its P-CAV writing method, the PX-740UF took only 2:10 to write 400MB with Nero and 1:53 to do the same with DLA.

The PX-740UF also erases at 32x. It not only had the best quick erase time out of the four drives here, it was able to do a full erase in an impressive 3:45.