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For many of you AOpen is known as a mainboard and video card manufacturer. Nevertheless, AOpen produces quite a wide range of computer equipment, which apart from the above mentioned items includes also sound cards, modems, network cards and cases. According to the AOpen representatives, their policy is based on development and promotion of as wide spectrum of products as possible. In particular, in August the company is going to launch three models of CD-RW drives, each is aimed at the definite market sector.   The CRW-1232A drive that we have today in our lab is the first model among them. (Further, the CRW-1232A recorder will be replaced with the CRW-1232Pro, that will feature the ATA-33 interface support.) Test results
CDWinBench 99 CD-ROM Transfer RateFor estimation of the performance in reading operations we have chosen the TEAC CD-W512EB and Yamaha CRW2100E drives (apart from CD-ROM Teac 540E), as the nearest competitors of the model in question.  The AOpen CD-RW has shown the lowest result, falling behind the TEAC CD-W512EB by a little margin and giving a way to the Yamaha recorder and the CD-ROM TEAC.  The CD-W512EB performs not very well as well. But this time it has taken the second position after the TEAC, leaving far behind the CD-ROM TEAC. The CPU utilization was:  Showing an average performance, the CRW-1232A drive takes more resources of the CPU than its competitors. CDWinBench 99 CD-ROM Access Time
 In this, average access time test the AOpen can successfully compete only against the Yamaha 2100E. But you should remember that the specified access time of the TEAC CD-W512EB is 85 ms, and in case of the CRW-1232A it is 120 ms. CDWinBench 99 CPU Utilization
 And the total CPU utilization in case of reading operations was minimal with the AOpen drive. Time taken for CD recording
Recording of the CD-R Sony CDQ-74N1 (cyanine, 16x rated record speed) 12X
The AOpen easily beats the TEAC and comes very close to the 16x Yamaha. Recording of the CD-R Mirex (phthalocyanine, 12x rated record speed) 12X
Having the same record speed, the CRW-1232A was first to reach the finish, outscoring the Yamaha 2100E by 35 sec. Recording of the CD-R "noname" (cyanine, the rated record speed is unknown) 4X
The AOpen is again ahead. But we should check the quality of such fast burning process. Time spent for full formatting of a CD-RW disc in UDF format
Philips CD-RW 4x
Ricoh CD-RW 10x
A fast operation with CD-RW discs is peculiar to all recorders based on the Ricoh pickup. And the AOpen CRW-1232A is not an exception. Recording of a CD-RW (UDF)
Philips CD-RW 4x
CD-RW Ricoh 10x
The results are excellent. The advantage of the CRW-1232A is especially well noticeable at low formatting speeds, while at the maximum possible speed of 10X the difference between the TEAC and AOpen is just a bit more than 30 sec. BLER factor of CD-R discs recorded with the Ricoh drive.
Let me remind you the Plextor PX-W1610A results.
(for these tests we used a device described in the fifth part of our review) Now let's see what the CDCATS "thinks" about it.  Mirex, 12x  Mirex, 12x (single artificial activation of the JustLink)  "noname", 4x  We can see the average record quality both of the CD-R Sony and of the CD-R Mirex. But the cyanine Sony is best suitable for the AOpen. The record quality of the "noname" CD-R is no good at all. Look at the BLER factor on the graph. The dots in the upper part of the graph mean that the CDCATS station can't test discs with so high BLER (higher than 450). There are even E32 errors. The most interesting thing is that the disc will read quite decently for some time, though it won't live more than 2-3 months. Now let's turn to the graph during the recording of which the JustLink technology was enabled. Note that when testing such parameters as BLER, BERL, CRC, and fixing E31 and E12 errors we discovered a splash on the 38th minute. This is a meeting-point of the parts of interruption of recording and its recovery. But there is nothing to worry about. E12 errors are usually well corrected in the vast majority of CD-ROM drives and audio centers. You won't hear a strong click when listening audio CDs as well (it can often be heard on discs recorded with the BURN-Proof enabled). CDSpeed 99The graph of reading of the Sony CDQ-74N1 (12x record speed)  The graph of reading of the Mirex (12x record speed)  The graph of reading of the "noname" disc (4x record speed)  The graphs of reading are nearly ideal, but for one strange feature which is caused by the firmware. The drive periodically read the discs at 10X and raised its speed not higher than 20x closer to the outer tracks. And it didn't depend on the type of a disc. But I should note that this effect didn't take place in case of the cyanine "noname" CD-R discs. The graph of reading of the Sony CDQ-74N1 (12x record speed)  The graph of reading of the Mirex (12x record speed)  CD Speed 99 test results of the recorded CD-R Sony CDQ-74N1 discs (12X)
CD Speed 99 test results of the recorded CD-R "noname".
