Its fast but lacks a few features
Written: Jul 25 '00 (Updated Jul 26 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unbelievably fast!
Cons: lacks support for many features like CD-TEXT and 700MB discs
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| 1GQ's Full Review: HP CD-Writer Plus 9300i Series |
While my 4x CD-RW drive is no slouch, I was ready to retire it and jump into the fast lane. After reading a few glowing reviews I decided on the HP CD-Writer Plus 9310i. Capable of writing at 10x, re-writing at 4x, and reading at 32x, the 9310i promised to be just the fix I needed. I figured with its large 4MB buffer this thing would be crash proof.
Installation is a breeze! Although the instructions are well written and easy to follow, I strongly suggest newbies read through it carefully before beginning. It should take only about 20 minutes for the average Joe to complete the hardware install. After installing the drive I booted up my PC; after logging into Windows 2000, the CD-RW drive was recognized and I was ready to begin. I was already using Ahead Software’s Nero Burning Rom 5.0 (see my epinion), so I opted not to install the bundled software.
This drive is fast, no doubt. I burned a 650MB CD-R in less than 8 minutes. I was impressed; at least until it crashed on the very next burn. When the burn reach 99% complete the drive just hung, I wondered what could have caused it. I rebooted, popped another CD-R in the drive and began the burn again; same thing. I thought about for a little bit more and then it dawned on me that the first burn was on a 650MB disc and the second and third were 700MB discs. I popped in another 650MB CD-R and began a new burn process, it completed successfully. Since all my CD-Rs are 12x certified, I have concluded that this drive does not work with 700MB(80min) CD-R media (at least not Memorex and TDK brand).
I became a fan of Nero Burning Rom (see my epinion) a while back because it supported CD-TEXT on audio CDs when the feature was still in its infancy and not supported by others; however today almost every car CD player supports it and most home systems do too. In order for CD-TEXT to be encoded onto an audio CD, the CD burner has to have a CD-TEXT codec. I was very disappointment that 9310i does not! I found yet more common features missing on the drive, it did not support the “bit by bit” or “raw write” copying methods. This will not be a problem for most though, these copy protocols are used primarily to copy protected discs.
At this point I knew the drive wasn’t for me so I did not conduct any more tests. I think it’s worth noting though that the drive is pretty damn quiet. Kudos to HP on noise control.
In conclusion the 9300i is a fast CD-RW drive; however for me it lacks support for what I consider to be key features. I’ll be taking this drive back asap. Unless you plan on only burning 650MB CD-Rs I recommend looking for another CD burner.
I hope you enjoyed this epinion and vote it “Highly Recommended”.
--1GQ
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
1GQ
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Location: Miami
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