Nero CD Speed v4.01 - 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.
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
11.98x 6.56x 16.01x |
12.05x 6.56x 16.17x |
11.94x 6.55x 15.97x |
12.07x 6.63x 16.14x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
113ms 119ms 185ms |
100ms 109ms 171ms |
122ms 136ms 221ms |
101ms 111ms 187ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
8% 15% 29% 54% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
8% 15% 28% 51% |
4% 8% 16% 31% |
The GSA-2166D performed very well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.56x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 16.01x. While this wasn't enough to take the top spot in our transfer rate tests, its seek times were pretty good.
Nero CD Speed v4.01 - 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
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.01x 6.58x 16.05x |
12.08x 6.59x 16.16x |
12.00x 6.61x 16.04x |
9.04x 4.99x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
120ms 140ms 210ms |
106ms 123ms 178ms |
122ms 148ms 244ms |
101ms 112ms 178ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
9% 16% 30% 54% |
7% 12% 24% 51% |
9% 16% 32% 69% |
4% 8% 15% 30% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.14x 3.38x 8.21x |
9.36x 5.11x 12.54x |
9.84x 5.41x 13.16x |
9.06x 4.98x 12.12x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
115ms 144ms 221ms |
108ms 124ms 173ms |
121ms 151ms 254ms |
101ms 114ms 197ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
9% 16% 31% 61% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
8% 15% 28% 51% |
5% 8% 15% 30% |
LG's new drive had no problems reading DVD-R and DVD-RW media. In our tests, it was able to read DVD-R media at an impressive 16x, but reached a maximum transfer speed of only 8x when reading DVD-RW discs.
Verbatim DVD-R DL
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
5.94x 3.30x 7.93x |
9.05x 5.01x 12.07x |
5.46x 3.03x 7.25x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
125ms 142ms 234ms |
117ms 137ms 174ms |
174ms 191ms 275ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
8% 16% n/a |
6% 12% 24% |
7% 12% n/a |
The GSA-2166D wasn't as fast when reading Verbatim's 4x DVD-R DL media. As you can see, the drive started reading at 3.30x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 7.93x.
Maxell 5x DVD-RAM
|
|
Transfer Speed | Seek Times | CPU Usage | ||||||
| Average | Start | End | Random | 1/3 | Full | 1x | 2x | 4x | |
|
LG GSA-2166D |
4.74x | 3.17x | 5.02x | 159ms | 160ms | 214ms | 11% | 24% | 43% |
The GSA-2166D has a maximum transfer speed of 5x when reading DVD-RAM discs. By looking at the screenshot you can see that the drive starts reading at about 3.17x and accelerates, reaching 5x at the 1.3GB mark.
Nero CD Speed v4.01 - 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
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
11.99x 6.56x 16.02x |
12.10x 6.60x 16.18x |
11.96x 6.58x 16.00x |
9.04x 4.98x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
116ms 127ms 210ms |
106ms 121ms 183ms |
131ms 156ms 255ms |
101ms 110ms 194ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
9% 16% 29% 54% |
6% 12% 24% 49% |
11% 16% 30% 68% |
5% 8% 15% 30% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.14x 3.37x 8.21x |
9.36x 5.10x 12.50x |
9.83x 5.41x 13.14x |
9.06x 4.99x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
123ms 142ms 219ms |
106ms 121ms 174ms |
121ms 146ms 254ms |
100ms 108ms 193ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
9% 16% 31% 60% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
15% 27% 55% 97% |
5% 8% 16% 30% |
The GSA-2166D'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 16x and DVD+RW media at 8x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
5.95x 3.30x 7.94x |
9.07x 5.01x 12.09x |
5.46x 3.03x 7.29x |
6.06x 3.35x 8.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
124ms 137ms 218ms |
111ms 120ms 173ms |
126ms 165ms 277ms |
101ms 111ms 188ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
8% 16% n/a |
7% 13% 26% |
7% 12% n/a |
4% 7% n/a |
Reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media wasn't a problem for the GSA-2166D either. While not nearly as fast as the drive from Sony, it reached a respectable 7.94x in CD Speed's transfer rate tests.
Nero CD Speed v4.01 - 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.
| LG GSA-2166D |
Sony DRU-810A |
NEC ND-3540A |
Plextor PX-716A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.05x 3.28x 8.11x |
11.93x 6.51x 15.95x |
5.91x 3.26x 7.91x |
12.07x 6.63x 16.14x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
112ms 124ms 191ms |
101ms 109ms 171ms |
117ms 129ms 214ms |
103ms 111ms 179ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
9% 16% 30% 58% |
6% 12% 24% 47% |
7% 13% 24% 87% |
4% 8% 16% 31% |
The GSA-2166D didn't do as well as some of the other drives when reading DVD videos. In our tests, it reached a maximum speed of only 8x when reading both single and dual layer discs.This is pretty slow considering there are drives out there that can reach speeds as high as 16x.
To see how well the GSA-2166D 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.
