While CPU, memory, OS and other variables don't often make a huge difference, there are some nonetheless. We have a computer that is used only for testing hardware. We do this so all tests can be compared reliably.
Test System:
| CPU: | Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30 GHz | |
| Motherboard: | Gigabyte GA-H67MA-D2H-B3 (Intel H67 chipset) | |
| Memory: | G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) | |
| Graphics: | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3.0Gb/s 500GB | |
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 912 | |
| Operating System: | Windows 7 Enterprise x64 SP1 |
For DVD writers the performance tests are broken down into four sections: CD read, CD write, DVD read and DVD write tests. Each benchmark test has been run three times. The score given is an average of the three.
CD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the CD-ROM benchmarks, CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times and CPU usage. For DAE testing, CD Speed is used to give an overall speed rating.
CD Write Tests: To test the write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write 700MB to our test media. Times are recorded. To test rewrite scores, Nero is used again to time how long it takes to write 400MB of random files and directories. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. The same files are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.
DVD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the DVD benchmarks CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.
DVD Write Tests: To test the DVD write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write a 4.38GB image to our test media. Times are recorded. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. For this, 4GB of random files and directories are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - Pressed CD:
For this test I used a pressed CD containing one Mode 1 data track. The disc is 74:38 in size and is full of data and directories.
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Transfer Speed | Access Times | CPU Usage | |||||||
| Average | Start | End | Random | 1/3 | Full | 1x | 2x | 4x | 8x | |
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Samsung SE-218BB |
18.36x | 10.64x | 24.27x | 154ms | 177ms | 264ms | 10% | 2% | 3% | 7% |
The SE-218BB performed fairly well when reading pressed CD's. The drive started reading at 18.36x and quickly accelerated, reaching a maximum transfer speed of 24.27x. Unfortunately, its access times were a little higher than we'd like to see.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-R Media:
For this test I made a copy of our pressed test CD. I used 12x rated Memorex Gold 74 minute media for the tests.
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Transfer Speed | Access Times | CPU Usage | |||||||
| Average | Start | End | Random | 1/3 | Full | 1x | 2x | 4x | 8x | |
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Samsung SE-218BB |
18.38x | 10.73x | 24.24x | 154ms | 170ms | 256ms | 10% | 2% | 4% | 7% |
The SE-218BB's average speed was slightly higher when reading CD-R media. It also had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media. The SE-218BB read our test disc from start to finish, reaching a maximum transfer speed of 26.76x.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-RW Media:
For this test I made a copy of a pressed test CD. I used some PNY 80 minute CD-RW media for the tests.
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Transfer Speed | Access Times | CPU Usage | |||||||
| Average | Start | End | Random | 1/3 | Full | 1x | 2x | 4x | 8x | |
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Samsung SE-218BB |
18.42x | 10.69x | 24.33x | 161ms | 177ms | 266ms | 10% | 2% | 4% | 7% |
The SE-218BB also reads CD-RW media at 24x. As you can see, it had no problems reaching this speed in our tests.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 (DAE) - Pressed CD:
For this test I used Pure Funk. The CD is almost exactly 74 minutes. This helps to squeeze the maximum performance out of the CD.
Exact Audio Copy can tell us a lot about a drive's capabilities. You can see from the screen shot that while the Samsung SE-218BB supports accurate stream and has the ability to retrieve C2 error information from the CD, it does not cache audio data.
| CD Speed | Average | Start | End | Quality | Accurate Stream |
| Samsung SE-218BB | 18.54x | 10.68x | 24.49x | 10 | Yes |
For a portable drive, the SE-218BB did very well in our DAE tests. The drive started out at 10.68x and reached a maximum speed of 24.49x.
CD Speed v4.7.7.16 (DAE) - CD-R Media:
For this test I used a copy of the Pure Funk CD. It's burned onto the same Memorex Gold 74 minute media I used in the CD Speed tests.
| CD Speed | Average | Start | End | Quality | Accurate Stream |
| Samsung SE-218BB | 18.37x | 10.60x | 24.22x | 10 | Yes |
The SE-218BB was a little slower when extracting audio from CD-R media. This time around, it reached a maximum DAE speed of 24.22x. So how did it do in CD Speed's advanced DAE tests? Take a look below.
Samsung's portable DVD writer completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 17.46x. While the drive was able to go through the tests without creating any errors, it was unable to pass all of the on the fly copying tests. If you look at the advanced features, you can see that the SE-218BB was able to read the CD-Text and subchannel data, but failed to read the lead in and lead out sections of the CD.
