Fall 2004 DVDR Roundup: Dual Layer and 16X DVD+R
by Anand Shimpi & Virginia Lee on November 1, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
MSI DR16-B
MSI's still reigns as the largest OEM optical storage manufacturer, although much of that business is heavily dependent on CDRW drives and not necessarily recorders.| MSI DR16-B 16X DVD-/+RW Drive | |
| Interface | PATA |
| CD Write Speed | 40X, 32X, 24X CAV 16X, 8X, 4X CLV |
| CD Rewrite Speed | 24X ZCLV 16X, 10X, 4X CLV |
| CD Read Speed | 40X MAX CAV |
| DVD-R Write Speed | 16X, 12X, 8X CAV 4X, 2X, 1X |
| DVD-RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2X, 1X CLV |
| DVD+R Write Speed | 16X, 12X, 8X CAV 4X, 2.4X |
| DVD+RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2.4X CLV |
| DVD+DL Write Speed | 2.4X CLV |
| DVD Read Speed | 16X MAX CAV |
| Supported Modes | DAO / DAO-RAW 16 & 96 TAO SAO / RAW SAO, RAW SAO 16 & 96 Packet Write Multi-Session |
| Supported Formats | DVD+R (DAO, incremental, seq) DVD+RW (random) DVD-R (DAO, incremental, seq) DVD-RW (restricted overwrite) CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM, CD-DA, Mixed Mode, CD Extra Photo CD, CD Text, Bootable CD, UDF |
| Access Time | CD: 120ms DVD: 120ms |
| Buffer | 2MB |
Specifications for this drive are right in the middle of the pack. There is nothing neither exceptional nor poor about the table above.
Other MSI designs in the past have revolved around Sanyo chipsets, and we were somewhat hoping for another one when we obtained the DR-16B. The MSI burner had us a little worried the first time we opened it up. Not only does it look identical to the NuTech DDW-162 and the BenQ DW1620, they even have the same QA approval stickers on them!
Click to enlarge.
Make no mistake about it - the NuTech, BenQ and MSI drives are virtually identical with the exception of price and firmware. Referring back to the second page of this article, we may already start to suspect that whichever one of these drives is closest to the OEM manufacturer is likely the one with the better firmware/write descriptors.
Click to enlarge.
Feel free to download the performance graphs for the DR16-B here.
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Sabresiberian - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
#15 DL is important to me because I know the price of media will drop and I want the drive I buy to be as useful as possible for the longest time possible. I might be buying it today but I will be using it tomorrow :) Overall you make some good points :)I think this is a difficult time to do this kind of article, because other improved versions will be available before the end of the year. For example, the Plextor 716A will be released with SATA capabilities.
I think its wierd that you couldn't get the Plextor drive in time, as I know this product has been reviewed by others.
southernpac - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
A recent (17 August) article in PC World advised extreme caution when buying an OEM (versus retail) DVD burner. It said that OEM units "carry no manufacturer's warranty, lack burning software and are ineligible for firmware upgrades" (therefore costing more in the long run). Many examples were given. I would appreciate advise as to whether this is percieved to be a real concern. If so, NEC has no retail outlet - how would you buy a non-OEM unit?southernpac - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
A recent (August 17th) PC World article advised extreme caution when buying OEM vs. retail DVD burners. It claimed that OEM versions carry no manufacturer's warranty, lack software and are ineligible for firmware upgrades (therefore actually costing more in the long run). Many examples were given. I would appreciate some advise as to whether this is percieved to be a real risk. If so, NEC has no retail outlet - how would you buy a non-OEM unit? BillGatak - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
How about overburn tests? I have many times wanted to burn 50-100MB more than a standard single-layer disk but failed because my drive or software won't do it.Codyman - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
I'm kinda wondering if a PX716A couldn't get crammed into this test somehow. Been waiting for this review in hopes that it would've been in this test and I haven't been waiting the extra couple months for nothing.danidentity - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
I'd like to see a list of recommended media for different speed grades (4x, 8x, etc.) for different burners.techfuzz - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Why weren't the firmware on all the drives tested brought up to at the very least the most recent officially released version? For example, NEC's current official firmware is v2.17 where the v2.16 used in this roundup is the original firmware as-shipped from the factory?!Bozo Galora - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
firmwares are on www.cdrinfo.comecouser - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Doesn’t Samsung make a Dual Layer DVD burner? If so why isn’t it in this roundup?MIDIman - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Yay! I'm a winner! I was waiting for this article, but couldn't wait long enough, and picked up the NEC two weeks ago. Couldn't be happier.Here's hoping for better Ritek 8x/16x support...