Memorex MRX-500N 16x DVD±RW

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.

The MRX-500N has a maximum CD writing speed of 48x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Fuji's 48x media, the drive started writing at about 21.45x and reached a maximum speed of 48.05x at the end of the session. This gave the MRX-500N an average writing speed of about 36.40x.

To test the drive's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden manufactured Fuji media rated at 48x. The results are below.

Memorex's new DVD writer did fairly well in our tests. While not as fast as the DRU-810A, the MRX-500N took less than 3 minutes to write an entire 650MB CD.

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 MRX-500N's writing quality is 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.

While the MRX-500N uses CAV when writing to CD-R discs, it uses Z-CLV, or Zone CLV, when rewriting at 32x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that it uses a total of four "zones" to reach its maximum speed. The drive starts writing at 20x and jumps to 24x at about the 5 minute mark. When it reaches the 13 minute mark, the drive changes to 28x and then to 32x at the 22 minute mark.

Memorex's new DVD writer did very well in our rewriting tests.Thanks to its 32x rewriting speed, the MRX-500N took 2:02 to write 400MB with Nero and 2:00 to do the same with DLA.

The MRX-500N also erases at 32x. While it didn't have the fastest quick erase time out of the four drives here, it was able to do a full erase in an impressive 3:10.