Nero CD Speed v4.60 - 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.
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.15x 6.69x 16.25x |
12.21x 6.75x 16.31x |
12.31x 6.80x 16.46x |
12.06x 6.63x 16.13x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
97ms 115ms 184ms |
96ms 113ms 184ms |
103ms 120ms 187ms |
102ms 113ms 189ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
10% 8% 13% 26% |
13% 12% 22% 41% |
6% 11% 22% 42% |
5% 9% 17% 32% |
The DRU-830A performed very well when reading single layer DVD-ROM's. In our tests it started reading at 6.69x and reached a maximum transfer speed of 16.25x.Looking at the other scores, you can see that the drive's seek times and CPU usage were also quite good.
Nero CD Speed v4.60 - 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
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.10x 5.03x 12.16x |
9.14x 5.04x 12.21x |
12.35x 6.83x 16.52x |
9.05x 4.98x 12.10x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
106ms 116ms 189ms |
107ms 117ms 190ms |
108ms 125ms 176ms |
103ms 119ms 180ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
7% 9% 19% 37% |
9% 13% 28% 52% |
6% 11% 22% 42% |
6% 11% 20% 39% |
Verbatim DVD-RW
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.22x 3.44x 8.31x |
6.24x 3.45x 8.35x |
10.03x 5.55x 13.40x |
9.06x 4.97x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
107ms 118ms 190ms |
105ms 124ms 193ms |
128ms 150ms 217ms |
101ms 119ms 203ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
4% 9% 18% 31% |
6% 13% 26% 47% |
6% 11% 22% 57% |
5% 9% 16% 31% |
Verbatim DVD-R DL
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.23x 3.47x 8.30x |
6.26x 3.48x 8.34x |
9.27x 5.16x 12.36x |
6.05x 3.35x 8.08x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
116ms 120ms 243ms |
115ms 117ms 195ms |
132ms 156ms 220ms |
109ms 121ms 219ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
8% 8% n/a |
10% 12% n/a |
6% 12% 43% |
4% 7% n/a |
The DRU-830A had no problems reading DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media. In our tests, the drive was able to read DVD-R discs at 12x, but slowed to about 8x when reading DVD-RW and DVD-R DL media.
Maxell 12x DVD-RAM
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
10.23x 5.94x 12.01x |
10.27x 5.99x 12.06x |
10.26x 5.90x 12.07x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
132ms 135ms 245ms |
128ms 130ms 222ms |
199ms 173ms 197ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
12% 8% 14% 27% |
14% 12% 23% 44% |
7% 12% 21% n/a |
Sony'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 5.94x and accelerates, reaching 12x at the 2.7GB mark.
Nero CD Speed v4.60 - 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
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
9.09x 5.02x 12.15x |
9.12x 5.03x 12.20x |
12.33x 6.80x 16.50x |
9.04x 4.97x 12.11x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
107ms 116ms 191ms |
105ms 113ms 189ms |
107ms 127ms 185ms |
104ms 114ms 199ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
8% 9% 24% 35% |
10% 13% 32% 52% |
6% 12% 22% 42% |
5% 9% 16% 31% |
Verbatim DVD+RW
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.21x 3.44x 8.31x |
6.24x 3.45x 8.34x |
10.03x 5.54x 13.39x |
9.06x 4.98x 12.09x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
105ms 121ms 195ms |
104ms 119ms 194ms |
128ms 149ms 215ms |
104ms 113ms 199ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
4% 9% 19% 31% |
6% 13% 28% 46% |
6% 12% 22% 51% |
5% 9% 17% 31% |
The DRU-830A'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 12x and DVD+RW media at 8x.
Verbatim DVD+R DL
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
6.24x 3.46x 8.31x |
6.26x 3.48x 8.34x |
9.27x 5.16x 12.38x |
6.04x 3.34x 8.07x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
118ms 127ms 200ms |
119ms 129ms 202ms |
130ms 151ms 218ms |
104ms 115ms 193ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: |
8% 8% n/a |
10% 12% n/a |
6% 11% 30% |
4% 7% n/a |
Reading Verbatim's double layer DVD+R media wasn't a problem for the DRU-830A either. While not as fast as the drive from LG, it reached a respectable 8.31x in CD Speed's transfer rate tests.
Nero CD Speed v4.60 - 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.
| Sony DRU-830A |
Samsung SH-S182D |
LG GSA-H10N |
Plextor PX-760A |
|
| Transfer Speed Average: Start: End: |
12.03x 6.64x 16.09x |
12.08x 6.65x 16.15x |
3.65x 2.02x 4.88x |
12.06x 6.63x 16.13x |
| Seek Times Random: 1/3: Full: |
95ms 114ms 185ms |
95ms 109ms 183ms |
121ms 147ms 219ms |
102ms 112ms 182ms |
| CPU Usage 1x: 2x: 4x: 8x: |
10% 8% 13% 26% |
12% 12% 21% 41% |
6% 11% 21% n/a |
5% 9% 17% 33% |
The DRU-830A didn't slow down very much when reading single layer DVD videos. It started out at about 6.64x and reached a maximum read speed of 16.09x. Sony's new drive was also fairly quick when reading dual layer discs. By looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the drive's transfer speeds peaked at about 8.56x.
To see how well the DRU-830A 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.
