Plextor PX-B940SA 12x Blu-ray Disc Writer

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-ROM:

For this test I used a single layer, single sided data DVD-ROM disc that is 4.37GB in size.

 

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.93x 6.65x 15.96x	11.93 6.64x 15.96x	12.34x 6.84x 16.51x	12.27x 6.80x 16.40x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	155ms 189ms 339ms	153ms 186ms 338ms	111ms 115ms 191ms	153ms 158ms 291ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 13% 25% 46%	12% 13% 23% 44%	4% 8% 15% 27%	4% 6% 9% 18%

Plextor's new drive didn't perform as well as some of the others when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. While it came very close, the PX-B940SA had a hard time reaching its rated speed in our tests. Looking at the other scores, its seek times were also a little higher than we'd like to see.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - DVD-R and DVD-RW:

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 disk using some general use 16x DVD-R and 6x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. For the DVD-RAM tests, media from Maxell was used. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD-R
 

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.94x 6.64x 16.00x	11.95x 6.64x 15.98x	12.36x 6.88x 16.52x	12.28x 6.80x 16.42x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	165ms 196ms 353ms	165ms 198ms 352ms	116ms 125ms 191ms	166ms 170ms 317ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 14% 25% 47%	16% 13% 23% n/a	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%

Verbatim DVD-RW
 

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.36x 5.21x 12.50x	9.36x 5.20x 12.52x	7.72x 4.28x 10.32x	6.15x 3.41x 8.23x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	167ms 378ms 388ms	167ms 394ms 385ms	106ms 124ms 199ms	156ms 228ms 352ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 14% 25% n/a	14% 13% 24% n/a	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%

The PX-B940SA had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In our tests, the drive read DVD-R discs at 16x, and both DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media at a respectable 12x.

Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
 

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	4.77x 3.13x 5.00x	4.97x 4.73x 5.00x	4.65x 3.01x 5.02x	4.99x 4.96x 5.00x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	206ms 4ms 1ms	193ms 3ms 1ms	185ms 201ms 276ms	327ms 472ms 1135ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x:	23% 40% 71%	18% 30% 45%	21% 34% 53%	18% 14% 74%

The PX-B940SA has a maximum transfer speed of 5x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot you can see that it starts reading at 3.13x and quickly accelerates, reaching 5x at the 0.05GB mark. 

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - 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 disk using some 16x DVD+R and 8x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.

Verbatim DVD+R
 

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.95x 6.62x 16.02x	11.95x 6.67x 16.00x	12.37x 6.87x 16.53x	12.29x 6.78x 16.43x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	167ms 201ms 357ms	170ms 204ms 357ms	120ms 127ms 198ms	165ms 171ms 303ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 14% 25% 46%	16% 13% 23% n/a	4% 8% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%

Verbatim DVD+RW

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	9.38x 5.20x 12.55x	9.39x 5.23x 12.56x	7.73x 4.30x 10.33x	6.15x 3.41x 8.22x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	167ms 200ms 352ms	166ms 199ms 353ms	108ms 122ms 190ms	156ms 169ms 330ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	15% 14% 25% n/a	14% 13% 23% n/a	4% 7% 15% 28%	4% 6% 10% 18%

Verbatim DVD+R DL

The PX-B940SA's performance was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. The drive read DVD+R discs at 16x and both DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media at 12x.

Nero CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - 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.

 

	Plextor PX-B940SA	Pioneer BDR-2203	LG BH08LS20	Sony BWU-300S
Transfer Speed Average: Start: End:	11.81x 6.57x 15.82x	11.81x 6.58x 15.79x	3.66x 2.03x 4.89x	4.55x 2.52x 6.09x
Access Times Random: 1/3: Full:	157ms 192ms 341ms	149ms 176ms 327ms	134ms 167ms 228ms	149ms 163ms 311ms
CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x:	14% 13% 25% 46%	12% 13% 23% 43%	4% 7% 13% 31%	4% 6% 10% n/a

The PX-B940SA didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.57x and reached a maximum read speed of 15.82x. Plextor's new drive was also fairly quick when reading dual layer discs. By looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the drive's transfer speeds peaked at about 12x.

To see how well Plextor's new drive worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using the bundled version of PowerDVD. The PX-B940SA had no problems playing back either movie and was fairly quiet.