ASUS DRW-1608P2 16x DVD±RW

Model: ASUS DRW-1608P2 16x DVD±RW
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer, Inc

An industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience, ASUS is recognized as one of the world's leading manufacturers of computer components. While best known for their motherboards and video cards, ASUS has started to expand into other areas, including the optical storage industry. Over the past few years, they've introduced a number of products for the portable and desktop markets. With their innovative technologies and impressive performance, these drives have been popular right from the start.

The latest addition to ASUS's already impressive line of DVD writers is the DRW-1608P2. Announced in August, the DRW-1608P2 takes DVD writing speeds to the next level. Based on the Pioneer DVR-110D, the drive is capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds and has a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. More importantly, it's one of the first drives with the ability to write to both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media at 8x. The DRW-1608P2 also includes features like 40x CD reading and writing speeds, 32x rewriting speeds and support for technologies like FlextraLink and FlextraSpeed.

With features and specs like this, it's hard not to be impressed by ASUS's new DVD writer. But as you all know by now, we're not ones to take things like this at face value. In this review, we'll take a closer look at the DRW-160P2's features and then see how it compares to some of the 16x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does the DRW-1608P2 have what it takes? Is it the fastest DVD writer around? Keep reading as we find out.