Like many, I never expected DVD±R writing speeds to reach 20x, let alone 24x. Nevertheless, Optiarc has pulled off this impressive feat with the AD-7240S. Affordably priced, the drive offers a good mix of performance and features that should make it a big hit among consumers and enthusiasts alike.
The AD-7240S is the first drive from Optiarc with the ability to write to both DVD-R and DVD+R media at 24x. At this speed, it took the drive a little more than 4 minutes to write an entire 4.7GB DVD, beating the 22x DVD writers from Samsung and LG by a small margin. This level of performance carried over to our rewriting tests where the drive turned in some respectable times with DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM media. Writing to DVD±R DL media wasn't a problem for the AD-7240S either. However, due to its CAV writing method, it took more than 14 minutes to write 8GB of data.
When it came to media compatibility, the AD-7240S gave us some mixed results. While the drive wrote to most of our test media at its rated speed or better, only two types worked at 24x. On the other hand, the AD-7240S's writing quality was fairly good for the most part. However, there is still room for improvement with Ritek manufactured DVD±R and DVD+R DL media. Hopefully, Optiarc can address this in a future firmware update.
The AD-7240S also performed fairly well in our DVD read tests. While its seek times were a little higher than I would have liked, it was able to read single layer DVD-ROM's and DVD±R media at 16x. The AD-7240S also reached some pretty impressive transfer speeds with other types of DVD media. In our tests, it read DVD±RW discs at 13x and both DVD±R DL and DVD±RAM media at 12x.
Reading CD's wasn't a problem for the AD-7240S either. In our tests, the drive read pressed and CD-R media at speeds as high as 48x and CD-RW discs at 40x. Optiarc's new drive wasn't as fast in our DAE tests. However, it still ripped audio CD's at a respectable 40x. Unfortunately, the AD-7240S lagged behind some of the other drives when writing CD's. It took longer than expected when writing to CD-R media and its Z-CLV writing method also put it at a slight disadvantage in our rewriting tests. Nevertheless, the AD-7240S's writing quality was quite good.
Like Optiarc's previous DVD writers, the AD-7240S has its share of features. To prevent buffer underruns, it has a 2048KB buffer that is backed up by some sort of buffer underrun technology. While this buffer is a little smaller than we'd like to see on a 24x DVD writer, this system worked flawlessly in our tests. The AD-7240S also offers a good number of writing and rewriting speeds to choose from and supports bitsetting for DVD+R DL discs. Unfortunately, it won't let you set the book type of DVD+R or DVD+RW media.
The Sony Optiarc AD-7240S is shipping now and can be purchased through some of the online vendors found on Pricegrabber. Available in your choice of black or beige, the OEM version of the drive can be picked up for less than $30. The LightScribe enabled AD-7241S has also begun to ship and is priced only a few dollars more than the AD-7240S.
| Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW/RAM | |
| Features: Installation: Performance: |
8 8 8 |
| Overall: | 8 |
Highs:
- Writes to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 24x
- Writes to DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL media at 12x
- Writes to DVD+RW media at 8x
- Writes to DVD-RW media at 6x
- Reads single layer DVD-ROM's at 16x
- Reads DVD-R and DVD+R media at 16x
- Reads DVD-RW and DVD+RW media at 13x
- Reads DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL media at 12x
- Reads and writes to DVD-RAM media at 12x
- Features 48x CD-R and 32x CD-RW writing speeds
- Good selection of writing and rewriting speeds
- Includes buffer underrun prevention technology
- Good CD-R and DVD±R writing quality
- Supports bitsetting for DVD+R DL media
- Affordably priced
Lows:
- Questionable writing quality with some DVD±R and DVD+R DL media
- Had a hard time reaching its rated speeds when reading pressed CD's
- Cannot set the book type of DVD+R or DVD+RW media
- Slower than other drives when writing to CD-R and CD-RW media
- Problems recognizing discs larger than 90 minutes
- Higher than average seek times
