Before Deano accuses me of being rich again, I must state, this is something bought for me! A CD Writer with DVD capability. Thats right. Capability. What that does NOT mean is that it doesn't burn DVDs. It is a DVD reader and CD writer. Got that? Good. Had to clear it up . Ok, well lets have a look at this drive then eh?
Overall specification. For starters, this is an internal drive that fits inside an existing 5.25 inch drive bay on your computer. You know the one I mean? You probably have a spare one on the front of your computer or you have an existing CD Rom drive in there already. This drive has the option of running alongside an existing CD Rom drive or completely replacing it. That is because it also reads CD's. My reccomendation? If you have a spare drive bay, leave your existing one in there too. This will speed up copying tine when copying CDs from other CDs. It s slimline and comes in the traditional Cream colour of PCs. This means if you have a new Black style computer like Dell make, its going to stick out and look ugly.
Performance Specifications. Right, this is where it gets fun as it has several functions. Basically it can: READ DVD's.(up to 4 times speed) READ CD's (up to 24 times speed) WRITE CD's (up to 6 times speed) WRITE RERECORDABLE CD's (up to 4 times speed) It also has a 2 Mb buffer for storing DVD playback. This improves quality even if the DVD is not too hot when it was recorded.
The speeds above actually are quite slow compared to most modern CD Writers. They can burn up to 32 times normal speed but most lack DVD playback or adecent size storage buffer.
Installation. *****NOTE. IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW, GET THE SHOP TO FIT IT!******** This drive however, will give you no trouble when it comes to setting it up.Absolutely everything you will need is included with one exception. If you have a spare EIDE socket on the existing cable of your CD rom or you are replacing the existing CD Rom, you are fine. This is the long flat ribbon style cable that goes from the motherboard to the back of the CD Rom and hard drive. If you don't know what a motherboard is, you should not even have the case apart. TAKE IT TO A SHOP! If you are adding the drive to your computer and keeping your existing drive AND there are no spare sockets, you will need to go and buy a new EIDE lead. This will cost about £10.
Ok. So you have the bits and you have physically installed the hardware. Now for the fun bit. You will have a nice easy manual included to follow. But, you will need the motherboard manual to explain how to configure Bios and choose the settings. Check with your manufacturere.Its best to set this drice as a slave if you are keeping the original. So attach it to the second socket on the EIDE cable. You will also need to move a jumper clip. This tells the drive if you want it to be Master or slave.
Ok. So all of the hard work is done. Start the machine and the computer should detect that a new device has been added. When prompted, add the CD that comes with the drive to load the drivers. All done in under 30 minutes!
Included software. Dont get too excited. You get 2 applications with this. Both of which are satisfactory but not the best on the market. Firstly is a scaled down version of Roxio CD Creator 5. This is good for producing great CD's quickly and I have not generated a "Coaster" yet. A coaster is a CD that goes wrong during the burn process for those that dont know.
Ok, for watching DVD's Ricoh have packaged up Cinemaster software. Once it is installed and you have it working it is great with loads of functionality. However, it does take some matering and there is limited instructions on how to use it. Poor show.
Performance. Brillo! I have not had any problems with it and it truly is a great drive. Ok, its not the quickest drive on the market but it is flexible by including both CD and DVD capability. Watching movies and listening to music is great and its spick up speed and responsiveness are excellent. No coasters on the burn are a credit to both software and the hardware. it must be a very stable device that requires minimum resources. Outside interference from running applications also do not phase this device and will quite happily run with 5 or 6 other programs open.
Price. Hmm...Being an intrnal drive it is somewhat cheaper than a lot of drives that offer this facility. However, £129 is not going to break the bank and it is worth every penny in saved coaster material!
Overall. A great device for its time. It is about 6 months old now and better are available. However shop around and if you cant find better, BUY IT!
More details
Memory / capacity
Good
Design
Good
Ease of use
Easy
Instruction manual
Good
Manufacturer Support
Good
Speed
Average
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