DVD recorders are making all the news at the moment, but many users still don't have a need for one of these relatively high-cost devices. If you're one of these people, Sony's latest internal CD-RW drive, the CRX-230A/U, should appeal thanks to its claimed fast data transfer rates and appealing price tag. In traditional Sony style, the drive is also bundled with recording software, allowing you to use the device straight out-of-the-box.

One of the fastest CD re-writable drives on paper, the CRX-230A/U reads CD-ROMs at up to 52X using CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) technology and can re-write discs at up to 32X. CAV is a technique for accessing data from rotating discs. The technology works by rotating a disc at a constant speed regardless of what area of the disc is being accessed. The other type of standard is Constant Linear Velocity (CLV), which rotates the disc faster for inner tracks, but runs into problems for very high-speed CD-ROMs because there's a brief latency whenever the drive needs to change the rotational speed. Similar to most new drives, the CRX-230A/U uses a combination of CAV and CLV.

Sony also claims the E-IDE CRX-230A/U is easy to install and makes creating personalised CDs a breeze. Targeted at those who want to backup data, capture their personal videos, digital stills or music to CD, the CRX-230A/U supports all Windows operating systems and can be mounted either horizontally or vertically in your PC.

Software supplied with the drive includes B's Recorder Gold, for mastering CDs with video, audio and data content, B's CLiP for 'drag and drop' burning, and Power-Burn for buffer under-run protection.

Specifications:
Size: 146x190x414mm
Weight: 997g
Drive type: Internal
Interface: E-IDE
Mounting: Vertical or horizontal
Loading mechanism: Motorised tray
Buffer memory: 2MB
Read speed: 4X, 8X, 12X, 16X 40X (P-CAV), 52X (CAV)
Write speed: 4X, 8X, 10X, 12X (CLV), 32X (CAV)
Re-write speed: 4X, 8X, 10X, 12X (CLV), 32X (CAV)
Sustained data transfer rate: up to 7,800KB/s
Random access time: 100ms
Modes supported: CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM (Mode 1/2), CD-ROM XA (1/2), CD Audio, Video CD, CD Extra, Multi-session, Packet writing
Burst transfer rate: up to 33.3MB/s
Other: Mounting screws, Quick Start Guide

BIOS, Nov 11, 03 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In CD drive