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.
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.00x 6.54x 16.05x |
12.16x 6.75x 16.25x |
12.21x 6.75x 16.31x |
12.06x 6.63x 16.13x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
119ms 148ms 215ms |
93ms 108ms 166ms |
96ms 113ms 184ms |
102ms 113ms 189ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 9% 18% 34% |
4% 8% 15% 88% |
13% 12% 22% 41% |
5% 9% 17% 32% |
The GSA-H55L was fairly quick when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.54x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 16.05x.Unfortunately, its seek times were not as low as some of the other drives.
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
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.03x 6.59x 16.08x |
12.19x 6.77x 16.30x |
9.14x 5.04x 12.21x |
9.05x 4.98x 12.10x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
127ms 164ms 234ms |
112ms 125ms 204ms |
107ms 117ms 190ms |
103ms 119ms 180ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 10% 19% 36% |
4% 8% 25% n/a |
9% 13% 28% 52% |
6% 11% 20% 39% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.13x 5.01x 12.20x |
9.24x 5.12x 12.35x |
6.24x 3.45x 8.35x |
9.06x 4.97x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
133ms 182ms 265ms |
124ms 134ms 218ms |
105ms 124ms 193ms |
101ms 119ms 203ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 10% 19% 37% |
6% 10% 28% n/a |
6% 13% 26% 47% |
5% 9% 16% 31% |
Verbatim DVD-R DL
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.08x 5.04x 12.11x |
9.20x 5.12x 12.26x |
6.26x 3.48x 8.34x |
6.05x 3.35x 8.08x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
154ms 193ms 266ms |
119ms 128ms 213ms |
115ms 117ms 195ms |
109ms 121ms 219ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
6% 10% 19% |
26% 9% 98% |
10% 12% n/a |
4% 7% n/a |
The GSA-H55L had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In our tests, the drive read DVD-R discs at 16x, and both DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media at a respectable 12x.
Maxell 12x DVD-RAM
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
10.24x 5.93x 12.03x |
10.25x 5.82x 12.18x |
10.27x 5.99x 12.06x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
175ms 204ms 274ms |
160ms 167ms 324ms |
128ms 130ms 222ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 10% 18% 36% |
12% 9% 16% n/a |
14% 12% 23% 44% |
LG'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 5.93x 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
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.04x 6.58x 16.11x |
12.18x 6.77x 16.28x |
9.12x 5.03x 12.20x |
9.04x 4.97x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
127ms 162ms 244ms |
118ms 121ms 190ms |
105ms 113ms 189ms |
104ms 114ms 199ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 10% 19% 37% |
4% 8% 25% 96% |
10% 13% 32% 52% |
5% 9% 16% 31% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.13x 5.04x 12.20x |
9.24x 5.15x 12.35x |
6.24x 3.45x 8.34x |
9.06x 4.98x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
138ms 184ms 268ms |
141ms 164ms 272ms |
104ms 119ms 194ms |
104ms 113ms 199ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
6% 10% 19% 36% |
8% 11% 32% n/a |
6% 13% 28% 46% |
5% 9% 17% 31% |
The GSA-H55L'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 12x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.09x 5.02x 12.11x |
9.20x 5.09x 12.27x |
6.26x 3.48x 8.34x |
6.04x 3.34x 8.07x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
153ms 186ms 273ms |
113ms 122ms 184ms |
119ms 129ms 202ms |
104ms 115ms 193ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
5% 10% 18% |
27% 8% 99% |
10% 12% n/a |
4% 7% n/a |
Reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media wasn't an issue for the GSA-H55L either. The drive started reading at 5.02x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 12.11x.
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.
| LG GSA-H55L |
Lite-On LH-20A1H |
Samsung SH-S182D |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.03x 3.33x 8.07x |
12.04x 6.69x 16.09x |
12.08x 6.65x 16.15x |
12.06x 6.63x 16.13x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
126ms 153ms 217ms |
93ms 104ms 166ms |
95ms 109ms 183ms |
102ms 112ms 182ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
5% 9% 18% 38% |
4% 8% 15% 89% |
12% 12% 21% 41% |
5% 9% 17% 33% |
The GSA-H55L didn't do as well as 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.
To see how well the GSA-H55L 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.
