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CD/DVD Performance Tests -
Teac DV-W50D |
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It's NERO Time! |
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Ahead software, the makers of
Nero Burning ROM, have an excellent selection of free
utilities to test the functions of various types of optical
drives. Each of these small applications perform a
number of specific tasks that show us what
each drive is capable of. In this next section we ran
several of these tests on the Teac DV-W50D and included
the results of a Plextor PX-504A drive for comparison where
applicable.
Please note that in each test, the
Green line
represents Transfer Rates while the
Yellow Line
represents Rotation Speed.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - CD Data Test:
In our first run
of Nero CD-DVD Speed we'll focus our efforts on standard
CD-ROM performance. With this benchmark, we loaded a 703MB data disk in the
drive and let CD-DVD Speed run through its cycle of tests.
Teac DV-W50D
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PLEXTOR PX-504A
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Overall, the Teac drive was
consistently slower with reading of standard CD-Rs, which
was no real surprise with its 32X rating vs. the Plextor's
40X. However,
much like the Plextor drive, the Teac DV-W50D was quite efficient with CPU
utilization. The one thing that stood out was the
burst rate of the two drives. The Teac drive had a
decent 15MB burst rate while the Plextor drive topped out at
1MB. The performance of the burst rate is closely tied
to the size of the drive's cache. In this case,
however, both drives utilize 2MBs, leaving us to suspect
Nero CD-DVD Speed was not accurately interpreting data from
the Plextor drive.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - Movie Playback Test:
In the next two tests we focused on the drive's DVD performance. Each
drive is configured to perform differently based on whether
a DVD movie or DVD data disk is inserted in the drive. Our
first test will focus on performance with DVD movie media.
For this test we used a copy of The Patriot.
Teac DV-W50D
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PLEXTOR PX-504A
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When it comes to movie playback, both
drives handle things quite differently. When we look at the Teac
drive for example, the drive is designed to maintain a steady data
rate while adjusting the rotation speed as needed. This
helps with smooth video playback as well as keeping drive noise to
a minimum by slowing down as needed. The Plextor drive, on the other hand, maintains a
steady rotational speed while increasing and decreasing data
output. This allows the video to be buffered as needed while
maintaining moderate noise by keeping the speed constant.
There is no right or wrong here, but it seems that the Teac drive
is more efficient in the way it handles video playback. Once
again, the Plextor drive maintained a 1MB burst rate while the
Teac drive hit a top burst of 24MBs.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - DVD Data Test:
In the next test we swapped out the
movie DVD for a DVD data disk containing 4.02GBs of MP3 music
files. This picture should be notably different compared to
movie playback.
Teac DV-W50D
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PLEXTOR PX-504A
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With the DVD data disks,
compared to CD Data Disks, performance was definitely
in favor of the Teac drive. The DV-W50D drive had
superior seek times over the Plextor drive in the Full test
and the burst rate differences we've reported continued. We also found at lower speeds like 1X and 2X,
the CPU utilization was better with the Teac drive.
Nero DAE Test:
Another aspect of performance we
like to assess is Digital Audio Extraction. This
test's results are particularly important for gauging the
capability of the drive to copy Audio CDs
and rip MP3s. With this test we used an audio
CD 63:33:02 in length and selected
all of the files for extraction.
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Teac DV-W50D
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PLEXTOR PX-504A
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Both drives turned out
a respectable score with the Teac finishing 6 seconds earlier than the Plextor PX-504A. Either way you slice it, both drives
can extract a 63 minute CD in under 3 minutes, not bad at all if
you ask me.
Now that we've given each drive a run
with some useful utilities from Ahead Software, next we'll change
focus to some real world examples.
CD-R/DVD+R Write Tests &
Conclusion |