CD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 6.6.0.12 and DLA 4.90:
For this test I randomly generated 650MB and 700MB of files and directories to test the time it takes the drive to write and close a CD. All of the files are between 1MB and 25MB in size and no more than 10 directories deep. All of the times below include not only the actual writing time, but the lead in and out times too. This gives a more realistic idea of how long it takes to write a CD.
Like the DW1625, the dvd640i has a maximum CD writing speed of 40x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Fuji's 48x media, it started writing at about 17.72x and reached a maximum speed of 39.94x at the end of the session. This gave BenQ's new drive an average writing speed of about 30.28x.
To test the DW1625's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden manufactured Fuji media rated at 48x. The results are below.
| Size in MB | Size in Time | HP dvd640i |
BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
| 651MB | 74:02:55 | 3:09 | 3:08 | 3:14 | 2:53 |
| 701MB | 79:44:21 | 3:19 | 3:16 | 3:30 | 3:04 |
BenQ's new DVD writer did fairly well in our tests. While no match for the drive from NEC, the DW1625 was able to write an entire 650MB CD in a little more than 3 minutes.
To test the drive's writing quality I used Lite-On IT's KProbe2. Written by Karr Wang, this utility can be used to test the number of C1 and C2 errors on a disc. For these tests I used a Lite-On LTR-52246S (firmware 6S0F) and read the discs at 32x.
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 Verbatim 52x |
The dvd640i's writing quality was very good. By looking at the KProbe screenshots, you can see that the discs burned by the drive had a low number of C1 errors. More importantly, there were no C2 errors at all.
For the rewriting tests I created 400MB of files on the hard drive and wrote them in DAO mode using Nero. To test the packet writing speeds I copied and pasted the same files off the hard drive onto a CD-RW disc using DLA from Sonic. Verbatim's 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.
When rewriting at 24x, the DW1625 uses P-CAV, or Partial CAV, to reach this speed.By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that the drive starts rewriting at about 17.77x and accelerates, reaching its maximum speed at about the 14 minute mark.
| Software | HP dvd640i |
BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
| Nero | 2:22 | 2:23 | 2:58 | 2:42 |
| DLA Write | 2:26 | 2:29 | 2:38 | 2:24 |
| DLA Read | 1:18 | 1:14 | 4:05 | 1:34 |
HP's new DVD writer did very well in our rewriting tests. Thanks to its P-CAV writing method, the dvd640i took only 2:22 to write 400MB with Nero and 2:26 to do the same with DLA.
| HP dvd640i |
BenQ DW1625 |
Pioneer DVR-A09XL |
NEC ND-3520A |
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| Quick Erase | 31 seconds | 32 seconds | 41 seconds | 42 seconds |
| Full Erase | 3:45 | 3:49 | 4:12 | 4:10 |
The dvd640i also erases at 24x. In our tests, it not only had the best quick erase time out of the four drives here, it was able to do a full erase in an impressive 3:45
