Product Reviews

In issue 71, Mirai and Plextor introduced Sanyo's BURN-Proof technology to the UK. Mirai, despite achieving a dead heat with the SCSI Plextor drive on the A List then, lost in the value stakes to Plextor's EIDE entrant. The PlexWriter 12/10/32A remains undefeated through issue 74's Labs test. For these new drives we employed the same tests and hardware as described in issue 74's Labs test and used Mitsui 12-speed media for comparative referencing.

Using issue 74's Labs as reference during all tests, I started with Mirai's CRD-BP1300P-M and immediately found that its read tests just didn't reach 32-speed. Returning 196 seconds for the Windows 98 CABS folder was slower than any internal eight-speed writers tested in Labs - slower also than the fastest external writer. As an indication of poor sustained data transfer, 323 seconds for the 647Mb PQI file read would have earned it only tenth place, with some 24-speed readers getting ahead. It was also bottom of the internal device chart for browsing TGA files from Paint Shop Pro, taking 226 seconds. Its saving grace was its fast CD-RW formatting, only taking 510 seconds to format its supplied high-speed CD-RW, placing it second in the Labs line-up. These poor returns mean the Mirai is no match for a dedicated CD or DVD-ROM drive for fast reading of CD-ROMs.

The Mirai's write speeds helped repair some of the damage. Burning the Windows 98 CABS folder in 143 seconds equalled its SCSI predecessor and the A-Listed EIDE Plextor 12/10/32A. The punishing PQI file's 555 seconds was over two minutes slower than the PlexWriter 12/10/32A, only matching Creative's eight-speed drive from the Labs tests, illustrating SCSI's superior sustained transfer rate. Taking 361 seconds to burn the TGA picture files would have given Mirai fifth place, behind the Labs Honourable Mention AOpen CRW-1232. Digitally copying

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four tracks of audio took 217 seconds, leaving it in the 12-speed club as it burned on the fly in Nero 5. Re-writing the CABS took 223 seconds, letting even the Yamaha CRW8824E-VK jump in front.

The Plextor PlexWriter 12/10/32s is striving to beat its own EIDE predecessor, but the increased buffers of both the AOpen and TEAC drives featured in Labs give the Plextor the bronze medal, with 185 seconds in the Windows 98 CABS read. That said, 185 seconds matches the best PQI read scores in Labs from the EIDE Plextor version of this unit and Philips' eight-speed. It's a similar story in the TGA browse test, where it trails by three seconds behind the PlexWriter 12/10/32A despite the 12/10/32s hogging all the SCSI bandwidth. The main upset was that it was over four minutes slower at formatting the supplied CD-RW than the PlexWriter 12/10/32A, though at 892 seconds (eight seconds short of quarter of an hour), it remains within the boundaries of ten-speed re-write. Finally, Plextor's 12/10/32s was able to re-write the Windows 98 CABS in 169 seconds.

We expected the PlexWriter 12/10/32s to catch up when writing and sure enough it recorded an overall improvement. A time of 147 seconds let the PlexWriter 12/10/32A and the EIDE Mirai stay just ahead of the PlexWriter 12/10/32s. However, Plextor's SCSI 12-speed got back in front on the PQI write test, returning a result of 419 seconds. While that was clearly better than the EIDE Mirai drive, it was only three seconds ahead of the A-Listed PlexWriter 12/10/32A. More impressive results were recorded for writing the TGA files at 263 seconds and the audio files at 145 seconds using an EIDE-connected Panasonic SR-8585-B DVD-ROM drive as source. This was marginally improved to 144 seconds when derived from a SCSI Plextor UltraPlex 40Max CD-ROM. In both categories, the PlexWriter 12/10/32s ran clear of the Labs field by 20 seconds.

Where does this leave you in the search for a good CD-RW? Mirai's move to EIDE has ushered in faster re-writing but not much else and it's an average buy as long as you're retaining an optical reader alongside it. Meanwhile, Plextor has wisely allowed the A-Listed EIDE version and this new drive to co-exist (at launch), letting SCSI stalwarts in on the high-performance BURN-Proof club. Since it hasn't had six months in the marketplace for its street price to drop it doesn't walk away with the A List crown, but it's still the best SCSI unit currently available.