IDE CD-RW Drives Roundup (Part XV)

CD-RW drives are replacing usual CD-ROM devices in computers faster and faster. Well, quite speedy 16x models are already almost equal in prices to expensive CD-ROM drives.

The market of recorders is getting tighter and less profitable. To get any profit from the sales the manufacturers have to produce new models, but they often are just accelerated versions of their predecessors.

In these conditions only mighty engineering departments (RnD) can offer something innovative, not just X's.

Hence the question - is it justified to buy a high-speed drive today? Well, it is if it possesses some unique qualities apart from high record speeds. Otherwise, you can save a lot with a 32x or 24x model with no performance losses.

However that may be, today we are testing 40x-48x CD-RW drives which stand on the last but one stair of the evolution of CD-R write speeds.

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

Test results

We don't involve the CD-ROM TEAC CD-540E for comparison as most modern CD-RW drives successfully replace any, even a very efficient, CD-ROM models in reading.

CDWinBench 99 CD-ROM Transfer Rate

The CD-RW drives from AOpen and ASUS have the top marks, the TDK is a little behind, and is follow by the Yamaha. The 40x NEC is slightly edged out by the 48x Mitsumi.

CDWinBench 99 CD-ROM Access Time

The Mitsumi's drive proved its high access time. The CyClone scores a high result as well. The AOpen lags a little behind. The ASUSTeK and Yamaha take the last positions.

CDWinBench 99 CPU Utilization

The lowest CPU load is obtained with the Mitsumi's model. NEC is several hundredths behind. The rest have approximately equal scores. I must say that the load of 1.6% and 2.2% in the real tasks is not easy to notice...

CD recording time

We excluded cyanine discs as they are not suitable for hgih-speed recording. But the phthalocyanine CD-R discs Philips Silverspeed by Ritek could be recorded at the highest speed not on all drives. For example, the Mitsumi CR-485CTE preferred to record at 40x only Imation discs (by CMC Magnetics), and the Philips media were recorded at 32x. We left in the tests Mirex media as an alternative phthalocyanine solution with an ATIP of a less famous manufacturer as compared with Rite, CMC, Mitsui and the like, as well as SKC media as cheap cyanine discs.

Recording of CD-R Philips Silverspeed (phthalocyanine, 32x rated speed)

CD-RW drive	Write speed	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	40x	3.26
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	40x	3.33
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A (Imation CD-R)	48x	3.12
Mitsumi CR-485CTE (Imation CD-R)	40x	4.01
NEC NR-9100	40x	3.18
TDK CyClone 401248B	40x	3.36
Yamaha CRW-F1	44x	3.08

The advatnage of the 48x ASUS's solution is quite conditional. The Yamaha F1 has outscored ASUSTeK, though its claimed speeds are lower.

Recording of the CD-R Mirex (phthalocyanine, 24x rated speed)

CD-RW drive	Write speed	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	24x	4.38
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	32x	2.53
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	40x	3.24
NEC NR-9100	24x	4.34
TDK CyClone 401248B	40x	3.18
Yamaha CRW-F1	16x	3.41

The results show that the report of the program on finishing recoding at 40x doesn't let us claim that the media was recorded exactly at this speed. Some CD-RW drives don't tell the recording program that they enable speed and record power optimization. Just compare 40x CK-485CTE and 16x CRW-F1. Yamaha lets the program know that it changed the recording character and reduced the speed, and the Mitsumi's drive didn't do that. It results in such identical parameters for 16x and 40x recording. The ASUS's CD-RW device copes best of all with the task.

Recording of the CD-R SKC "bulk"(cyanine, the rated record speed is unknown), 4x write speed

CD-RW drive	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048 (8x)	9.50
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	19.31
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	19.19
NEC NR-9100	19.22
TDK CyClone 401248B	19.46
Yamaha CRW-F1	18.25

If time is crucial for you but you can't afford recording at high-speeds (if you support bulk media of a noname Chinese company), the Yamaha's drive will be an optimal solution. It burns such discs quickly and quality is high enough.

