Nero CD Speed v3.70 - 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 DVD 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.
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.06x 6.58x 16.10x |
11.99x 6.64x 16.06x |
11.89x 6.52x 15.89x |
12.07x 6.63x 16.14x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
100ms 109ms 171ms |
110ms 129ms 209ms |
128ms 138ms 229ms |
101ms 111ms 187ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 12% 23% 45% |
5% 9% 15% n/a |
8% 15% 28% 55% |
4% 8% 16% 31% |
BenQ's new drive performed very well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In the transfer rate tests, it started reading at 6.58x and reached a maximum transfer speed of about 16.10x. Like in our CD read tests, its seek times were also quite good.
Nero CD Speed v3.70 - 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 4x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW media from Verbatim and then ran our usual DVD read tests with CD Speed. The results are below.
Verbatim DVD-R
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.23x 3.43x 8.34x |
9.35x 5.19x 12.51x |
11.91x 6.56x 15.93x |
9.04x 4.99x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
104ms 115ms 172ms |
114ms 136ms 217ms |
122ms 146ms 251ms |
101ms 112ms 178ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 12% 23% 45% |
6% 26% n/a n/a |
9% 17% 31% 63% |
4% 8% 15% 30% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.24x 3.43x 8.33x |
6.25x 3.47x 8.36x |
5.97x 3.28x 7.98x |
9.06x 4.98x 12.12x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
103ms 116ms 172ms |
121ms 138ms 238ms |
108ms 138ms 229ms |
101ms 114ms 197ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 12% 23% 45% |
6% 26% n/a n/a |
8% 14% 26% 81% |
5% 8% 15% 30% |
BenQ's' new drive wasn't nearly as fast when reading DVD-R and DVD-RW media. In both cases, the DW1625 reached a maximum transfer speed of about 8.3x.
Nero CD Speed v3.70 - 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 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
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.21x 3.44x 8.30x |
9.36x 5.18x 12.53x |
11.93x 6.55x 15.95x |
9.04x 4.98x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
103ms 116ms 172ms |
116ms 140ms 221ms |
118ms 146ms 259ms |
101ms 110ms 194ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 12% 23% 45% |
6% 27% n/a n/a |
9% 16% 31% 64% |
5% 8% 15% 30% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.24x 3.43x 8.34x |
6.25x 3.46x 8.35x |
5.97x 3.29x 7.98x |
9.06x 4.99x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
102ms 118ms 172ms |
113ms 132ms 218ms |
111ms 141ms 235ms |
100ms 108ms 193ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 12% 23% 45% |
7% 27% n/a n/a |
7% 13% 25% 81% |
5% 8% 16% 30% |
The DW1625's performance with DVD+R and DVD+RW media was very similar to what we saw with DVD-R and DVD-RW media. Here too the drive reached a maximum transfer speed of about 8.3x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.04x 3.35x 8.06x |
5.69x 3.17x 7.60x |
3.44x 1.91x 4.59x |
6.06x 3.35x 8.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
107ms 119ms 172ms |
120ms 139ms 234ms |
123ms 175ms 279ms |
101ms 111ms 188ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
10% 20% 94% |
5% 10% n/a |
7% 91% n/a |
4% 7% n/a |
BenQ's new DVD writer had no problems reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media. The DW1625 started reading at 3.35x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 8.06x.
Nero CD Speed v3.70 - 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.
| BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
11.94x 6.52x 15.96x |
11.87x 6.57x 15.95x |
3.72x 2.05x 4.98x |
12.07x 6.63x 16.14x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
99ms 109ms 171ms |
110ms 126ms 206ms |
111ms 128ms 206ms |
103ms 111ms 179ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 13% 23% 46% |
5% 9% 15% n/a |
7% 13% 23% n/a |
4% 8% 16% 31% |
The DW1625 didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.52x and reached a maximum read speed of 15.96x. BenQ'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 8x.
To see how well the DW1625 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.
