NEC DV-5800A

By Roman Shelepov

Interface: Enhanced IDE (ATAPI) bus interface (UDMA/33) .
Formats supported:

DVD-ROM : DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-Video
CD-ROM : CD-Audio, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM XA (Mode 2, Form 1 and Form 2), Photo CD, CD-I (FMV), Video CD, CD Extra, CD Text

Reads discs of 8 and 12 cm in diameter
Data buffer: 512 KBytes
Data rate:

DVD Transfer Rate 16X
CD Transfer Rate 48X

Access time:

DVD 120 ms
CD 100 ms

Installation: horizontal and vertical
Weight: 930 g

The drive came in an OEM version. The front panel has a rubber pad to reduce noise during operation and provide dustproofing. There is only one button on the front panel - Load/Eject.

Test results

Quality of operation with CDs

CDWinBench 99

CDWinMark99 - 1850
CD-ROM Transfer Rate

Inside - 3210 KBytes/s
Outside - 6350 KBytes/s

CPU utilization - 8.23%
CD-ROM Access Time - 72 ms

Nero CD-Speed

The following information on the drive is obtained with the Drive check utility:

Vendor : _NEC
Product : DV-5800A1
Firmware version : 1.91
Buffer size : 512 KBytes
Maximum read speed : 8467 KBytes/sec (48 X)
CDDA accurate : yes
C2 pointers : yes
Speed settings : 4 X
Read RAW mode : yes

According to these data the drive supports all functions necessary for accurate capture of audio tracks. As we found out later, the speeds defined by the program are not correct.

Testing of the drive using a standard CD

	NEC DV-5800A
Average Speed	32.88x
Start Speed	19.06x
End Speed	43.58x
Random Seek	89 ms
1/3 Seek	104 ms
Full Seek	173 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	1%
Accurate stream	Yes
DAE quality Score	10
SpinUp Time	1.19 sec
SpinDown Time	2.79 sec
Disc Recognition Time	10.82 sec

CD-ROM Drive Analyzer

CD-R reading

CD-RW reading

Reading of a scratched CD

Advanced DAE Quality(Nero CD-Speed)

Offset	344 bytes (86 samples)
Sequential Read Test	Average Speed: 21.42 X Data Errors: 12 Sync Errors: 0
Harmonica Read Test	Average Access Time: 121 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 12 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 100.0
On The Fly Copying Simulation	Copying at 1 X OK Copying at 2 X OK Copying at 4 X OK Copying at 6 X OK Copying at 8 X OK Copying at 10 X OK Copying at 12 X OK Copying at 16 X too slow
CD Text	Drive is capable of reading CD Text information
Subchannel Data	Test 1 Track (01): 01 Relative position (01:05.00): 01:05.01 -> incorrect! Absolute position (01:07.00): 01:07.01 -> incorrect! Index (5): 5 Test 2 Track (17): 23 incorrect! Relative position (01:33.00): 01:33.01 -> incorrect! Absolute position (33:35.00): 33:35.01 -> incorrect! Index (1): 1 Test 3 Track (36): 53 incorrect! Relative position (00:00.00): 00:00.01 -> incorrect! Absolute position (70:02.00): 70:02.01 -> incorrect! Index (1): 1
Leadin	Drive cannot read data from the Leadin
Leadout	Drive cannot read data from the Leadout

Soundtrack extraction from audio CDs (CDDAE 99)

	Licensed CD	Pirated CD
Average extraction speed	21.4X	19.8X
Total errors	0.00%	0.00%

Direct copying of data from a 780 MBytes CD-R onto a hard disc.

Unfortunately, this drive failed to read a 780 MBytes disc - when 98% of information was copied it failed and tried to read repeatedly but without success.

Quality of operation with DVD discs

Nero DVD Speed

Testing with a two-layer DVD disc

	NEC DV-5800A
Average Speed	5.06x
Start Speed	2.77x
End Speed	3.55x
Random Seek	111 ms
1/3 Seek	132 ms
Full Seek	234 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	23%
SpinUp Time	1.16 sec
SpinDown Time	1.46 sec
Layer Change Time	77 ms
Disc Recognition Time	11.13 sec

DVD-Video playback with the Cyberlink PowerDVD 2.55

The DVD-Video was played without any problems; no artifacts were noticed. During changing the layer the DVD quality didn't get worse.

Noise characteristics

Tray - 5/10
CD

Seek - 7/10
Total noise - 6/10

Seek - 7/10
Total noise - 6/10

The drive makes quite a lot of noise when working at the highest speed. The reduction is possible only by means of exterior programs (CDBremse, Nero DriveSpeed). The speed, thus, can be 48x-32x-4x; the Drive check program showed only 4x in the list of possible speed settings.

Vibration

When the drive worked with badly balanced CDs it didn't shine. The vibration was quite noticeable. But it didn't prevent the drive from successful reading of the disc at a high speed.

Thermal conditions

There are no any complains about its thermal conditions, though I do not recommend you to install other devices tightly to its lower surface. The data were read after an intensive 2-hour operation:

T inside the case - 35°C
T of the upper surface - 43°C
T of the lower surface - 45°C

Possibility to make a multizone drive (RPC-1).

According to www.firmware.fr.st, the drive can become a multizone one by changing its firmware version. However, there is a problem: you can change a number of a region infinitely often but the counter will show 4 all the time.