Fast, especially DVD - RAM, reads and writes everything
Disadvantages:
No lightscribe
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The LG GSA H22N Super-Multi is one of the first drives to up the maximum speed to 18X for DVD writing. Whilst not a huge increase on the 16X drives, it's a welcome boost.
The various speeds and media types supported are: Read speed: 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD) Write speed: 48x (CD) 18x (DVDｱR) 8x (DVDｱR DL) Rewrite speed: 32x (CD) 6x (DVD-RW) 8x (DVD+RW) 12x (DVD-RAM)
Far more of interest is the support for DVD-RAM which many consider a superior format for data archival due to its built in error correction. Until recently DVD-RAM trailed badly in speed terms but this drive provides an astonishing 12X writing for DVD-RAM. If you are creeating DVD's for long term backup or archival then DVD-RAM is a far better choice - DVD-R and DVD+R and proving to suffer far too many problems with longevity becoming a worrying issue.
As the drive supports dual-layer media, you have the option to burn 8.5GB disks as well as the more common 4.7GB flavour. These disks are still more expensive but prices have dropped dramatically so this is probably a feature that you'll use more in 6 months time.
The drive is also quite short front to back so is good for cramped cases compared to some burners which can be quite deep making them difficult to fit. Noise levels are fine and vibrations seemed low given the speed. My unit has a black fascia to suit my PC so be aware that the grey version in the picture isn't the only option.
Installation is straight forward, just slot it into a spare drive bay, connect the IDE and power cables and you're done. You don't need any drivers, it just works but you will probably need to install some sort of software for burning the disks. Mine didn't come with anything but I already had Nero which is pretty good for both data, audio and video burning needs.
Performance wise it seems to live up to it's rated speeds and I found it particularly quick when ripping CDs to MP3 compared to my old drive.
I've had around half a dozen DVD burners over the years and the LG ones have tended to be the most reliable and smoothest to work with.
The LG GSA H22N can be picked up for around ｣24 or less which is a good price for this kind of performance. If only dual layer disks had gotten a little cheaper...
Overall a very nice drive for the price. It would have been nice to have Lightscribe for adding custom labels to suitable blank DVDs but apart from that there is little to complain about.
More details
Memory / capacity
Excellent
Design
Excellent
Ease of use
Easy
Instruction manual
Satisfactory
Manufacturer Support
Satisfactory
Speed
Very fast
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