Samsung Offers CD-RW Drive for Budget Conscious Consumers.
Written: Oct 26 '02 (Updated Oct 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, reliable and quiet.
Cons: You only get the basics and there are faster drives out there.
The Bottom Line: If you aren't interested in the Lexus of CD-RW drives and want an affordable drive, give this drive a second look.
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| jgkobus's Full Review: Samsung 40x12x40 Internal CD-RW Drive SW-240BRAS |
Introduction
I got really excited about this drive when I saw the ad for Best Buy. It was a weekly special, and I had to act fast. As advertised, the drive was a mere $89 (reasonable for today's CD-RW's). What really sold me were the two $30 mail-in-rebates, one from Best Buy and one from Samsung. It's a great deal!
Installation
I couldn't wait to install this drive. I had been stumbling along with my old, old HP drive which is a 2x CD-RW. So, I picked it up on Sunday afternoon, and I got to work on it right away. Installation was painless. Windows had no problem recognizing the drive and installation of Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5 Basic was a snap. And I do mean basic. If you want the full-featured version, it will cost you extra. And Roxio has no problem telling you that some features are not available and that you can upgrade for a price. You do get all the tools you need to make data and music CD's and the ability to record in UDF (Direct CD) format. All told, I was up and running in less than an hour.
Performance
Well, when compared to what I was working with previously, making the leap from 2x to 40x (12x CD-RW) is like trading in your Chevy for a Ferrari. I'm sure there are faster drives out there, and all the tech sites have no problem telling you which drive is the fastest. If you are a casual user of CD-RW, then this drive is all you will need.
I immediately noticed a world of difference in the performance of this drive. I began by making some backup cd's of my documents. This took a few cd's at 700MB. Well, if you don't think recording about 700MB of data in less than 4 min is fast, you might need to have your head examined. I was quite impressed. Also, Samsung has included something called 'DVA(Dynamic Vibration Absorber)'
which makes this drive whisper quiet. Next is Buffer Under Run protection, and this drive has it. This drive includes a huge 8MB buffer and proves to be very reliable when burning cd's.
Also, if you are interested in ripping cd's to mp3(or wma)format for use in your portable device, this drive will make you sing with delight. This drive can rip cd's to mp3 format about as fast as your computer can encode and write the data. I was successfully ripping cd's at about 24x average speed per track on Windows 2000 with AudioCatalyst.
Remember, performance has a lot to do with overall system configuration. Some users may experience different results based on their system hardware. My computer is a 1Ghz Celeron.
Key Features
- CD-R 40x, CD-RW 12x, Read 40x
- Adopting technology to prevent Buffer Under Run Error
- Adopting High Capacity Buffer Memory(8MB)
System Requirements
CPU - Pentium II 350 or higher
OS - Windows 98/NT 4.0/ME/2000/XP
RAM - 64MB or above
Contents
1 CD-RW Drive
1 Blank CD-R disc
1 Blank CD-RW disc
1 Audio Cable
1 Interface Cable
1 User's Guide
Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 Basic
Mounting screws
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jgkobus
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Reviews written: 2
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