LG GSA-4167B Super-Multi DVD±RW/RAM

CD Write and ReWrite Tests - Nero Burning Rom 6.6.0.16 andDLA 4.95:

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.

 

LG's new "Super-Multi" drive uses Z-CLV, or Zone CLV, to reach its maximum writing speed. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that it uses a total of five "zones" to reach 48x. The GSA-4167B starts writing at 16x and quickly jumps to 24x at the 4 minute mark. When it reaches the 21 minute mark, the drive changes to 32x and then to 40x at the 43 minute mark.The drive writes at this speed until about the 68 minute mark. When it reaches this point, its writing speed increases to 48x and stays there until the end of the session. This gave the GSA-4167B an average writing speed of about 33.77x.

To test the GSA-4167B's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden manufactured Fujimedia rated at 48x. The results are below.

With its Z-CLV writing method, the GSA-4167B wasn't as fast as some of the other DVD writers we've looked at. Nevertheless, it was able to write an entire 650MB CD in 2:58.

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.

Fuji 48x (Taiyo Yuden)

Memorex 52x (CMC)

Verbatim 52x

The GSA-4167B'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 and 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 32x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

LG's new drive also uses Z-CLV when rewriting at 32x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that it starts writing at 16x and jumps to 24x at about the 4 minute mark. The drive writes at this speed until about the 21 minute mark. At this point, the writing speed increases to 32x and stays there until the very end of the session.

LG's new DVD writer did very well in our rewriting tests. Thanks to its 32x rewriting speed, the GSA-4167B took 2:09 to write 400MB with Nero and 2:07 to do the same with DLA.

The GSA-4167B also erases at 32x. In our tests, it not only had the fastest quick erase time out of the four drives here, it was able to do a full erase in an impressive 3:14.