The Plextor PX-810SA DVD Super Multi Drive is a great performing CD/DVD burner. Its SATA connection opens up bandwidth to allow greater data throughput than EIDE/ATA. It doesn't support HD burning (Blu-ray or HD DVD), but it makes fast work of DVD and CD ripping and burning. At $90, it's not unreasonably priced either, so we're happy to recommend it.
| Drive type | Internal CD/DVD multidrive burner |
| Supported media types | DVD+/-R DL; DVD+/-R; DVD+/-RW; CD-R; CD-RW; DVD-ROM; DVD-RAM; DVD-Video; CD-DA; Video CD; Photo CD; CD Text; CD Extra |
| Maximum write speeds | 10x DVD+/-R DL; 18x DVD+/-R; 8x DVD+RW; 6x DVD-RW; 12x DVD-RAM; 40x CD-R; 32x CD-RW |
| Buffer memory | 2MB |
| Dimensions (width by depth by height) | 5.8x7.1x1.6 inches |
| Notable design features | Changeable face plate (beige or black) |
| Interface | Serial ATA (SATA) |
| Supported operating systems | Windows 2000; Windows XP; Windows Vista |
| System requirements | Pentium 4 1.6GHz or faster (or equivalent); 256MB RAM (XP) or 512MB RAM (Vista); 10GB hard drive |
| Software included | Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 |
| Any additional features | Supports 8cm or 12cm discs |
| Service and support | One-year limited warranty; toll-free phone support available 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT; Web site includes e-mail to tech support, FAQs, self-help guides, and downloads. |
CNET Labs' test results revealed great read and write speeds for the Plextor PX-810SA. Ripping a commercial DVD (8.46GB) to the hard drive took 11 minutes, 29 seconds. Burning that image to a DVD+R DL disc took 21 minutes, 32 seconds. Burning a 4.48GB mixed data file to a DVD+R disc took 7 minutes, 59 seconds. Ripping a commercial CD (746MB) took 2 minutes, 33 seconds. Burning that image to a CD-R disc took 4 minutes, 8 seconds. All the speeds are on a par with the less expensive Sony DRU-830A (EIDE) except for the DVD rip process. The Plextor PX-810SA cuts the rip time by 51 percent--more than twice the speed of the Sony. No doubt, this is due to the SATA interface on the Plextor burner.
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
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Commercial CD rip (746MB) | |
Commercial DVD rip (8.46GB) |
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
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CD-R burn (746MB) | |
DVD+R data burn (4.48GB) | |
DVD+R DL burn (8.46GB) |
