Samsung SH-D162C

...the drive's cache size? The Samsung has only 256kB of cache (as opposed to the Plextor's 2MB).
DAE quality was rated "10" (perfect) with the "Accurate Stream" feature present.
CPU usage with CD-R dics was fairly good for a quality drive: 0% at 1x, 1% at 2x, 2% at 4x and 4% at 8x.
CPU usage reading DVDs seemed staggeringly high at first glance:
6 % at 1x, 19 % at 2X, 47 % at 4X and 77 % at 8x reading ...
...9 % at 1x, 35 % at 2x, 55 % at 4x and "n/a" (out of range? ;-)) at 8X.

Then I measured CPU usage with the (generally acclaimed) Plextor drive: it was just as high.

Not being an expert in this field I can only speculate that during normal operation CPU usage won't be a problem; DVD film playback occurs at 1x; audio file playback off DVDs also doesn't require higher read speeds. Aside from file copying, the only ... more

I bought the Samsung/Toshiba SH-D162C in Germany for EUR 13, which makes it a very affordable drive. As we will see though, it offers quality of operation equivalent to much pricier drives from established manufacturesrs like Plextor etc.

First impressions: pretty heavy, sturdy built, eject button operation requires quite a bit of finger muscle action :-)
The tray slides in and out very quietly.

Spin-up fairly quiet - I'd say around 5 on a 1 to 10 scale.
DVD playback (1x) very quiet - practically indiscernible from other computer-associated noise (fans etc.)

Testing with Nero CD/DVD Speed:
I used my Plextor PX320-A for comparison. Tests were performed after firmware upgrade to version TS03.
Transfer rates were up to 43x (data CD-R) and 11x (data DVD-R). Thus, both fall short of the spec'd 48x / 16x. In practice though it should suffice.
Burst rate of 13 MB/s was about half that of the Plextor's. I don't know what to make of that; could it be related to the drive's cache size? The Samsung has only 256kB of cache (as opposed to the Plextor's 2MB).
DAE quality was rated "10" (perfect) with the "Accurate Stream" feature present.
CPU usage with CD-R dics was fairly good for a quality drive: 0% at 1x, 1% at 2x, 2% at 4x and 4% at 8x.
CPU usage reading DVDs seemed staggeringly high at first glance:
6 % at 1x, 19 % at 2X, 47 % at 4X and 77 % at 8x reading a pressed DVD-ROM, and even higher with a burned DVD-R: 9 % at 1x, 35 % at 2x, 55 % at 4x and "n/a" (out of range? ;-)) at 8X.

Then I measured CPU usage with the (generally acclaimed) Plextor drive: it was just as high.

Not being an expert in this field I can only speculate that during normal operation CPU usage won't be a problem; DVD film playback occurs at 1x; audio file playback off DVDs also doesn't require higher read speeds. Aside from file copying, the only circumstance I can think of where thed drive would have to provide higher transfer rates is during gaming (texture/objects loading off the game DVD for instance). But then again, most of us do use disk images for that.

All in all this drive offers solid quality at a modest price, making it highly recommendable for usage in a multimedia/HTPC box or as a secondary drive for accurate on the fly CD/DVD copying.

 

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