Time spent for full formatting of a CD-RW disc in UDF format

In this test we used three discs. Since the recorders are able to write and rewrite CD-RW media at the speeds over 10x, which earlier were standard for most drives, we included ASUS 16x and Yamaha 24x rewritable discs into this test.

Philips CD-RW 4x

CD-RW drive	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	30.02
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	27.38
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	26.41
NEC NR-9100	27.04
TDK CyClone 401248B	26.25
Yamaha CRW-F1	24.41

Ricoh CD-RW 10x

CD-RW drive	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	-
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	13.55
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	13.06
NEC NR-9100	11.48
TDK CyClone 401248B	14.46
Yamaha CRW-F1	10.32

ASUS High Speed CD-RW 16x
Yamaha Ultra Speed CD-RW 24x

CD-RW drive	Formatting speed	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	12x	13.42
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	16x	12.31
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	16x	14.01
TDK CyClone 401248B	12x	14.25
Yamaha CRW-F1	24x	7.17

CD-RW recording in UDF

Philips CD-RW 4x

CD-RW drive	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	18.20
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	19.00
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	19.20
NEC NR-9100	18.25
TDK CyClone 401248B	18.33
Yamaha CRW-F1	18.54

CD-RW Ricoh 10x

CD-RW drive	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	-
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	6.40
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	7.12
NEC NR-9100	7.35
TDK CyClone 401248B	7.37
Yamaha CRW-F1	7.16

ASUS CD-RW 16x

CD-RW drive	Write speed	Time (min.)
AOpen CRW4048	12x	6.22
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	32x	5.21
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	16x	6.27
TDK CyClone 401248B	12x	7.20
Yamaha CRW-F1	24x	4.31

If you are looking for a recorder which works with CD-RW discs best of all you should start with the Yamaha's drive. It shows the best scores even with standard 1x-4x and 4x-10x discs.

It must be noted that at the time of testing Philips didn't have 10x and 16x discs standardized, and formally High Speed CD-RW media were recorded at 10x. Rewriting at 12x and 16x is acceleration to some degree even with discs similar to ASUS 16x. The results obtained wiht the Ricoh's media were often fairly good, especially in formatting operations.

Transition to the Ultra Speed CD-RW can provide a definite gain. This standard is officially confirmed, and Yamaha was a pioneer in its utilization. However, Ultra Speed CD-RW media are still unavailable on the market, and the wonderful potential of the Yamaha CRW-F1 cannot be used made use of at the moment.

Another appropriate solution meant for rewritable discs is the ASUS's drive. But remember that you should buy only quality 4x-10x CD-RW or 16x media to make use of the potential of this drive.

BLER factor of the recorded CD-R

CD-R disc, write speed	Mirex	Philips Silverspeed Ultra	"SKC", 4x
AOpen CRW4048	18-21 (24x)	18-22	124-147
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	12-14 (32x)	12-18	122-140
Mitsumi CR-485CTE Imation CD-R	19-28 (40x)	33-40	120-134
NEC NR-9100	6-10 (24x)	3-4	62-66
TDK CyClone 401248B	56-61 (40x)	35-46	96-102
Yamaha CRW-F1	10-16 (16x)	12-16	36-51

(for these tests we used a device described in the fifth part of our review)

The results are obtained on the professional CDCATS SA3 test station provided by the Urals Electronic Plant.

	Mirex	SKC	Philips Silverspeed
NEC NR-9100
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A
Mitsumi CR-485CTE
TDK CyClone 401248B
AOpen CRW4048

Nero CDSpeed

Reading of the CD-R Philips Silverspeed

CD-RW drive	Reading
AOpen CRW4048
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A
Mitsumi CR-485CTE Imation CD-R
NEC NR-9100
TDK CyClone 401248B
Yamaha CRW-F1

Reading of the CD-R Mirex

CD-RW drive	Reading
AOpen CRW4048
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A
Mitsumi CR-485CTE
NEC NR-9100
TDK CyClone 401248B
Yamaha CRW-F1

Reading of the CD-R SKC "bulk" (4x record speed)

CD-RW drive	Reading
AOpen CRW4048
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A
Mitsumi CR-485CTE
NEC NR-9100
TDK CyClone 401248B
Yamaha CRW-F1

All drives read all media types confidently, but for a small fault in reading of the recorded SKC by the ASUS drive.

