PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Choosing a CD Writer

Use the following guidelines when choosing a CD writer:

Transfer rate

As with CD-ROM drives, throughput is rated in comparison to standard CD-DA, which transfers 150 KB/s, and is designated 1X. CD-(M)RW drives have three speeds. Usually, but not always, the first number refers to how fast data can be written to a CD-R disc, the second to how fast data can be written to a CD-RW disc, and the third to how fast the drive can read data. For example, a Plextor 48/24/48A writes CD-R discs at 48X, rewrites CD-RW discs at 24X, and reads discs at 48X. Note that fast CD writers use “max” ratings. For example, the PlexWriter 48/24/48A writes at 48Xmax, rather than writing at 48X across the entire disc surface. Also, fast CD writers sometimes have a lower maximum write speed for audio than for data. For example, a drive might write data at 40Xmax, but CD-DA audio at only 24X.

Average access

Most CD writers use heavier heads than CD-ROM drives, and so may have relatively slow average access times. For example, the Plextor 40/12/40A burner has an average access of 120 ms, much slower than the fastest CD-ROM drives. Some CD burners shipped in 2002 or later have greatly improved average access times. For example, the Plextor 48/24/48A has average access of only 65 ms. If you use a burner primarily for duping CDs, average access is relatively unimportant. If you use it heavily for reading CDs or for packet writing, average access time is more important. Current models range ...