CD Speed 99 test results of the recorded CD-R Mirex (12x).
* The data for the CD-RW drives from TEAC and Yamaha are given for Philips Silver and Mirex discs. On the Yamaha the discs were recorded at 16X. The results are very close to the figures obtained in the tests with the WinBench utility. The AOpen and TEAC recorders have almost the same average reading speed. The W512EB has a little bit better average access time than the CRW-1232A does, but the AOpen shines in spin-up and spin-down factors. CD Quality Check test results of the CD-RW (UDF) discs recorded at 4X.
CD Quality Check test results of the CD-RW (UDF) discs recorded at 10X.
CD Quality Check test results of the recorded CD-RW (ISO) discs.
The AOpen reads the CD-RW discs in the UDF format a bit slower than its main competitor - the TEAC CD-W512EB, while reading of rewritable discs in the ISO format is an advantage of the CRW-1232A. Read speed of the recorded CD-R Sony CDQ-74N1 /CD Quality Check/
Read speed of the recorded "noname" /CD Quality Check/
Read speed of the recorded CD-R Mirex (12x) /CD Quality Check/
*The data for the CD-RW drives from TEAC and Yamaha are given for Philips Silver and Mirex discs. On the Yamaha the discs were recorded at 16X. The AOpen performed much better in the CD Quality Check test than its contestants. Quality of the recorded CD-R Sony CDQ-74N1 /CD-ROM Drive Analyzer/AOpen CRW-1232A  TEAC CD-540E  Quality of the recorded CD-R "noname"/CD-ROM Drive Analyzer/AOpen CRW-1232A  TEAC CD-540E  Quality of the recorded CD-R Mirex (12x) /CD-ROM Drive Analyzer/AOpen CRW-1232A  TEAC CD-540E  The graphs are typical of the Ricoh recorders. The noname's saw started earlier than usual. The CD-ROM Drive Analyzer fixed periodical changes in the character of reading. And in this case the graphs looked like this: Quality of the recorded CD-R Sony CDQ-74N1 /CD-ROM Drive Analyzer/AOpen CRW-1232A  Quality of the recorded CD-R Mirex (12x) /CD-ROM Drive Analyzer/AOpen CRW-1232A  Sound track extraction from audio CDs (CDDAE 99)
* - 7.84% means that the drive extracted 7.84% of the CD with errors. The track extraction speed is very good. The error percentage is average, and with the artificial restriction of the extraction speed at the level of 16X the results can be excellent. Sound track extraction from audio CDs (EAC 0.9 prebeta 9)
Overburn
With the 780 MBytes (90 min.) CD-R Rostok Media and the Nero Burning Rom 5.5.1.8. program we managed to achieve 91 min. 48 sec. per disc. On the whole, the CD-RW drives based on the Ricoh pickup perform excellent overburning and give the best results than the drives on the pickup on Sanyo or Oak Technology. Direct copying from recorded CDs to a hard discCopying of the recorded CD-R Sony CDQ-74CN1
Copying of the recorded CD-R Mirex
Copying of the recorded CD-R "noname"
*The data for the CD-RW drives from TEAC and Yamaha are given for Philips Silver and Mirex discs. On the Yamaha the discs were recorded at 16X. Advanced DAE Quality
The offset value is absolutely the same as of the CD-RW Ricoh MP7200A drive, which is, by the way, not very large. Reading of damaged CDs"Golden" CD  Scratched disc  The saw of the scratched disc has too sharp and deep teeth. At the same time, the recorder recovers itself quite fast and lifts its speed up to the initial level. As for reading of the golden disc, the speed is not very stable. The damaged disc was read at 80%. Conclusion and summary.The AOpen CRW-1232A will be worth purchasing only if its price won't differ much from similar models from Ricoh, TEAC or NEC. If you a beginner, then don't hope to find a weighty installation manual for this drive. However, it contains all necessary instructions. The recorder will suit those who appreciate a fast operation with CD-RW discs, high results of track extraction from audio CDs, and a possibility to record data up to the very end on any type of a disc, with low CPU utilization. But at the same time you should take only high-quality discs, and if you haven't got thick purses then you should decrease a record speed down to 8X to prevent data losses. Test programs:
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