Reading of the CD-R Rostok Media 780 MB (90 min)

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

All drives read 90-min discs flawlessly.

Test results of the recorded CD-R Philips Silverspeed

	AOpen CRW4048	ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	Mitsumi CR-485CTE	NEC NR-9100	TDK CyClone 401248B	Yamaha CRW-F1
Average	37.11x	36.75x	29.77x	30.67x	30.55x	31.95x
Random Seek	100 ms	102 ms	58 ms	99 ms	131 ms	117 ms
SpinUp Time (sec)	1.57	2.81	3.08	2.76	0.76	1.56
SpinDown Time (sec)	5.30	5.14	2.89	3.43	3.31	4.23
Disc Eject Time (sec)	0.95	2.45	1.34	2.05	2.01	0.05
Disc Load Time (sec)	0.82	1.61	1.03	7.60	9.55	0.72
Disc Recognition Time (sec)	4.00	10.60	6.39	1.62	0.73	6.87

Test results of the recorded CD-R Mirex

	AOpen CRW4048	ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	Mitsumi CR-485CTE	NEC NR-9100	TDK CyClone 401248B	Yamaha CRW-F1
Average	36.22x	35.53x	30.18x	29.90x	30.30x	31.14x
Random Seek	94 ms	112 ms	60 ms	101 ms	127 ms	119 ms
SpinUp Time (sec)	1.59	2.84	3.41	2.71	1.06	1.57
SpinDown Time (sec)	5.26	5.11	3.05	3.35	3.85	4.28
Disc Eject Time (sec)	0.96	2.43	1.34	2.05	2.05	0.05
Disc Load Time (sec)	0.82	1.88	1.04	7.50	9.87	0.72
Disc Recognition Time (sec)	4.13	9.50	6.77	1.40	0.86	7.00

CDSpeed results of the recorded CD-R SKC "bulk"

	AOpen CRW4048	ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	Mitsumi CR-485CTE	NEC NR-9100	TDK CyClone 401248B	Yamaha CRW-F1
Average	37.33x	36.59x	29.99x	30.26x	30.83x	32.13x
Random Seek	93 ms	99 ms	59 ms	121 ms	100 ms	116 ms
SpinUp Time (sec)	1.58	2.84	3.09	1.13	2.69	1.53
SpinDown Time (sec)	5.28	4.69	2.82	3.84	3.31	4.25
Disc Eject Time (sec)	0.96	2.44	1.33	2.07	2.04	0.05
Disc Load Time (sec)	0.81	1.61	1.03	9.47	7.48	0.72
Disc Recognition Time (sec)	4.65	9.93	6.59	0.81	0.84	6.93

The read speed of the 48x AOpen and ASUS drives is expectedly higher than that of the other models. The ASUS takes the lead here, followed by the AOpen. The 44x Yamaha shows fairly good scores. The TDK's solution comes with surprisingly poor scores.

CDSpeed results of the recorded CD-RW discs

	CD-RW UDF (4x)	CD-RW UDF (10x)	CD-RW ISO (4x)
AOpen CRW 4048	32.12x	31.66x	37.93x
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	21.12x	21.24x	22.01x
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	30.18x	30.47x	31.19x
NEC NR-9100	27.69x	27.55x	29.43x
TDK CyClone 401248B	30.20x	30.02x	31.85x
Yamaha CRW-F1	28.02x	28.00x	32.68x

The AOpen's solution comes out a winner. It easily reads rewritable discs of any format. The drives from Mitsumi and TDK read UDF and ISO CD-RW media equally well. The scores of the Yamaha are high as well.

CD-RW reading (ISO)

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

CD-ROM Drive Analyzer

Reading of the recorded CD-R Philips Silverspeed

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE Imation CD-R

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

Reading of the recorded CD-R Mirex

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

Reading of the recorded CD-R SKC "bulk"

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

Like in the CDSpeed, all the drives excellently read all media types. Only the AOpen's model demonstrates a saw-like diagram, though the CDSpeed program didn't reveal any considerable flaws in reading of the recorded discs.

