The Plextor 48x24x48 CD-RW Drive
Burning CDs Faster Than Ever Before...

By, Marco Chiappetta
November 12, 2002

In our next test, we also used Nero CD Speed, but this time, we tested the drives using a 53 minute audio CD.  These test results show not only the speed of the drives, but also the Digital Audio Extraction quality...

Benchmarks and Comparisons Continued More From Our Favorite Roman

Nero CD Speed - Audio:

PLEXTOR 48X24X48                                        PLEXTOR  40X12X40
       

Here we had similar results, with the PlexWriter PX-W4012TU narrowly outpacing the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA in virtually every test with the exception of the seek times, where the 48X drive simply dominated.  Take note that both drives scored a perfect "10" in Digital Audio Extraction quality.  If you're in the market for a drive to rip your CD collection, you can't go wrong with either of these models.

MP3 Encoding With Nero Express:

We also ran some "real world" tests with the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA.  We ripped all 13 tracks from the 53 minute audio CD we used in the CD Speed tests, using Nero Express and encoded them to 320kps MP3s.  The times posted above reflect the time it took for the entire process to complete from the moment we clicked "GO", until the "Process Completed" dialog box was displayed.  The 48X drive walked away with this one, besting the 40X model by about 5.7%.

Disc Copy with Nero 5.5.9.17
 

For our last test, we burned a single 600MB compressed ZIP file to a CD using Nero Burning ROM v 5.5.9.17, and the results were interesting to say the least.  Like the Encoding tests, the times posted above reflect the total amount of time it took to burn the CD, from the moment we clicked "Write" until the session was finalized and the CD ejected from the drive.  When using 40X certified TDK media, the PlexWriter 40X drive completed the test a full 37 seconds faster than the PlexWriter 48X!  We repeated the test multiple times with similar results.  We then performed the exact same test, but this time using 40X certified Verbatim media, and the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA SMOKED the 40X model by just over a minute!  So what does this tell us?  That all media is NOT created equal, and that certain drives will perform better than others depending on what brand of media is being used.  If you're not sure what media works best with your particular drive, head on over to your local computer store, pick up a couple of 3-Packs from different manufacturers and try this test for yourself.  You'll probably save a lot of time in the long run!  Plextor also has a list posted of supported media available right here.

We've spent a good amount of time testing and working with Plextor's latest and greatest.  There is no denying that the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA is one heck of a drive, arguably the best high-speed CD-RW on the market today.  The real questions are whether or not it is worth upgrading to this drive if you already own a fast CD-RW drive?  And should you spend the extra money for Plextor's flagship, when there are competing products available for less money?  Well, if you've already got a 24x or faster drive, you should probably save your money or upgrade a different component...Ultimately, the decision is up to you.  People in the market for a new drive would be well advised to consider the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA, however.  For roughly $100 you'll have the one of the highest quality and fastest CD-RW drives on the planet, backed by a company who specializes in all variants of CD related technology.  Some competing products can be found for about $35 less, but they simply do not offer the same features, reliability and don't have the same build quality as a Plextor drive.  The bottom line is the PlexWriter PX-W4824TA is a great product that is well worth the $100 investment.  We can wholeheartedly recommend this drive to anyone about to make a CD-RW purchase.  We're giving the Plextor PlexWriter PX-W4824TA a solid 9 on the HotHardware Heat Meter...

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