Nero CD Speed v4.7.5 - DVD-ROM:
A little editorial note here. Like a CD-ROM, you will get different benchmark results depending on what kind of discs you are using. You are probably going to get varying results from a full data disc to a single layer movie disc. You're also going to get different results for single and dual layer discs.
The CD Speed website recommends using a single layer DVD-ROM disc with a capacity of at least 4GB. If you use a dual layer disc you probably won't get the best results because most DVD-ROM drives slow down to read them. Some even slow down to read single layer DVD-Video discs. To make a long story short, I am using a 4.37GB single layer, single sided disc for this test.
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.15x 6.70x 16.24x |
12.00x 6.53x 16.05x |
12.21x 6.75x 16.31x |
12.06x 6.63x 16.13x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
98ms 112ms 188ms |
142ms 175ms 237ms |
96ms 113ms 184ms |
102ms 113ms 189ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 5% 10% 20% |
8% 14% 26% 49% |
13% 12% 22% 41% |
5% 9% 17% 32% |
The DRW-1814BLT performed very well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.70x and reached a maximum transfer speed of about 16.24x. Looking at the other scores, you can see that the drive's seek times and CPU usage were also quite good.
Nero CD Speed v4.7.5 - DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM:
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 disc using some general use 4x DVD-R and 2x 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
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.09x 5.03x 12.15x |
12.04x 6.57x 16.09x |
9.14x 5.04x 12.21x |
9.05x 4.98x 12.10x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
114ms 131ms 201ms |
133ms 173ms 247ms |
107ms 117ms 190ms |
103ms 119ms 180ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 6% 14% 29% |
8% 15% 28% 50% |
9% 13% 28% 52% |
6% 11% 20% 39% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.21x 3.44x 8.31x |
9.17x 5.04x 12.25x |
6.24x 3.45x 8.35x |
9.06x 4.97x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
122ms 136ms 215ms |
143ms 181ms 302ms |
105ms 124ms 193ms |
101ms 119ms 203ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 6% 12% 24% |
8% 16% 30% 59% |
6% 13% 26% 47% |
5% 9% 16% 31% |
Verbatim DVD-R DL
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.13x 3.41x 8.17x |
9.12x 5.05x 12.15x |
6.26x 3.48x 8.34x |
6.05x 3.35x 8.08x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
127ms 140ms 209ms |
153ms 182ms 271ms |
115ms 117ms 195ms |
109ms 121ms 219ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
3% 6% n/a |
8% 16% 29% |
10% 12% n/a |
4% 7% n/a |
The DRW-1814BLT had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In our tests, the drive was able to read DVD-R discs at a respectable 12x, but slowed to about 8x when reading DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media.
Maxell 12x DVD-RAM
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
10.23x 5.89x 11.99x |
10.27x 5.95x 12.07x |
10.27x 5.99x 12.06x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
133ms 172ms 256ms |
172ms 182ms 296ms |
128ms 130ms 222ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 5% 11% 22% |
8% 15% 30% 60% |
14% 12% 23% 44% |
ASUS's new drive has a maximum transfer speed of 12x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot you can see that it starts reading at 5.94x and accelerates, reaching 12x at the 2.7GB mark.
Nero CD Speed v4.7.5 - 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 disc using some 4x DVD+R and 2.4x DVD+RW media from Verbatim. I then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.
Verbatim DVD+R
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.07x 5.03x 11.59x |
12.02x 6.57x 16.07x |
9.12x 5.03x 12.20x |
9.04x 4.97x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
120ms 129ms 215ms |
136ms 175ms 251ms |
105ms 113ms 189ms |
104ms 114ms 199ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 6% 12% 30% |
8% 15% 28% 50% |
10% 13% 32% 52% |
5% 9% 16% 31% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.21x 3.44x 8.30x |
9.16x 5.06x 12.26x |
6.24x 3.45x 8.34x |
9.06x 4.98x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
122ms 138ms 208ms |
150ms 185ms 293ms |
104ms 119ms 194ms |
104ms 113ms 199ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 6% 12% 23% |
8% 16% 30% 58% |
6% 13% 28% 46% |
5% 9% 17% 31% |
The DRW-1814BLT's performance with DVD+R and DVD+RW media was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R and DVD-RW media. The drive read DVD+R discs at speeds near 12x and DVD+RW media at 8x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.23x 3.47x 8.30x |
9.13x 5.04x 12.16x |
6.26x 3.48x 8.34x |
6.04x 3.34x 8.07x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
126ms 134ms 208ms |
153ms 195ms 273ms |
119ms 129ms 202ms |
104ms 115ms 193ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
3% 6% n/a |
8% 15% 29% |
10% 12% n/a |
4% 7% n/a |
Reading Verbatim'sdouble layer DVD+R media wasn't a problem for the DRW-1814BLT either. While not as fast as the GSA-H22N, it reached a maximum transfer speed of 8.30x.
Nero CD Speed v4.7.5 - 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.
| ASUS DRW-1814BLT |
LG GSA-H22N |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.02x 6.63x 16.08x |
6.07x 3.35x 8.12x |
12.08x 6.65x 16.15x |
12.06x 6.63x 16.13x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
96ms 110ms 188ms |
137ms 164ms 235ms |
95ms 109ms 183ms |
102ms 112ms 182ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
3% 5% 9% 20% |
8% 15% 28% 55% |
12% 12% 21% 41% |
5% 9% 17% 33% |
The DRW-1814BLT didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.63x and reached a maximum read speed of 16.08x. ASUS'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 8.25x.
To see how well the DRW-1814BLT worked as a DVD player, I watched a few scenes from Transformers: The Movie and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace using WinDVD 4 and PowerDVD 5. The drive had no problems playing back these movies with either program and was fairly quiet.
