More Information: NEC Global
Interface: IDE/ATAPI (Ultra DMA33 Compatible)
Speed Capabilities by Disk:
DISK--------------WRITING--------------READING
DVD+R/-R.............16x CAV....................... 16x CAV
DVD+R (DL)..........8x ZCLV........................12x CAV
DVD-R (DL)...........6x ZCLV........................12x CAV
DVD+RW.............. 8x ZCLV....................... 12x CAV
DVD-RW................6x ZCLV........................12x CAV
CD-R....................48x CAV........................48x CAV
CD-RW.................32x ZCLV.......................40x CAV
CD-ROM....................................................48x CAV
DVD-ROM..................................................16x CAV (SL)
^^^^^^..................................................12x CAV (DL)
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Hello everyone.
First off, I'd like to give a huge thank's to Newegg.com. I had a crappy I/O Magic 8x single layer burner, and it broke. Go figure. Newegg didn't carry them anymore, so they offered me a brand new, NEC ND-3540A Burner, which is 3x the burner the other one was--free of charge. I have a top of the line burner, free. Thank's Newegg. You ROCK!
Also, a BIG thank's to FedEx! YOU EFFIN ROCK!!!!! This drive shipped out thursday morning. It was at my FedEx facility Saturday morning from California. At my doorstep, at exactly 10:24AM today. (Monday)
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Well, there's not too much you can say about a DVD+RW Drive, or any optical drive for that matter, in a review.
But....I did burn a few ISO's, on different media's, to see how the drives likes certain media, and to see how fast it is.
First Look's
Pictures, etc...
At first glance, the drive look's like your regular drive. After closer inspection, this drive has some little differences from your average drive.
Front look's like your regular drive. Nice layout, and I really like the square LED. I don't know why, but it's different from the usual rectangular/oval one, and it's at the perfect brightness.
At rear, you have your usual legacy port's. EIDE Connector, Molex Plug, Audio Plug's, and Jumper Block.
The top just contain's your regular old label telling the serial #, model #, etc.
Nothing new yet, until you look at the bottom.
Very neat, NEC! Lot'sa vent holes! This aught'a keep this drive cool. Ever notice after a lot of use, your disks come out of your drive warm or hot? Not anymore.
As far as I noticed, the drive wasn't loud, or at least it wasn't audible over my very loud music lol.
Bench Info:
Computer Spec's:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.1GHz
2x512MB GeIL Golden Dragon DDR400 @ DDR420, 1.5-3-2-5 (210MHz, 2.8v)
DFI LanParty UT nForce 3 250Gb (BIOS: 9/14 BETA)
Burning Conditions:
Drive Setup:
Secondary IDE Slave, Cable Select
Original Firmware
HDD Used:
ISO's Burned from Hitachi DeskStar 80GB 7.2k w/2MB Cache...
...on Primary IDE Master, Cable Select.
Program's Running:
3x Internet Explorer
Folding @ Home
MSN Messenger, and one Conversation
Music blasting (WMP10)
Tray Icon's
Xfire
Steam
TV Tuner App's
MS Anti-Spyware
DaemonTools
Ulead Tray
Norton 2003
nVidia
nVidia Audio
AIM
Nero:
Used Nero Burning ROM (Version: 6.6.0.15 Enterprise Edition)
Media:
Verbatim 8x DVD+R
Phillips 8x DVD+R
File's To Burn:
Chronicles of Riddik Return to Butcher Bay DVD ISO
--3212MB
--Verbatim Media
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas DVD ISO
--4036MB
--Phillips Media
Result's:
Chronicles of Riddik Result's
I'm personally very impressed with the burn times. My old 8x drive, was much slower than this, even though I was burning @ 8x with this one.
A larger ISO, yeild's a longer burn, but I was also using different media.
--
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Same basic time, which is very fast.
--
Conclusion:
This burner is one of the cheapest, on the market. NEC has really done it this time, with a drive that top's Plexy's fastest model (and the previous fastest drive.) Rolling out at a whopping $45, you get everything and more.
Point's:
Build Quality
This drive is a very sturdy, quite heavy drive. Not too long, and not loud at all. Doesn't vibrate a lot, and burn's great quality--fast DVD's on a wide variety of media. The connector's go in butter smoothe, and come out with enough ease you don't rip the cables out of your connector on the wire. Bezel is nice, button is firm and not loose. LED is not too bright, and in a good spot. This drive is perfect!
Build Quality: 10/10
Value
$45 for the best burner? Are you CRAZY NEC? AMAZING VALUE!
Value: 10/10
Functionality
This drive does exactly what I want it to do. Burn's fast, doesn't get flakey after a few burn's, etc. Doesn't sometimes not-open like my old drive, it obey's me.
Funcitonality: 10/10
Final Thoughts
Great performer, quiet, cheap, and reliable! The only thing is that some stubborned buyers may not like it because it's not their dream Plexy. Too bad. This thing rip's your Plexy a new one.
Overall Score: 9.5/10
98.7%
XD
)
