Plextor PX-750A 16x 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.

 

The PX-750A has a maximum CD writing speed of 40x. To reach this speed, it uses CAV, or Constant Angular Velocity. With Fuji's 48x media, the drive started writing at about 17.82x and reached a maximum speed of 40.18x at the end of the session. This gave Plextor's new DVD±RW an average writing speed of about 30.20x.

To test the PX-750A's writing times, I wrote our test data to some Taiyo Yuden manufactured Fujimedia rated at 48x. The results are below.

Plextor's new DVD writer did fairly well in our tests. While no match for the drives from NEC and LG, the PX-760A 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.

Fuji 48x (Taiyo Yuden)

Memorex 52x (CMC)

Verbatim 52x

The PX-750A'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 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW media was used for these tests.

The PX-750A also uses CAV when rewriting at 24x. By looking at the screenshot above, you can see that the drive starts rewriting at about 10.52x and doesn't reach its maximum speed until the end of the session.

Plextor's new DVD writer didn't do as well as some of the other drives in our rewriting tests. Due in part to its CAV writing method, the PX-750A took 3:36 to write 400MB with Nero and 3:35 to do the same with DLA.

The PX-750A's CAV writing method also put it at a disadvantage when erasing. The drive not only had the highest quick erase time, it took a whopping 5:07 to do a full erase.