Sound track extraction from audio CDs (CDDAE 99)

AOpen CRW 4048

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
Average extraction speed	19.5x	15.5x	35.9x
Total errors	22.70%	0.00%	0.00%

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
Average extraction speed	30.1x	14.2x	34.5x
Total errors	0.01%	2.12%	0.00%

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
Average extraction speed	7.0x	9.8x	29.5x
Total errors	0.01%	0.24%	0.00%

NEC NR-9100

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
Average extraction speed	27.6x	18.6x	28.3x
Total errors	1.02%	4.13%	0.00%

TDK CyClone 401248B

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
Average extraction speed	20.2x	11.8x	35.0x
Total errors	4.47%	3.48%	0.00%

Yamaha CRW-F1

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
Average extraction speed	9.5x	10.0x	32.6x
Total errors	0.78%	0.00%	0.00%

According to the CDDAE 99 utility, the Yamaha and ASUSTeK drives extract data most accurately and fast of all. The Mitsumi CD-RW works with audio discs slower than the Yamaha and ASUS, but the amount of errors in the extracted WAV files is rather small.

Sound track extraction from audio CDs (EAC 0.9 prebeta 11)

Support of backoff and processing of data on C2 errors

	AOpen CRW4048	ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	Mitsumi CR-485CTE	NEC NR-9100	TDK CyClone 401248B	Yamaha CRW-F1
C2	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No

Burst mode

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
AOpen CRW 4048	18.1x	12.8x	28.8x
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	28.9x	3.0x	35.5x
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	6.7x	10.0x	33.3x
NEC NR-9100	13.7x	2.4x	28.2x
TDK CyClone 401248B	18.8x	12.1x	33.7x
Yamaha CRW-F1	20.6x	13.8x	30.9x

Secure mode

	Piano Favorites	Acoustic Planet vol.2	Bloodhound Gang "Greatest Hits"
AOpen CRW 4048	1.5x	4.9x	10.9x
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	2.5x	0.6x	8.8x
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	0.3x	2.3x	8.3x
NEC NR-9100	0.3x	1.5x	6.9x
TDK CyClone 401248B	1.4x	2.2x	2.7x
Yamaha CRW-F1	0.3x	2.5x	7.4x

Taking into account that the Mitsumi's recorder can report on C2 errors and its speed characteristics, this drive can be recommended for people who work much with audio content. The solutions from Yamaha and ASUS are a good match as well. The CRW-4816A will have a really striking speed in working with discs with no defects. The AOpen's model is a good alternative.

Advanced DAE Test

CD-RW	AOpen CRW 4048	ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	Mitsumi CR-485CTE	NEC NR-9100S	TDK CyClone 401248B	Yamaha CRW-F1
Offset	412 bytes (103 samples)	24 bytes (6 samples)	2956 bytes (739 samples)	2764 bytes (691 samples)	24 bytes (6 samples)	2956 bytes (739 samples)
Sequential Read Test	Average Speed: 35.15X Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0	Average Speed: 31.98X Data Errors: 19437928 Sync Errors: 0	Average Speed: 28.55X Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0	Average Speed: 27.95X Data Errors: 968 Sync Errors: 0	Average Speed: 33.61X Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0	Average Speed: 30.63X Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0
Harmonica Read Test	Average Access Time: 131 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 0 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 100.0	Average Access Time: 145 ms Data Errors: 285104 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 19723032 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 65.9	Average Access Time: 108 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 0 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 100.0	Average Access Time: 123 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 968 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 100.0	Average Access Time: 137 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 0 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 100.0	Average Access Time: 163 ms Data Errors: 0 Sync Errors: 0 Total Data Errors: 0 Total Sync Errors: 0 Quality Score: 75.0
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 OK	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	Copying at 1 X data errors Data Errors: 2344 Copying at 2 X OK Copying at 4 X data errors Data Errors: 1406 Copying at 6 X data errors Data Errors: 1439 Copying at 8 X OK Copying at 10 X OK Copying at 12 X OK Copying at 16 X OK	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 too slow Copying at 16 X too slow	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 OK	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 OK
CD Text	Drive is capable of reading CD Text information
Subchannel Data	Test 1 Track (01): 01 Relative position (01:05.00): 01:05.00 Absolute position (01:07.00): 01:07.00 Index (5): 5 Test 2 Track (17): 17 Relative position (01:33.00): 01:33.00 Absolute position (33:35.00): 33:35.00 Index (1): 1 Test 3 Track (36): 36 Relative position (00:00.00): 00:00.00 Absolute position (70:02.00): 70:02.00 Index (1): 1
Leadin	Drive cannot read data from the Leadin	Drive can read max. 148 sectors (-00:01.73) from the Leadin	Drive cannot read data from the Leadin		Drive can read max. 148 sectors (-00:01.73) from the Leadin	Drive can read max. 150 sectors (-00:02.00) from the Leadin
Leadout	Drive cannot read data from the Leadout

The detailed information on the tested parameters is given in the help file to the CDSpeed99 test program. If you don't want to download the utility, then here you can find the HTMl help file.

The magnificent scores of the Mitsumi's model in the previous test will get paler if you look closer at the Advanced DAE's results. The utility reports on errors in copying. In this respect, the drives from ASUS and Yamaha, which also support Leadin, look more attractive for operation with audio data. The AOpen CRW4048 shouldn't be disregarded either.

Overburn

CD-R	Philips Silver Premium 16x (TY)	Mirex 650 MB	Rostok 780 MB
AOpen CRW 4048	77:04.65	77:22.38	93:03.12
ASUSTeK CRW-4816A	77:04.28	77:22.01	n/a
Mitsumi CR-485CTE	77:04.46	78:47.61	93:16.01
NEC NR-9100	n/a	n/a	n/a
TDK CyClone 401248B	77:02.13	77:18.36	93:02.35
Yamaha CRW-F1	77:04.60	77:22.33	93:09.52

The only unpleasant thing in this test is that the ASUSTeK's recorder can work with discs over 700 MB (such as Rostok Media 780 MB and SKC 800 MB). The Yamaha and Mitsumi devices got excellent marks in overburning the discs.

Reading the damaged CD

AOpen CRW4048

ASUSTeK CRW-4816A

Mitsumi CR-485CTE

NEC NR-9100

TDK CyClone 401248B

Yamaha CRW-F1

The drives which are best adapted to reading damanged media come from Yamaha and ASUS. Each of them tries to speed up after a hard-to-read area. The NEC's solution shows an awful performance on finding errors. Sometimes the NR-9100 finds errors where they hadn't been before.

Summary and conclusion

If you are looking for a speedy well-balanced device and you are ready to get high-quality media you should go with the ASUSTeK CRW-4816A. If noise is not the thing which can frighten you and you want a cheaper device, then take a look at the AOpen's model. Thanks to the excellent record quality and speed parameters the Mitsumi will find its place in budget PCs. ASUS won't let the CR-485CTE to take a stronger position in the Middle-End sector.

The Yamaha CRW-F1 doens't break records, but the engineers weren't aimed at that. They created a modern device which incorporates all cutting-edge features of the industry of the data storage optical systems. Failed with the CRW2100E, the company now offers a forwarding technology. Of course, if you want to record disc as fast as possible, the drives from ASUS or Mitsumi will suit better. Audiophiles will definitely like capabilities of the Quality Audio Master technology and 1x write speed of the CRW-F1. Disc T@2 is actually a useless feature, but it brings into the burning process the feeling which users had several years ago when they inserted a golden CD-R into the Yamaha CDR-100.

The TDK CyClone 401248B offers no real surprises, and I can't think of what can attract users in this device. After the striking 12x recorder and the successful 16x model the company turned to more ordinary drives. To be afloat on the modern CD-RW market a famous name is not enough, but many not less famed companied failed to realize this in time.

Test programs:

Alexander Vorobiev (vorobiev@ixbt.com)

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